Tag: peru

Wedding!

This was the primary reason for coming here! And hey, it rocked. As the bilingual service started I realised the priest had an obvious and clear Dublin accent. Turned out to be known to the extensive family network of John, the guy getting married.

You could see a slight tenderness in John’s steps as he walked into the church – he’d failed to take account of the tropical sunshine and been badly burned on the feet. Poor guy was blistered to hell and looked like he’d been paddling in boiling oil. Still, he recovered just enough to wear shoes to the wedding. Even did a top dance at the reception. Geraldine looked lovely, as brides are supposed to….

Reception – no speeches! Just the dance with John and Geraldine where he removed about five garters. These were then passed to various couples in the group including the father and mother. Kind of interesting to see the former chief of the military in Peru pushing a garter up the leg of his wife, though he had at least changed out of his military outfit worn for the wedding service.

Once that was done the dancing started and the drink flowed…. which moves us on to del Carajo….

Lima

Right – this is a posting from Paracas. Not had much time to post, and even now I only have half an hour before I’m expected to rejoin the group. Not exactly pricey though – it’s 1 soles for half an hour, which adds up to the almighty cost of 16p. I’m coming to the conclusion that the Peruvians aren’t poor because they’re exploited or lazy or uneducated or anything – in fact they come across as intelligent, industrious and eager. No, the real reason they’re skint is because they’ve no concept of the value of money. Our laundry for four people has just come to a little of two pounds….

Of course, this cafe isn’t the most amazing – tiny desks, a cranky keyboard, marenge music blasting out and an ancient Dell Optiplex. Now I know where those old corporate PCs end up.

So – Lima. It’s a bit grimy, but hey, it’s a third world capital. The taxis are mostly these tinny Daewoo Ticos driven by wonderfully optimistic drivers who beep at anyone who looks like they might be tired and in need of a lift. It’s 10 Soles to most city destinations, 15 Soles if it’s across town or at night. 7 Soles if it’s in the same district, and 5 Soles anywhere reasonably close. Other prices don’t seem to exist.

Hotel Lost

Zgubilismy sie i to jak gupki. Wysiadajac z taksowki w pospiechu, nie wzielismy wizytowki i teraz siedzimy w kafejce szukajac adresu naszego hotelu.

When a large group goes out together it’s inevitable that the group splits into small units. Myself and Romana went off in search of a backpack but neither of us checked if the other one knew where our hotel was. But that’s ok, a taxi driver’s bound to know where it is. Er…. No! So anyway, a cheerful day of ambling around, trying to explain what we wanted in ridiculously non-existant Spanish (asking for food or a taxi is one thing, trying to buy a sleeping bag liner or rucksack is an entirely different proposition…) and, basically, quite enjoying being lost. It’s not so bad.

Eventually the internet and a friendly tour guide rescued us. So it’s not all bad :o)

The taxis here are great comedy if you feel brave. These little optimistic looking Daewoo Ticos drive around hoping to pick up lifts. They’re very cheap and cheerful, largely unlicensed, and are probably more dangerous to your health than the muggers and and thieves that everyone keeps worrying about.

Oh – a handy tip – the Nationwide building society offers free cash withdrawals worldwide.

So don’t do like I did and, on the first day, leave it sticking out of a cash machine. Thankfully I have at least four other credit and debit cards so I should be pretty safe….

So just two days in, one lost debit card, and two lost tourists…. We’re in trouble!