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Rag Doll Kulaks
Miraflores
1. Getting to the Capital
We took the bus from Trujillo at 10pm but got to the station early. A strange rat shaped man tried to take our bags, so we assumed he worked for the bus company. He only took them at the last second and didn’t carry Lisa’s at all (it was the heaviest and would break the man’s spine). Anyway he was thanked but apparently expected payment, which we refused to give. We watched other passengers arrive and he would carry the luggage out of the taxi to the desk and was given money by all the others. We pretended not to understand but he was as persistent as a fungal infection and kept returning to our seats in the waiting room to try and get money. Eventually Lisa shouted ´NO´ and made a gesture that she carried her own bag to the desk and didn’t require the help of a rat. We were pleased to be allowed on the bus and away from rat man but there was a huge security check before clambering aboard. We had to give fingerprints!
Once on the bus we settled down comfortably as the Bus Cama (Bed bus) had wide comfortable seats with a fold down leg rest that met the seat edge and allowed for a foetal sleeping position. The peace and comfort were fabulous until Mission Impossible blared out at an annoyingly loud volume only to be followed by a giant pig of a man, who began to snore just as the film ended. This wasn’t just an average bellowing puff but actually shook the body of the bus! He seemed to have been abandoned by his family as he moved seats to just behind us -- Great! Charlie and Lisa were both incredibly pissed off and were very close to throwing things at him to keep us awake as he had done to us. We arrived in Lima at 7am the next morning, not totally refreshed.
2. Casa de Mochilleros
We took a taxi from Lima central to an area of the city known as Miraflores. We had found a hotel in LP but had to direct the taxi driver with the use of the LP map. Things got confusing as a one way sytem added to the drama. We finally reached the road and found the hostel on the second floor of the building. We got a double room but found the hostel to be very sociable and friendly - we knew we couldn´t stay here for long!
3. Miraflores
Miraflores is the rich affluent and rather pretty part of Lima. We walked along the roads and down to the beach to watch some surfing and listen to the deafening roar of the pebbles being washed up the beach and dragged back down by some powerful waves. We walked through several parks and watched many Peruvians running past us and the older generation were partaking in a little TaiChi. We tried to find the Paragliding office but found it very difficult to locate so instead went on a search for the Shopping Centre. Larcomer Shopping Centre was built into the side of the dramatic cliffs giving killer views from all the cafes and restaurants. Lisa was pleased to locate a Starbucks and drink some truly tasty coffee. We also located i-Peru a fantastic chain of tourist information. The lady listened to our questions and answered appropriately (a rare trait in these kulak countries) but she was slightly thrown by a question about horse-riding.
4. Calum arrives
Just then, Calum arrive. Luckily for Charlie, this meant an unexpected night of luxury in a posh hotel, as those of us on 3 week trips have lots to spend!
5. Lisa’s night alone
When Calum and Charlie met up Lisa decided to treat herself with a giant slice of edam, crusty bread, red wine and some little chocolates. The best meal that has been had thus far on our travels. Lisa enjoyed her first night alone but it was probably something to do with the wine.
Lima Central:
6. Hotel España
The next day, the 3 of us all jumped in a cab and moved hotels, from the Miraflores district (which was very nice) to the Central Lima district (which was quite scary but more convenient). The hotel we moved to was a rambling old mansion in the centre of Lima that was in great need of repair. It was full of huge sculptures and had a display cabinet full of skulls and bones. At the top of the hotel was a lovely rooftop café surrounded by a sprawling jungle of assorted plants, tortoises and dogs. Many of the tortoises got kicked out of the way when waitress granja needed to get past them, but it didn’t seem to do them any harm. Lisa's room consisted of a small shed on the roof of the hotel, and had the interior of a nun's cell. Many harassments were experienced here from an over amorous young kulak who very much wanted to see inside (her room).
7. San Franciscan Monastery
One day we visited an old church that had some catacombs. We had a lightening quick tour around the underground cavern, which was choc-a-block with the bones of old Catholics. The tour guide wouldn't wait for the group to assemble before she began her pigeon English ramblings, so often the last of the group would just be arriving as she was finishing and squawked "follow me please" for the hundredth time, and then the cycle continued. All the bones were arranged by type, so there were pits full of only femurs, and then some pits only of skulls etc. Some of the pits were meters deep.
