Things I Love About Peru

Just a short post today as I have to pack and get my bus for my weekend trip to Ica, which is about 5 hours away (so excited!). However, I do have just about enough time to share some quick impressions of Peru so far. Having now lived here for two months, there are obviously a lot of positives and negatives that have come to my attention (as there would be with any place I guess), but today I'm going to focus just on the positive aspects. So, a few things I like about Peru:

• You can spend the equivalent of £2 on phone credit and it will last for seven weeks, with some to spare (although it does have to be said, my little Peruvian brick that I bought here is normally only used for  practical rather than recreational purposes, but still - two pounds!!!).

• £20 will buy a grocery shop for two weeks.

• If you're willing to forego five star luxury, travelling around the country in buses and coaches is super cheap.

• The traditional Peruvian obsession with colour - I'm a massive colour geek and not everyone agrees with me but in my opinion the more colours the better. Don't expect subtle magnolia hues here. Somehow they find all the colours on the spectrum, throw them altogether in a haphazard fashion, and make it look elegant and classy.

• The street food. I've been warned not to eat it, but I have, and I love it. The chicken empanadas with lime are seriously to die for.

This is far from an exhaustive list, but just a few of reasons why I think Peru is such a great place for people on any budget to explore. 

Off to Ica now. Adios!

Friday 11th July - Bussing to Barranco

Have survived my first Peruvian bus ride, and was pretty relieved to make it out alive. There were a few hairy moments when I said a mental goodbye to everyone I hold dear, but someone must have been watching over me, because I made it. I have learned that there is no elegant way to travel on Peruvian public transport - being packed into the limited space available in the contraption, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with my fellow man at a proximity normally reserved for intimate lovers whilst grabbing onto the pole above my head for dear life, just silently hoping my deodorant had been effective enough to withstand the Lima humidity. Trying to support myself with one arm just wasn't enough I quickly learned, and had to hope my second armpit was also reasonably hygienic as I lifted up my arm to avoid the other being wrenched off. To my surprise, this was not sufficient either, and by the end of the journey I was facing the front of the bus, both hands clutching the metal pole, bum out as far as I could thrust it, and my feet extended as far in front of me as they could get. I'm pretty sure I resembled a constipated monkey.

After having been flung around the inside of a rusty tin in a white-knuckle ride that would challenge the hardiest of adrenaline junkies, my colleagues and I eventually alighted in a district called Barranco - apparently THE place to be on a Friday night. A pretty lively district, I wasn't disappointed. Spent the evening in Ayahuasca  - an amazing bar in the most beautiful historical house. Drank cocktails and had my very first experience eating beef heart - and it was delicious!

Wednesday 9th July - Living in Lima

Fortunately, today was a lot more interesting workwise. Instead of championing the use of herbal remedies for vaginal dryness, was instead championing the sweet red raspberry fruit, before going on to write about the differences between spearmint and peppermint. Feel like I've never been as healthy as now - although I'm sitting all day and probably giving myself eyestrain and storing up blindness for the future, am drinking upwards of 3 green teas a day. And they say office work is dull!

Still getting used to the 10 hour days - pretty brutal, but like the crazy party animal I am I managed to stay up til 9pm yesterday.

And now I've got to know Peru a bit more I would like to end with a few fun facts:

1) It is SUPER cheap. And when I say cheap, I mean cheaper than the cheapest thing you've ever probably encountered (unless of course you've been to Peru yourself). Do whole grocery shop for the week and you could end up with change from a 20 pound note (or the equivalent in Peruvian soles). Not too shabby.

2) It NEVER rains in Lima apparently. And I believe it. Was told it wasn't necessary to bring an umbrella (even though it's winter here at the moment), but being English, of course I couldn't imagine a world sans rain, so I did. But haven't seen a drop of rain so far.

3) Buses here are CRAZY. The word 'sardine' doesn't cut it - there are always so many people packed onto the unstable, questionable-looking contraptions that I'm surprised they can breathe. The drivers are constantly cutting up traffic, tooting their horns and ignoring policeman. And they crash frequently too I hear. Didn't die of shock from that one, I must admit.