Day 15 - Peru - Final Day in Lima

Our GAdventures tour was over, but I had booked a full day of touring with another company and we were picked up at 9 am. The tour was called the Shantytown tour and we visited some of the poorest parts of Lima.

We first went to a market, held daily. Many people do not have refrigerators and must buy their food as needed.

Our guide took us into some of the different neighbourhoods and talked about their way of life. Many of them are squatters and don't own their house or land. Most of them weren't born in Lima, but came from other cities and towns in Peru.

Despite booking over a month ago and receiving a confirmation email yesterday, the tour we were supposed to go on in the afternoon got cancelled. Instead, the driver dropped us off in the Barranco district, next to where we had stayed in Miraflores.

The Barranco area is a stark contrast to where we had just come from. We were thirsty and hungry so we found a restaurant for some lunch. I played it safe, stomach-wise, and ordered some fettuccine Alfredo.

After that, we walked down to the ocean where I dipped my feet in the water. The Pacific was much closer in this district, and there was a pedestrian bridge crossing the freeway.

We came across a young girl in a pink 'princess' dress getting her photos taken. She had just turned 15, a big event in a girl’s life - well, in Barranco anyway.

The district is artsy, full of outdoor murals and beautiful colonial architecture.

Our driver picked us up right on time and took us to the Larco Museum. It is a well-curated museum with English signs too. The grounds are quite ext ensive and I enjoyed a cup of hot tea in the restaurant after going through the exhibits.

The original plan was to have supper there, but we just weren't hungry. There was a Peruvian cactus on the grounds that was most interesting and I also enjoyed photographing the long vines and ferns growing in the gardens.

Again our driver picked us up and took us back to our hotel to collect our luggage, then it was on to the airport. Being in Lima traffic for almost an hour was sensory overload and I closed my eyes on more than one occasion as the driver (or other drivers) narrowly missed a collision.

Our flight leaves at 12:35 am, going through Houston, then arriving home just after 4 pm. My first priority will be to catch up on sleep, then starting going through the photos from this wonderful trip!

Day 14 - Peru - Puno to Lima

We didn't have to leave the hotel until 9 am which was nice. I had a super light breakfast as there seems to be no sense in overdoing it. Two more members of our group of 15 have succumbed to illness on this trip. That makes the total at about 12, I think.

Surprisingly, there is no airport in Puno, so we had to drive to the nearby city of Juliabo, which is about an hour away. We drove through the main part of that city, up one street, down another, turning, turning. It seemed like the driver was lost but we eventually got to their airport.

It was a crowded place and we were told to take the locks off of our luggage. Why? They had no X-ray machine and they had to go through our luggage by hand. That surely slowed the check-in process but there was no rush. Our plane wasn't there when our ticket said it was boarding time.

It was a 90 minute flight and I was able to nap. Lima is overcast, but lots warmer. It's about a 40 minute drive to our hotel. Once checked in, I went by myself to a market, which was a brisk 20 minute walk from the hotel. It felt good to 'hoof it' and be on my own for a bit. I didn't find many good bargains so I headed to the ocean.

I had promised myself that I would dip my toes in the ocean before I left Lima. When I got to the park I had visited before, I realized the ocean was much further away then I remembered. There were many flights of stairs down and another busy road to cross. It was the getting back up that I dreaded. It was about 5 pm and beginning to get dark. And crossing a busy road here in Peru is easier said than done. Pedestrians take their life into their hands when doing so.

I went back to the hotel, then I met the group for one last supper. Only part of the group came because some people had to be at the airport later on this evening. We walked to a restaurant Pele knew and it was a very busy one. I decoded just to have bread and the salad bar and there were lots of good choices. Quinoa salad is becoming one of my favourites and I will be looking for recipes using it once I get home.

We said our goodbyes once we got to the hotel and headed to our rooms. It's hard to believe we won't all be going somewhere together tomorrow!