8. Paragliding in Miraflores
Later on in the Lima trip we decided to go paragliding in the Miraflores area of Lima. This is the area with the beach and huge drops off the cliff. We turned up to the very ramshackle operation and watched other people taking off and landing as we waited for our turn. Soon enough we were called forward. Calum went up first and got flown over the business district and between the luxury high rise hotels. Lisa and Charlie were next, but by this time the wind had changed direction so we got flown over the cliff tops (80m high) and the sea. Charlie's instructor was crazy and proceeded to embark on a series of lurching loops and twists (whereas everyone else had a nice calm ride). Lisa's instructor soon followed suite, not wanting to be outdone. The flights lasted longer than they were meant to because the change in wind direction meant we couldn't land where we had taken off from, so instead we landed in a small landscaped park with an old ornate lighthouse in it, much to the surprise of the bemused park visitors.
9. Pachacamac
On our last day in Lima we planned to visit some pre-Incan ruins and horse ride around them. As we were walking to the bus stop along a busy dual carriageway, there was a loud screech of tires and we looked just in time to see a young boy step out in front of a bus. The bus couldn't stop in time and the boy was catapulted down the road. All the traffic screeched to a halt and the boy's father, who was obviously distraught, ran out into the road and picked up the little limp body and started running around with it. Calum went forward to offer his services and the beg the father to just put the boy down until an ambulance came, but by this time the police had turned up and the little boy got driven to the hospital in a police car. The most shocking part for us was the way the little boy was being dragged around, even though unconscious, as certainly in Britain people are generally aware never to move a body after an accident. Whether this man didn't know, or if raw panic just took over, we hope that the little boy survived.
After the shock of the accident, we continued on our way to the bus stop. It was here while we were waiting for a bus that a crazy American man approached us and told us that he had been robbed. He then asked us to go to Western Union for him to get money wired. We all looked at each other and then at him, and explained as nicely as we could that he was obviously a menace and under no circumstances was he going to get any money from any of us. He then proceeded to tell us how dangerous it was where we were and that we were going to get mugged and Charlie was going to have his watch stolen. Luckily he ran off when he realized that we hadn't taken the bait, and we hopped on our bus.
After a very long bus journey, we arrived at the village where the ruins are located just outside of. We stopped for some lunch at a hideous comedor, and then walked through the desert for about 30 minutes to get to the entrance of the ruins. We enquired if it was possible to hire horses to trek around the site and were told no. How disappointed were we! Not only do we hate ruins, but now we had to WALK around them! (It was very very hot). Nonetheless, we made it round the entire site and then had more food at the site café. He he.
11.The Inquisition
We visited a museum on the Spanish Inquisition that had been recommended in LP, was free and had guides in English. The latter one did not turn out to be true! The museum might have been amazingly interesting but we didn’t understand a thing. The information boards were well set up on torture equipment and looked well designed. We stared at the wax people in various torture positions and felt a bit spooked in the underground torture chambers where it all took place. It reaffirmed the stupidity of religion to all of us. We only wish we could have understood a little bit more and was therefore a bit disappointing.
12. Local Drinks
In Lima we found the central plaza and sat to eat a cheap meal in a cafe. People kept trying to sell us things and interrupting our meal. We were given glasses of the local drink ´Chicha Morada´, which is highly celebrated and is even on the stamps. All this claim and one would think it is an amazing drink but infact it tastes of cloves and is utterly revolting.
13. Kulaks…
Lisa had a little nunnery room which was very close to a young kulak, who appeared in a towel every time Lisa walked past. He engaged her in a Spanish conversation and asked her to go our dancing. This was put off and postponed many times until Lisa had to hide from the boy until we left for Pisco. She was too polite to let him down --- A lesson learned from the next place that to be brutal is definitely the best policy.
Final Thoughts: Paragliding was less of a climax than we thought but it was fun to get scared while waiting. The area of Miraflores was really nice especially in contrast to Lima Central but both were big smelly city areas and we had had enough after a few days.
Mark out of 10: 5
Next Time........ Paracas
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