Lima to Arequipa

2/6/09 Lima contd

After writing the blog we returned to the hotel to join the others for a few Cuba Libres
(rum and cokes) after which we all went to the lively end of town, Miraflores, which is like a mini Vegas on the coast .There are casinos, big hotels, eateries, bars etc. We went ten pin bowling and played crazy bowling: bowling blind, on one leg, backwards and after being spun round. It was a really good laugh and we all ended up on our arses with very low scores!! We then headed out to the bars and found ourselves gate crashing another overland groups Karaoke night.....we were brilliant as you can imagine!
Bit of a late one but good fun.

3/6/09 Lima

After a slow start we attempted the changing of the guard for real. We arrived in the square which was closed off to the public and you couldn´t get close as there were masses of policeman blocking the way. It seems the president was in the palace for an engagement!! After watching all the ceremonials for a while we had a quick bite before going to another of Lima´s many impressive Plazas for photos.
We are staying with a family for a few days at Lake Titicaca soon and so we spent some time buying gifts for or hosts.
We then visited the Monasterio de San Francisco which is a monastery with catacombs below where an estimated 70000 human remains are !! The monastery has lots of valuable collections of paintings including some by the students of Reubens. Its library looked just like a film set from Harry Potter !!! The catacombs are a maze of underground tunnels with displays of human skeletal remains. Phil had a go at some American tourists who kept taking photos despite being asked not to. They were so bloody rude to the guide he couldn´t keep his mouth shut and told them to have a bit of respect and that the church was older than their country!!! You go Phil !!!
We took a quick look at the Cathedral and craft markets before hopping on a tour bus. We spent most of the tour in a traffic jam though ! We then went to see Lima´s Guinness World record breaking fountain display in on of the parks we had seen on the bus tour. There were lots of huge fountains in the park, some dancing to music, some you could walk under and jump over, some 90 foot high and the biggest display set to a half hour music and laser display....brilliant and all for 90 pence.

4/6/9 Lima to Huacachina

Very early start for a drive through southern Lima slums to Pisco where we took a boat ride to the Ballestas islands which are said to be "the poor mans Galapagos". On the way to the islands we were shown a Nazca rock drawing of a candalabra believed to have been used to navigate vessels. At the islands we saw huge colonies of birds including cormorants, pelicans, humboldt penguins and much to Phils delight boobies !!! There were large groups of sealions all over the beaches and rocks and a group came very near the boat and played for a while.....lovely.
On the way back into the harbour some dolphins came and played near to the boat which was a real bonus too. We had freash fish for lunch sitting in the sun looking at the ocean being serenaded by a Peruvian Pan Pipe band...heaven.
Next we headed for Huacachina from where we are dune bubbying and sandboarding. We got on the buggies and tore round the dunes at high speed stopping at the top of some big steep ones to sand board down !! The sand boards were snow boards which you lay on and launched head first down to the bottom....lots of wipeouts but brilliant fun. We spent the night camping out under the desert stars after a very drunken night of Pisco sours and a chicken barbecue and Phil raved to dance music???

5/6/09 Huacachina to Nazca

We woke early to see the desert sunrise and found our sleeping bags all wet with condensation . We were all dry and toastie inside our sleeping bags but it had obviously been freezing overnight. We packed up and headed back to Huacachina for breakfast then back in the truck for an hours drive to Nazca where we are stopping overnight.
We boarded a six seater Cesna fo a flight over the Nazca valley to see the Nazca lines. The lines are etched all over the valley and form patterns and shapes only visible from the air but believed to have been made by the Nazca people 2000 years ago !!! The lines are a mystery as its not known how the pictures are so accurate, some are said to be astranomical and others point to the sun. We was a monkey, condor, spider, dog, spiral and whale as well as other shapes all drawn in the rock....Phil is not convinced by the Nazca people theory and is sure its all the work of aliens !
We had a cook group tea of chilli and had an early night.

6/6/09 Nazca to Arequipa

Had a very long truck day from Nazca to Arequpia and were all glad to get off the truck and head to the hostel for hot showers. We are in a bizarre room with glass walls...mmm!
We all went out for dinner in a restaurant recommended by Oasis. It serves a trio of meat steaks: Alpaca, Ostrich and beef steaks which we were given on a hot skillet and the waitresses gave us all a paper bib to stop the fat splashes. We liked the Alpaca the best !!
It was the most money we have spent on a meal since we have arrived....12 whole pounds including drinks and of course pudding for Phil !!