Victimised by crime not me

It is both sad and ironic that I had my Nokia N810 was stolen during the scrum to see the priest and celebrate the procession of the 3 kings who brought gifts to baby Jesus. I had in fact watched a foul movie called Three Kings with George Clooney on the bus to Trujillo. It was about the liberation of Kuwait and was supposed to be somewhat comic but I recommend you not to see it. Possibly it was prophetic of my later troubles. I believe I have identified the exact moment of my loss – you can see the priest being chatted up by a pretty girl – another irony?

Insofar as crimes can be victimless I wasn't too bothered by the loss as I have been coveting some other stuff and will cash-in my insurance; but yes I was careless but that said the thief is to blame for his or her crime and I must move on from it.

Traveling to Trujillo I chatted with Jill from NY state, a park ranger and cyclist. She told me how to avoid confrontation with different species of bear so Paddington had better watch out! The road took us in turns through desert and fertile valleys whith much agriculture. I was forever dissuaded of the idea of cycling the Pan Americana which seemed to me both relentless and dangerous.

The next day I booked a driver and we went to some pre-hispanic sites of Huaca de la Luna and Chan Chan. These were at opposite ends of town so couldn't be reached without a driver, costing 100 Nuevo Soles – I have now used all my cheap Soles and the exchange is 4.3 = 1 pound, so about 23 pounds. I also spent 50 Soles on entrances and guides so altogether about 36 pounds but great value.

Huaca de la Luna is the larger and more restored of 2 monuments, the other being Huaca del sol. These belonged to the Moche people and there are fine buildings and an entrance that is magnificent in its scale and ornamentation – it is sad to think that the Conquistadores plundered this beautiful civilisation. There is a good website here and I will add some pics to my Flikr site for which there is a link at the side.

The other place I visited was Chan Chan, the scale of this is phenomenal and and I spent an hour and a half with my diminutive guide, Gisella. You can see more of this at the same website.

Well, this evening I head overnight for Piura where I will stay for at least a month, My friend there Ana says it is a splendid 33 degrees. I am a bit unsure about my accommodation and internet access, but hopefully all will be well. Thanks for the comments and please do leave more on the blog as it encourages me to know that it is being read.

New Year celebrations in Miraflores

At the best of times I am not really New Year person – my parents always seemed to value the importance of being in contact at the ultimate moment of the year but maybe this is a gene I failed to inherit. Notwithstanding, I think it must be the first time I have been away from hearth and home at this time of year. In consequence I was somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of being alone. I needn't of worried as Peruvian hospitality made it a pleasurable transition to 2009, albeit 5 hours later than in UK.

Earlier in the day, after some logistical problems of connecting my PC to a power supply, I finally got it working and was able to have a skype face to face with my wife and daughter. Jennie had a Mac for Christmas and I am happy to comment that its integral camera and sound system works well and without all the gubbins of a camera and headphones. We had a nice chat and Jennie entertained us by pulling faces up close to the camera.

I spent most of the rest of the afternoon uploading my blog in Starbucks. Later I ventured out of my hostal around 10.30, heading for the centre of Miraflores, Kennedy park and where I expected celebrations to be happening. To be honest it just seemed like an ordinary evening with lots of people fast fooding and a decidedly family atmosphere. I was struck that there seemed to be absolutely no drunkenness. Venturing down to the beach area the restaurants seemed to be full with people queuing and some discotheque/bars were beginning to fill.

I had a chat with some English people and found my way back to the park where I joined a small group of Peruvians – we chatted amiably about this and that and at the turn of the hour exchanged polite and warm greetings. There were a few fireworks but not spectacular - all was good natured and genial. Somebody shared their cava with me and after a while we parted and I headed back and to the hostal and replied to happy new year emails of which their were a few.

The next morning around 6 am I was awoken by more fireworks and after breakfast had a Spanish lesson with Melanie my teacher for 8 hours over the next 4 days. I was glad that I had had a fairly restrained new year's eve and Melanie's teaching style was friendly and condident.

In the afternoon I bought El Comercio, the Lima newspaper which interestingly reprised 2009 from a local perspective. Heading for the beautiful Parque de los Olivos. set in a classy and well policed zone of Miraflores a few people wished me happy new year. So I sat on a bench to read my paper.

