Travel to Lima (July 5, 2006)

The buses leave for Lima every twenty minutes or so, so we were in no rush to get to the bus station this morning. We had breakfast at the hostel again, feeding the parrots for the last time before catching a taxi into Ica and catching a bus around 10:40. The bus ride Lima took around 5 hours, and some of the views along the ocean were great – steep cliffs, big waves, and deserted beaches. The man sitting beside me had been on a bus for quite a while – he came from Arequipa and was on his way home to Huancayo. He was an engineer and worked for a mine. We had a nice chat and he kept trying to get Lincoln & I to come and stay with him and his family (wife and two small boys) in Huancayo. He took down my email address and said he would get his son to write to me because he was learning English. He also smelled of whisky and said he had been drinking a lot the night before and his wife was going to kill him!

We arrived in Lima around 4:00 and caught a taxi to Hotel Espana. Some guys inside the bus station were trying to get us to pay 12 soles for the taxi so we headed outside and caught one for 8. We realized that we actually only had seven soles between the three of us, so we asked the guy if that was okay and he said sure. Hotel Espana is located in central Lima, just a couple of blocks from the Plaza de Armas and right beside the San Francisco Monastery. It must have been an old mansion or something because the inside of the building is all high ceilings, wide hallways, wooden floors, and it is filled with gaudy artwork and big statues. The top floor is a very leafy restaurant, and our room was on this floor as well. We ended up switching rooms to one that included a bathroom and was quieter.

After getting settled in, we headed out to go for a walk around the Plaza and look for somewhere to eat. Lima has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site because of its colonial architecture, and the Plaza de Armas certainly didn’t disappoint. It is surrounded by the Cathedral, the Bishop’s House, the Governmental Palace and the City Hall, all of which are gorgeous buildings. It looked really beautiful at night, with the buildings all lit up. Jessica had spent some time walking around this area when she was in Lima three weeks ago, so she took us to a good seafood restaurant that she had scoped out. She was determined to have fish and ceviche on her last night before leaving Peru because up until now she hadn’t tried it yet. After dinner we walked around a small market that was beside the river (that has no water in it!). We wandered around a bit more, Jess bought some last-minute souvenirs, and then we headed back to the hostel. Jessica was leaving at midnight to catch her 2am flight, so we were doggedly trying to stay up late enough to see her off. We spent some time on the Internet and Jessica repacked her bags, loaded up with all the stuff that we were sending home with her (thanks again!!!). We sadly said goodbye to Jessica, but we know we will see her again in less than two months. It will be strange to go back to travelling with just the two of us again. I had a terrible coughing fits most of the night so neither of us slept well.