Our stay in Lima, Peru

Today was Day 2 in South America and Day 2 in Lima, Peru. Our Spanish has improved dramatically! Hardly anyone here speaks english. Bed and Breakfast Lima Casa Guadalupe was a good guesthouse to start our trip with. Joop and Guadelupe, the owners, have really taken good care of us. Guadelupe has not only taught us a couple of spanish words but also how to use the local bus system.

We took a bus to Lima Center today for 1.20 sol each. (Thats about R4 which is quite a bargain!). The bus driver does not wait for you to find a seat before he speeds off again. You need to hold on tight to stop yourself from falling.

South African taxi drivers are known for their chaotic and unpredictable driving style. Here in Lima our taxi drivers will fit right in! The traffic here is a bit nerve wrecking. They don’t drive extremely fast but they stop abruptly and drive really, really close to each other.  Also, the driver sits on the left and they drive on the right-hand side of the road which already confuses me.

We are taking a bus to a smaller town tomorrow. The town’s name is Paracas. We are using Cruz del Sur bus company which seems to be the preferred company according to internet reviews as well as other travelers we met here. It’s not the cheapest option but safe and reliable.

Lima is a big city with tons of people. There are many shops and lots of cute souvenirs to buy. We are not quite in the market to buy souvenirs just yet. Lima Center has so many different local restaurants and bars. Many people sell fruit and ice-cream on the street. So you definitely won’t go hungry. With our basic map of Lima Center we saw old cathedrals, museums and old historical buildings.

We saw a huge market place that sells almost anything. I found the whole plucked chickens and ducks hanging around quite interesting. They also have a China Town and lots of Chinese restaurants.

Not suprizing but Lima also has McDonalds, KFC and Burger King.  What was rather strange is that they have many casinos!  I’ve seen about fifteen different casinos already- they are all illuminated with bright lights.  It’s quite ironic to have so many gambling places in a city with such a lot of poor people.