Noticing a small group of young people some way off, I saw that they were taking some special interest in my arrival. After a while a pretty girl of about 15 walked towards me and announced that she would like to wish me a saludos (greeting) for the new year. I happily agreed and with this she surprised me by laughing while she gave me a kiss on the cheek. I asked her if it was a bet and she agreed it was but it was an innocent game and I cannot imagine the same thing happening in London. She rejoined her friends and after a while they left. It was a nice moment. Nothing much happened the rest of the day although it was very pleasant to stroll through the streets with so little traffic.

So here I sit at the end of the first day in 2009, listening to Nelly Furtado and Mano Chau and supping the last of my very agreeable Peruvian red wine, Taberno Gran Tinto, made from Malbec and Merlot varieties. The bottle says it has a brilliant red colour and an intense and agreeable perfume, both dry and smooth. It tastes good too!

Happy new year and if you read this feel free to leave a nice comment.

Cycling in Lima, Peru

There probably isn't too much to say about cycling in Lima. Quite a few people use bikes but the traffic in the city would be too intimidating for me and one only seems to see bikes here in Miraflores which is quieter and in the parks and back streets, usually for shopping. Often they are of poor quality, probably copies of more well known brands like Trek. A lot of stuff is counterfeited here including money, books CDs and DVDs so I wouldn't be surprised. The cycling weather right now is perfect, usually 24 degrees and sunny with a light sea breeze. At the beach there is one narrow cycling path in places shared with pedestrians and a rail track seems to serve as a cycle path but I didn't see any cyclists.

On my first morning here in Miraflores I met a happy band of cyclists gathering for a ride. As you can see from the photo they probably won't be bothering the UK Olympic team this coming season! I also chatted to another young woman waiting for friend; she told me it wasn't far to the mountains but she wouldn't risk cycling during the weekdays. Traffic here is quite aggressive – cars buses and taxis drive in close formation and only slow down at the last moment before hitting you. They say if you can drive in Lima you are prepared for anything and I can believe it. Horns are in constant use warning others – I am coming through so don't you dare pull out – and they mean it.

The other day I met Ezra from Austin, Texas – he had cycled that huge distance but seemed fairly happy. His bike didn't seem very sophisticated although I noticed a Garmin. You can read his account here. Otherwise, I saw one guy flash by on a Cervello but really cycling here is of necessity rather than a sport - almost all would seem to aspire to owning a car, many of which are old and have dirty emissions, although I noticed 2 taxis converted to natural gas which is cheap and in plentiful supply here in Peru.

So, no cycling for me this week, but I have walked quite a bit and have had one 55 minute jog. It feels as if I am eating less here but maybe this is due to lack of exercise. Otherwise, I am reading an interesting book from a Scottish cyclist/traveler, Cycling to Panama (from Mexico) this is a very good read and can be obtained from Amazon. I am not sure it would be my kind of cycling but he has certainly covered some miles and experienced several countries. I emailed him recently and he has promised to come and chat to Addiscombe Cycle Club if he visits London.

Well maybe I can rent a bike when I get to Piura – we'll see. Enjoy your ride!

Central Lima and Environs

This was a day of full-on tourism. Stuart, my friend from Lima collected me at 9am and we took a bus for 1 Nuevo Sol (about 25p) for a 15 minute ride to the city end of Av. Arequipa. Once there we negotiated busy and dusty roads on our way to the Historical Centre.

My overall impression of central Lima is favourable. It is a real city, both commercial and historic. Although I only experienced a very restricted slice of life it felt at once slightly frightening but also charming and grand. It seemed as if the centre had been in a constant process of change with once fashionable districts now somewhat unkempt, their treasures corroding in the humidity, dust and pollution. At the same time some areas which had hitherto been very downbeat have now been improved, renovated with their historic treasures having been revealed and enhanced in the form of their colonial foundations and the greening of the surroundings.

One of the most striking features is the number of mansions in with ornate balconies in varying stages of decay or renovation. Stuart explained that these screened balconies had once hidden the faces of genteel women of Spanish descent, whose Moorish past had originated a tradition of wearing a sort of half hi jab with one seductive eye made knowable. From the balconies they looked down on the passers by maintaining discrete anonymity.

