Not sure how I got it right, but arrived at the airport with time to spare and just as well for that. My flight, unbeknownst to me had been scheduled to leave two hours earlier than originally stipulated and I literally made it with seconds to spare before bookings were closed. I was ushered through customs by security, in I would like to think, the same manner offered to that of a diplomat. Managed to miss a mile long international departures queue, only to find that my plane had been delayed by an hour anyway!
Praise must go to LAM Air, an entirely more pleasant flight than SAA – you even get stainless steal cutlery to eat with and actual glasses to drink from, none of that plastic stuff. Must admit, it did cross my mind to pocket the cutlery, who knows, it may have come to use while camping but eventually, I decided against it.
Juan, the shorter than me, Peruvian cab driver, was on time to fetch me and I was whizzed off in a beat-up little Mazda, with the sounds of Michael Jackson blaring out of his speakers, accompanied by a bopping toy dog on the dashboard, except his was a lion, but it pretty much did the same thing.
Arrived past midnight at the smelly, R50 a night, Hotel Espania. Not sure what I would have done without my sleeping bag and blow-up pillow, everything was smelly and I’m not sure when the place was given a proper scrub. I was too scared to venture down to the dark and dingy communal bathrooms and opted instead to go to bed unwashed. At least I had the good sense to book a single, private room, don’t think I’m brave enough yet to share a room with ten other smelly back packers.
Met up with an Israeli tour guide who has been hiking around Peru for the past six weeks and we went off to find breakfast – the biggest bowl of fruit salad I have ever seen! Of interest to mention here; Peruvians seem to have a thing for change. They deny having any, even if you can hear it changling in their pockets. Somehow they have come to believe, that if they don’t have change, the tourist will give in and give them whatever money they have. After endless haggling over the breakfast bill, the amount was eventually settled - after we had to go off to find the correct change.
Breakfast with Yoel was pleasant enough, in fact I think I took it remarkably well when he asked my age and then promptly went on to tell me that I was a bit too old to be wondering off the beaten track so to speak – I didn’t dare tell him that I was soon to be even older in just over a month – hmmph, the youth of today!
After spending the better part of my day loading my blog and setting up flickr.com, I made my way, with yet another dilapidated taxi to the Faracona Grand Hotel, the first stop over of my ten day, Peru tour. It could be Five Star in comparison to where I have been staying, in fact I feel almost remorseful to venture out of its air-conditioned interior – nothing like clean, unsmelly sheets…
Am most pleased at this point in time that I chose the comfort trip as opposed to the original, which was somewhat cheaper and more rustic.
Praise must go to LAM Air, an entirely more pleasant flight than SAA – you even get stainless steal cutlery to eat with and actual glasses to drink from, none of that plastic stuff. Must admit, it did cross my mind to pocket the cutlery, who knows, it may have come to use while camping but eventually, I decided against it.
Juan, the shorter than me, Peruvian cab driver, was on time to fetch me and I was whizzed off in a beat-up little Mazda, with the sounds of Michael Jackson blaring out of his speakers, accompanied by a bopping toy dog on the dashboard, except his was a lion, but it pretty much did the same thing.
Arrived past midnight at the smelly, R50 a night, Hotel Espania. Not sure what I would have done without my sleeping bag and blow-up pillow, everything was smelly and I’m not sure when the place was given a proper scrub. I was too scared to venture down to the dark and dingy communal bathrooms and opted instead to go to bed unwashed. At least I had the good sense to book a single, private room, don’t think I’m brave enough yet to share a room with ten other smelly back packers.
Met up with an Israeli tour guide who has been hiking around Peru for the past six weeks and we went off to find breakfast – the biggest bowl of fruit salad I have ever seen! Of interest to mention here; Peruvians seem to have a thing for change. They deny having any, even if you can hear it changling in their pockets. Somehow they have come to believe, that if they don’t have change, the tourist will give in and give them whatever money they have. After endless haggling over the breakfast bill, the amount was eventually settled - after we had to go off to find the correct change.
Breakfast with Yoel was pleasant enough, in fact I think I took it remarkably well when he asked my age and then promptly went on to tell me that I was a bit too old to be wondering off the beaten track so to speak – I didn’t dare tell him that I was soon to be even older in just over a month – hmmph, the youth of today!
After spending the better part of my day loading my blog and setting up flickr.com, I made my way, with yet another dilapidated taxi to the Faracona Grand Hotel, the first stop over of my ten day, Peru tour. It could be Five Star in comparison to where I have been staying, in fact I feel almost remorseful to venture out of its air-conditioned interior – nothing like clean, unsmelly sheets…
Am most pleased at this point in time that I chose the comfort trip as opposed to the original, which was somewhat cheaper and more rustic.
