Check-in numero uno (that may or may not be spanish). Well, in breaking news... I have indeed survived the brain numbing 40 hour journey to Lima. According to a cute little Columbian boy on the flight, this is quite an achievement in itself. To quote the conversation:
Aussies: We´re going to Peru.
Kid: I hate Peru.
Aussies: Why?
Kid: There´s crazy people there.
Aussies: Because they rob you?
Kid: No, because they kill you.
So, conquered .... Bris-Syd-Auckland-Santiago-Lima. Bris to Auckland fairly uneventful. Auckland to Santiago a very painful journey. Inflight entertainment was a cracker. The éntertainment system for the lady beside me broke and got stuck on The Devil wears Prada for the entire flight. Needless to say, she went crazy and had to be locked in the toilets for the bulk of the trip. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the soothing sounds of Natacia Perez (I may or may not have made that name up) who sang all the greatest Beatle tunes Bossa Nova style. I´ve heard everything.
Another amusing fact: the entire plane launched in to the worlds longest applause when we landed safely in Lima.
Must be an unusual occurence. THEN, after killing 7 hours in Santiago airport (with two other solo travelling Aussies - David and Lauren), we boarded our flight for Lima. After settling in comfortably amongst 300 of our closest Peruvian friends... we waited for 20 minutes. Then a spanish speaking announcement came over... then all of a sudden, everyone was up out of their seats and looked rather unhappy. An american guy spotted our three little confused faces and came over and explained that the plane was suffering with some éngine issues and we were going to sit on the plane for another half an hour while the local engineers attempted to fix it. NOW, if it were Qantas engineers fixing the problem, I´d have felt a little better. But the (presumably) cocoa leave sucking engineers of Santiago didn´t instill great confidence.
Fortunately, an hour later we were all sent packing off the plane. Our newly found American friend came over and had a chat with us. He proceeded to tell me ´Be incredibly careful in Lima. If held up at knifepoint, hand it over. Everything. Don´t get in a taxi unless it´s an official taxi. Make certain it´s an official taxi otherwise, you´ll be robbed at the very least. Don´t even consider carrying your pack unless on the front you, they´ll slash it. Be careful... strangle robberies are the robbing tactic of the month. You should survive it, but you´ll be left with nothing´ etc. Was very reassuring as we taxied out on our new (and functioning!) plane.
Arrived at Lima Airport at the grand old hour of 1am (such a delightful time of day in Lima). Cleared Immmigration without problems but then had my first encounter with the hit and miss tactics of South American customs. Over here, they don´t check everyone´s stuff... they just line you up and you walk past these little checkpoints and hit a button. If you hit the button and you get a green light, you´re good to keep moving (and they just assume that you told the truth on your customs card). If you get a red light, you have to go and have your bag searched to check that you were telling the truth on your card. So, we line up. Lauren goes through and bang, red light. David goes through, green light. Then I´m next in line... (oh, the suspense!)... and the guy says to me in broken engrish ´don´t hit the button, just go´... so in my wisdom, I decide I´ll hit the button anyway. As my little hand reaches for the button he grabs me and says ´Í told you NOT to hit the button. Just go straight through´So I did as the kind man said. No customs for me.
Arrive in this little room (clear glass) and search outside for a little card with my name on it. After perusing the other 250 signs and not seeing my name, I finally manage to spot it. I say a couple of quick goodbyes to my newly found friends and I´m out there. The guy looked as excited to see me as I was to see him. Struggled through the crowd... guarding my bags with my life. Fortunately, he was also picking up a couple of other aussies so off we all went. Getting in the car, he suggested that everything go in the boot (apparently it´s not uncommon for people to smash your windows and rob you as you´re driving (errr, stopped I guess?) and the less we had with us in the backseat the better. Anyway, we get in, he locks us in and off we go. My god, the number of people just hovering on the streets (and dogs) too, at 2am is astounding. Red lights are optional. I think it´s preferable not to stop the car in the bad parts of Lima (although, having driven through the city for 45 minutes, I have no idea how you would distinguish the good parts from the bad parts.) It all looks fairly similar to me.
Anyway, pulled up in a shoddy laneway and there it is... The Hotel. My room is nice... although the bathroom reminds me a lot of the Jail Cell I stayed in in Austria (ahh, Fliss... the memories!!) That is, there is no window in the bathroom. Actually, there is a window... but it´s actually just a hole that leads out onto some kind of alleyway (it´s OK mum, I´m on the fourth floor)... but I shut the bathroom door anyway in case any rats decided to come in and keep me company overnight. Safety here isn´t bad. There´s a big tough man who stands at the door all day death staring any would be thieves. Oddly enough, the hotel here which boasts hot water 24/7... has failed to deliver on the promise. I´ve had two showers, both cold. I´m feeling very South American after that experience. Anyway, enough of the detailed Jibberish. I´m exhausted after my 38 hour long experience of the 22nd November. Yes, everytime we thought we were leaving behind the 22nd, we moved on to a new timezone and suffered through more of the 22nd all over again. Take care guys, lots of love (from me and the 5000 friends honking the horns on their car/motorbike looking things outside!)
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