One of the largest squares contains the presidential palace. From here we were able to witness the changing of the guard, albeit at a distance. The guards, dressed in bold red and blue and accompanied by a pretty good band goose stepped and shimmied across a grand courtyard observed by a small and appreciative crowd. Riot police prevented us from getting too close to the action and the whole process, which happens every 2 hours took at least 20 minutes to complete.

We also visited the convent of San Francisco and although I am not too keen on religious building I was intrigued by the use of this one, housing as it did in many catacombs with the bones of thousands of souls fully viewable and macabre to the extreme neatly sorted and stacked in rectangular and circular vaults.

As you can see this was a day of touristic excess and later we also visited a colonial house with a medical library written in Latin and dating to 16 century. Later we had an excellent lunch including ceviche, marinated raw fish and the pisco sours a cocktail of Pisco a type of brandy, lime juice and whisked egg white.

In the late afternoon we visited a museum demonstrating the rich history of Peru dating back over several civilizations and evidenced by some excellent artifacts. We then went on to the bohemian district of Barranco and watched the sun go down over the Pacific and ending a great day with a couple of beers.

I was pretty tired from all of this and retired early with a glass of Peruvian red!

First days no disappointment.

As I ventured out to walk down Av. Arequipa I immediately noticed the pleasant 23 degrees, bright sunshine, palm tree lined avenue and pleasant sea breeze – sorry! I headed in the direction of the centre of Miraflores which is a peaceful outer suburb between Lima and the Pacific. Many of the houses are grand ex-colonial buildings interspersed with newer office developments with residential districts surrounding the main area. Off to the right are some pyramid ruins which I will visit soon but I headed for the plaza which is laid out with grass and flowers and shady trees. Artists were setting up easels to sell paintings and people were in the process of attending mass in the large Catholic church at the end of the Plaza. I watched the participants each kissing the foot of baby Jesus and there was a carefully crafted nativity tableau. On this Sunday after Christmas it seemed a well-attended and joyous celebration and one of many scheduled throughout the morning.

Later I met Stuart my contact in Lima. He moved here following gaining a First in Computer science and married a Peruvian girl with whom he corresponded on the Internet. Stuart runs a website called enperu (see front page link) where he blogs super-interestingly about life in Peru but particularly about its relics and history. He took me on a super fast walk round the district and we went to the beach and Larco Mar which is a large and brash commercial complex given over to Western attractions including every kind of fast food outlet, so much later I caught up on my emails while sitting in Starbucks. I also had a very nice lunch of Lomo Saltado which is basically sauted beef - Interestingly the the restaurant above us, McDonalds had free wifi so I was able to have a skype chat with my family.

My second day in Lima was supposed to be given over to all kinds of practical objectives but I was agreeably sidetracked by some charming young Peruvians who I met in South American Explorers. If you don't know of it this is a very useful organisation with several offices from where you can (see front page link) plan trips, use the Internet or just chill out. They offer advice and have worked out discounts with hostals and travel agencies. On this day there was a free Spanish class which I joined. Unfortunately he teacher called in sick but his 3 students, myself and 2 young women, one each from Holland and Texas were entertained by 3 Peruvian volunteers and we chatted for nearly 2 hours.

After this we went and had an inexpensive lunch and then headed for the beach. The journey to the beach included crossing a busy 3 lane highway 3 times. Our guides didn't see this as unusual or particularly dangerous but it was somewhat harrowing and had to be negotiated on the way back too. So we now continued to chat, by now mostly in English and although the beach wasn't pristine it was sandy and fairly well-used by the mainly younger set on the long summer break vacation. Eventually we went back and I got to see my first Pacific sunset for 35 years. On the route back we we befriended by a municipal motor cycle security Policeman who told us he would escort us along the road to stop us from being robbed – I rather felt this an improbable outcome given there were 6 of us in broad daylight so maybe he was just a bit bored.

I did manage to achieve some of my more mundane objectives and bought a replacement set of glasses for abut 35 pounds and a Sim card for 3pounds. Hopefully I can now use my mobile. Back at the Hostal the staff team were having an early new year party so the place seemed more festive than usual with a bit of dancing, but by 11pm it had subsided and I slept well after a couple of beers. This morning I noticed a group of runners pass by my window at around 6.30 am so perhaps I will stir myself to follow suit but today is a full day of visiting central Lima and my friend Stuart has promised to share with me its beauty and marbled historical past.

