Lost in Lima

BACK to civilsation and a normal hight above sea level! I am so happy to not be in the mountains. As nice as they are, I don't like the cold or the feeling that I'm being hemmed in by all those peaks. I need to see the sea, I enjoy being in cities and I need to be able to walk up stairs without getting out of breath.

All my pictures of my trip through the Andes look blue skied, colourful and cool. It was a fascinating leg of the journey but I don't think I'm very well suited to life so far up in the clouds and so far away from the sea.

After another gruelling 20 plus hour bus journey I descended on the city, arriving in the beautiful late afternoon light in Bohemian Barranco with an Argentinian guy who was travelling around and performing in the street to fund the whole thing. I wish I was that daring, technically speaking his trip is not costing him anything!

I was excited to get to Lima even though my mind had gone totally numb on the bus, I found a cheap little hostel in Miraflores with a cool dog and great ever changing crowd. The owners were really friendly, in the evenings we sat and watched films together or smoked and drank up on the roof. La Casa de los Mochileros - I can't recommend it enough for shoe string travellers like me who want to rub shoulders with locals and South American travellers rather than the decidedly anglophone crowd usually found in all the 'party' hostels. 

Lima felt so alive, so 21st century. I went for a late night walk and a glass of wine around Miraflores.

The following day I set out to find one of my friends who had sensibly arrived by plane from Cusco. The day was soon lost to beers with other friends and Liman Chinease food and then more beer and booze. Cultural.

I'm terrible at pool, but then I always knew that.

A drunken saunter around the craft markets in Lima landed me with a brand new amazing leather bag. So happy!