So I got a taxi to meet my friend in her house and then we caught a bus into the city centre. The first thing that I noticed was that there was a lot more traffic going into the city than an any other direction and also that the bus was fully packed instead of just half full as my previous journeys had been.
Although I had not noticed it myself, my friend reminded me that the thing she missed most about Lima buses when she was travelling in Spain was the music, and for the first time I realised that in the background clear and loud was the music, a light rock and pop of the 80's playing through the radio, mixed with recent tunes and latin songs that were unfamiliar to me.
I guess I had not noticed them before as I was always distracted with the view outside and with my friends being beside me, but now that it was pointed out I cannot think of many short bus journeys between stops anywhere else where you can listen to Bon Jovi pumped through the speakers. Maybe on a long journey sure, but just around and about town I'm not so sure.
Lima is a real mix of old and new, rich and poor and on a journey if you stay in a taxi or on a bus long enough you will go past both Spanish colonial buildings, burnt out factories, modern casino complexes, rluxury apartments and everything in between.
I have also not mentioned that since I arrived in Lima the weather has been a moderate temperature, with little or no chance of suntanning, the occasional spot of rain but mostly it has been light grey overcast most of the time. It is a shame as there are some great places to visit in Lima, but the quality of the photos taken will be less through lack of actual sunlight.
Our first stop took us into the centre of town and here my friend was moved to remind me that this place was full of thieves and pickpockets and that I should not take out my camera in public, or even show it unless I was about to use it and then as quickly as possible. Once off the bus we went to a huge cathedral that was all decked out in Purple and filled with a huge congregation that were singing and praying together. Aparently there is a whole story about a painter that survived a earthquake untouched while the rest of the residents died that explained it all, but I will have to check up on the internet later for the full story in English.
My friends English is good, but there are some words and ideas that are unique to Peru and also some that you just never seem to come across in the text books or studies and so even the simplest things can be impossible to properly explain to a tourist, but she did a very recommendable job of trying.
We walked through the town and we both spotted a buy lightly pat another mans open flapped satchel as he went past, but they guy with the bag was oblivious, so it was lucky that it seemed there was nothing of interest as the man went past, but to be honest he would have had to be super quick to get in and out travelling in the opposite direction as he was, so I think it was more out of habit than a genuine attempt to rob him.
My friend also wanted to show me the central plaza, where the president lived and the Catacombs where the bones of over 70,000 poor souls rests, but fate was against us this time. I was still feeling a bit iffy on the belly, day 4 now and counting, but I felt better than the previous days. However, once we reached the plaza there was a sign saying that it was closed for restoration only today, so any other day and it would not have been so bad.
The place was most famous for holding the bones of the Spaniard who found and conquored Peru, but I am more interested in the statue of the guy that liberated Peru from the Spanish years later.
My friend had to return home in order to prepare for her job starting tomorrow, so we took a brief walk down by the poluted river before we caught another bus back to her neck of the woods, and the finally I took a taxi down to Miraflores again to see what the place looked like during the day.
There seemed to be plenty of restaurants, casinos and places to shop, but the prices were so much above the normal for Peru that I could tell that this place was tourist central without even having noticed that there were plenty of signs in English as well as Spanish. I was going to try and grab something to eat, but then I remembered my friends advice that I should only eat in a place that had plenty of locals, but the only places that were like that were the small diners that were serving foods that I could neither recognise not pronounce from the menu.
So I wandered around for an hour, spotted a few night clubs and a bowling alley that I almost went into til I rememebred that it was expensive by anyones standard so decided against it and then just returned to my friends house to catch up on my emails and watch a bit of television.
Despite my intention to take another long bus journey to Piura I failed to take into consideration that the bus was not only a stopping service, but was also needed to be booked a few days in advance and so I have been unable to take the bus on the day I wanted and not to muck up further my plans I chose to book online a midday flight of the 29th instead, which gets me into town just after when I was meant to via the bus.
I got a good nights sleep and I still cannot believe that I am staying with the relatives of friends that hardly know me or can speak my language. I wonder how my sisters or uncle would react if I sent them a text saying that a friend was coming to visit their city for a few days and would they mind meeting them, giving them a place to stay and showing them around the city ... oh and that my frends do not speak English. It is a completely different way of living out here, everyone are potential friends of everyone and they are so open and trusting that it will be hard for me to adjust back again to being a bit cagey and paranoid when I have to leave.
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