Last stop, Lima

Lima's Plaza de Armas
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From the mountains of Cusco, we descended over the ocean to Lima's seaside airport. It was, as it nearly always is in Lima, overcast and gray. We had the great misfortune to arrive in rush hour traffic. If you haven't caught my previous descriptions of Peruvian driving, let's just say rush hour wasn't pleasant.

We rolled back into the Joseph's hostel. He had one night in Lima, but also all of the next day since our flight didn't leave until about midnight. We flew into Lima the day after the London terror plot was busted, and so we were worried about getting to the airport early and sans water bottles.

I, along with the Peruvian national dog, thank you for taking a gander at my travel logs.
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My sister had been studying in Lima for several weeks, so the main activity was to meet and have lunch with her host family. We also went to Museo de la Nacion (see review).

After lunch, we mostly killed time until we caught a taxi to the airport. Our driver was a volunteer firefighter, who told us how he had helped a woman give birth in the street the day before. She had been traveling in his taxi. He also explained that all Lima's firefighters were volunteers, and that fires often took days to put out because the government sometimes didn't even give the volunteers money for gasoline or enough water.

The extra security, and the fact that the airlines oversell the planes by about 10 percent, made the aiport a little hectic. Any how, after many delays and misadventures, highlighted by my sister being at the airport the day after her flight left, we did all make it home.

I'm sure there are those who adore Lima, but for me it seemed like a good stepping stone before leaving Peru. To leave directly from Cusco, Arequipa, Colca or Machu Picchu would be terribly depressing. But if you go to Lima first, you start to feel like you're ready to go home. Still, I don't want to go on an anti-Lima diatribe because I haven't spent enough time there.

But, in summation, the trip was wonderful. Peru has so much to offer. The countryside is beautiful, from the sea to the deserts, the the highest mountains to the deepest canyons. The people are marvelous, friendly and inviting. And the history and culture, or more accurately, the multitude of histories and cultures, make Peru fascinating. I hope you can go, and I hope you love it as much as I did.

Thanks,

Tom.