Peru – The Land Of Paddington Bear
God I really have learned to hate early morning flights. We were up at 3.30 to catch our flight to Lima and were exhausted for the rest of the day. The hotel had arranged for a collection from the airport so before we knew it we were ensconced in a new hotel, new city, new country. How strange it feels to have a new currency and new culture to deal with, we had only just got used to Mexico and then it’s on again.
First impressions of Peru? It is the second largest desert city in the world but the buildings do not seem to go over 1 or 2 storeys. There are minibuses full of people travelling everywhere and the number plates are different colours. The people are a mix, pale skins, blue eyes short and tall. Both O and I were also surprised by the fashions – the most in tune to UK fashion that any country has been. Kids stare a lot at Josh and O but it is mainly curiosity, they have stopped people mid conversation! It is also cooler than Mexico – just long sleeves cooler but I think the constant drastic changes in temperature are giving me a cold – hope I’m wrong.
After a short rest at the hotel we ventured out to explore. There is the main square about 5 mins walk away. We arrived to what looked like the changing of the guard at the palace. Everyone had to stand on the other side of the street – far back. The courtyard was guarded by men with guns and a couple of tanks for good measure. The changing of the guard was accompanied by a brass band and the choreographer had obviously taken a leaf out of the Ministry Of Silly Walks as there was a lot of fancy pirouettes and gun swirling. I don’t think we were supposed to find it that funny.
Couples and families were all out for a Sunday evening walk. There are no pushchairs – babies get carried around under a blanket in the arms of their parents. Kids were playing with the pigeons and everyone was eating ice cream – we could have been in Trafalgar square.
Tags: South America, Travel
roupiesontour
Leave a Reply