Arrived in Lima early afternoon. We never get places that early so we all twiddled our thumbs wondering what to do with ourselves. It’s not a particularly nice city and it didn’t seem the kind of place I would be disappointed about not really seeing which was good as it meant it could be 2 days of relaxing and catching up on bits and pieces. Anyway, we went for lunch and had a potter and then got ready for our farewell group dinner. I borrowed Vee’s hair straighteners and almost looked normal and myself again (almost!).No photos to prove it I’m afraid. It was a funny night as we were saying goodbye to people on the truck, aswell as Gaetano (Gelati) as he was starting a new route. That meant we also had to meet our new tour leader, Georgina. Hmmm, not a great first impression. So, there were 2 groups together who basically didn’t give a s*** about talking to eachother as we were never going to see eachother again and, although my dinner arrived in a speedy fashion and was delicious, a load of people didn’t get anything (but also, the fools, didn’t bother to chase their orders). We then tried to present Michael and Gaetano with their tips which was utter carnage and nobody could get their s*** together so it was all rather embarrassing.

So, the following day, having not managed to say goodbye to anyone leaving the truck, we ventured to the posh part of town to find the Iberia office so that I could attempt to change my flight. What a scary place – clearly their corporate training involves stripping them of all personality and fining them every time they crack a smile. When my number was called, I nervously ventured to the stony-faced woman (I think) behind the desk and in my friendliest ‘hola’ attempted a transaction in broken Spanish. She got pissed off when I didn’t have my ID on me (I’d had to leave it downstairs to get into the building!) and then tished and tutted when I recited the numbers of said ID in snail pace Spanish. Anyway, an hour later I was on my way, flight changed and no charge so all good! We then headed to the suburb of Miraflores which is beautiful – makes you feel like you’re on holiday. Oh, wait a minute, I am! But you know what I mean – it has that beachy, relaxed feel and lots of terraced restaurants. We had a piggy lunch overlooking the sea (and loads of paragliders zooming around) and a wander around the shopping mall before heading back to our hotel for a nap! We had planned to meet Michelle for a farewell dinner that evening but it seems she had other plans so after a bit of a hasty goodbye (we’ll be catching up again in Quito), we sat down to have our welcome meeting with our new leader. Impression no better, particularly as she seemed to be exerting her authority and showing us all who’s boss. Very full on and exactly the sort of person I clash with. She didn’t make things any better when she was pretty rude to some of the group and started shushing me and flapping her hand in my face. Hmmm, this leg is going to be interesting.....

My most disappointing memory of Lima is that I didn’t even get a glimpse of Paddington Bear.