Lima, Peru

I`m in Lima!

But DAMN was it a long trip to get here.

Friday night, Sandra and I took the night bus heading up north to La Paz, which is still in Bolivia. We got there at 6am, and took another bus to Copacabana. Copacabana is a town on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca, and was quite touristy, and Sandra and I spent a few hours there. From there, we took a taxi to the Peru-Bolivian border, and crossed the border by foot. I did it once before when crossing from Kosovo to Macedonia, and I love it, it just feels so cool. Of course we took pictures while walking across the border. Hey, we`re tourists and we know it.

From there, we took another bus for 2 hours to Puno, a city in Peru. We spent the night there, and next morning, we went to see the "floating islands", a tourist attraction of Puno.

They are little islands in Lake Titicaca, made from layers and layers of totota reeds, and so they are floating in the water. The ground is soft because its just made from these reeds. Their houses were also made from these reeds, thus obviously making the totora reeds incredibly important for these Uros people.

The Uros people came there about 500 years ago, and its incredible to think these people live like this even today. Although now its a little over-commercialized, and they are quite aggressive in trying to sell souvenires to tourists, the island, their houses, their way of life is truly "real".

One thing i`ve noticed here in Peru, is that, compared to Bolivians, Peruvians are more aggressive in trying to recruit customers. Taxi drivers, waiters in restaurants, salesmen in stores, even hostel owners. Maybe its culture here, but I also think its becuase Peru recieves a lot more tourists than does Bolivia. So maybe Peruvians are more used to handling tourists, and making money off them. And they also have no shame in blatantly lying to tourists in order to get a little money out of their pockets.

Sunday afternoon, after we saw the "floating islands", we took a 3 o`clock bus heading towards Lima. Our first bus, to Arequipa was 5 hours, then we had to transfer buses in Arequipa. The bus we were on from Puno to Arequipa was really new, equipped with a tv (they showed 2 movies!), bathroom, and even on-board food service. I felt like i was on a plane. Oh, and it was so funny becuase they even played a game of BINGO on the bus...! It was like a mix of Bingo and Jepoardy, because if you answer some questions right (like the name of the bus-attendant, or where the emergency exits were located), you get to choose a number! We did`t play, but we enjoyed watching. Next bus ride, we`ll be sure to play.

So anyways, we were expecting at least the same level of comfort in the bus from Arequipa to Lima, since this ride was much longer, about 16 hours. But NOOOOO. This bus had NO washroom, tv didnt`work, seats were smaller!!! Obviously we were like "what the hell", but what can you do....

The bus ride itself was fine, except for the fact that I had forgotten to bring aboard my anti-biotics that the doctor gave me when i got sick last week. I think that is probably why, but during the night, my stomach started to hurt like hell! Sheesh, stupid move asuka. But now i will know for next time, yes. Do not forget pills!

We FINALLY got to Lima around 3pm on Monday. We are staying with Sandra`s friend, Leonie. Last night, she took us out to see a bit of the city. Lima is huge, with a population of 8 million people....so like almost 3 times that of Toronto! I didn`t know it was that big.

We only saw a little bit of the city last night, but so far i`m not really liking Lima too much. The area we saw was the really rich district, with a Sheraton hotel, casinos, and a big american-type shopping centre. With the ocean and palm trees, I really felt like I was in Miami. For me, it was a bit of a turn-off.

It was a sight you can never see in Bolivia. Peru is much richer than Bolivia, thus I also think the gap between the rich and poor is greater in Peru than in Bolivia. I mean, there are rich people in Bolivia, but i don`t think they quite measure up to the wealth of some Peruvians.

I`m spending another day here in Lima, so i`ll write again later...although it might not be till the trip is over. Chao amigos.