Getting There

In all probability the normal can seem less so when set in the context of 24 hours of wakefulness and 14 hours of flying. Leaving Croydon a t 3.30 am after scraping the ice from the windscreen my kind driver had a nose bleed and we decided I should drive to Heathrow. 2 flights and 21 hours later I arrived safely at 'Home Peru', my hostal in Lima. The journey was relatively uneventful but the Iberia Airways staff were typically laconic and at times rude. I had to put up with 2 sessions of their musica navidena which included favourites like Sing Hosanna, Green Sleeves and a Spanish version of I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!

On reaching Madrid I paid 9 Euros for a modest breakfast which with Pound Euro parity seemed somewhat steep. In London I had chatted to a lady who was off to Colombia to spend 3 months in South America – on meeting her later she was obviously distraught and had been crying. She explained that a cash machine had eaten her only bank card and she had no other funds. Luckily she was being met by friends in Bogata but even after a 40 minute call to HSBC they couldn't offer her any useful advice. I felt sorry for her but perhaps she needed to have planned for such a contingency given the length of her stay. We talked about using ambassadorial services in Colombia but my guess is she could open a new account with a South American bank and have some money transferred.

On arrival at Lima we formed an orderly group waiting for our cases to be off-loaded – this took some 45 minutes but otherwise immigration was a painless experience. I was met by Pedro an amiable and helpful taxi driver and the ride of 35 minutes cost $14. By this time, about 8pm the traffic was light but notwithstanding he impressed me with his close formation driving and maneuvering between lanes. Driving in Peru is always a bit random and later I asked my friend Stuart for top tips for pedestrians. He proffered the need to assess the value of their car relative to your life, meaning cheap cars like taxis are unlikely to avoid hitting you while more expensive ones may think twice! My room and the hostal is basic but OK except the sound of the traffic outside is tiresome. For $12/day including breakfast and free Internet who can complain? After visiting the supermercardo I snacked on cheese, biscuits fruit and Cusquena cerveza and slept well until around 6 am, 11am in the UK.

Christmas Party with Peruvian Ambassador

Peruvian canapes and Pisco sours was the staple of last evening's do at the rather grand residence of His Excellency the Ambassador of Peru and hosted by the Anglo-Peruvian Society. 

Having arrived promptly I was in fact the first of the guests. On being shown into a rather grand salon festooned with art and artifacts. I was rather glad I had opted to wear a tie for this quite classy affair. Billed as a Christmas party it soon got going and a classic cocktail party. The guests comprised an assorted group of embassy officials, Peruvian business people, a good number of couples where one of the partners was from Peru but the other from UK. There seemed to be some VIPs as well but I wasn't introduced.

I chatted happily whilst consuming more than enough Pisco Sours a cocktail famed for its bite and popularised in the West by Ernest Hemmingway and a number of others who hung out in fashionable Lima back in the day. The food was great, some cerviche, raw fish with a salsa dip and an assortment of what looked like sushi but I thing were potato wraps in vine leaves and finally some tasty mini   empanadas.

People were friendly and the Ambassador said a few welcoming words. I made one or two contacts, notably Leonora who is a trustee of a charity based in Piura in the North of Peru were I will be situated next month. I believe it is an organisation devoted to the disabled and hopefully I can make a visit whilst I am there.

One interesting conversation was with an elderly lady, Enid. She claimed that 30 years ago (aged 54)  she became lost on her climb down from Wanu Pichu which is the peak that overlooks Machu Pichu. She lost her way and managed to descend through the semi-tropical forest to the river some 2000 feet below. She was lost for 2 days and nights and was rather expecting to meet her maker when she noticed a man on the other side of the river; he signalled for her to continue to follow the river. But by this time she was pretty desperate so faked a feint and was air-lifted out of the canyon. I can only imagine the effect this must of had on her. Having climbed Wanu Pichu I notice they now require you to sign on and off the climb, no doubt owing to Enid's intrepid misadventure!