Despite having now prior plans of what to do in Lima and no idea how long I would stay, my time here has turned out to be the highlight of my trip so far. Driving through a seemingly endless urban sprawl up to my hostel in what can only be the fast food district of Lima (there is a Burger King, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC and Dunkin Donuts in the visible vicinity), I wasn´t holding out much hope either. However, after settling into the hostel bar, I was invited to the casino, which was the start of a five day torrent of fun.

Before I continue, I have not become a compulsive gambler, after two visits to the casino, my losses stand at a measly four dollars and have made that back multiple times with all the free food and drinks that they offer. I have found that I have a certain skill of drunken foresight. On my second visit, when free drinks were not required so much, I was sitting at the roulete table shouting about how the dealer was definitely going to go bust or that I should definitely take another card when I already had sixteen. Somehow, on every occasion, my predictions came true and ended up winning. It was an experience that very appropriately resembled Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Lima is also one of the best places for paragliding in South America, so I set off to the cliffs of Minaflores to try and hire a glider for the day, along with an Argentine skydiver, who was also keen to try a tandem flight. Although I arrived during a rare period of time when it was not possible to fly on the cliffs, I was given the number of a guide who took people up to a mountain just outside of Lima. I ended up spending two days flying in perfect conditions which I could spend hours at a time without needing to land.

In the end, what made Lima so much fun were the people I met at the hostel. I haven´t laughed as much as our nights spend drifting between the hostel bar, the casino and clubs. The last night we accidently ended up in one of Lima´s more expensive and more fashionable clubs (we were trying to find a backpackers party), where we bought the cheapest drink available (a bottle of tasty Jaegermeister) and ended up dancing with a moose.

Note: Drinking and paragliding were not performed simultaniously, nothing to worry about.