The birding is finally under way. Nothing startling, but definitely species I have not encountered elsewhere.
The first exotic identified in the tiny garden of my host family in Cusco was the rufous-collared sparrow. OK - it´s a sparrow, but it is a tiny bit more colourful than the house sparrow found in so many cities. Close on its heels was a chingacho thrush (That´s not spelled correctly but I don´t have the book with me). If there´s a plainer thrush anywhere, I don´t know it.
Yesterday, however, I got outside the city for the first time. Amazingly, the farmland was almost devoid of birdlife, so it didn´t matter that we were bowling along at high speed. The Tipon ruins were almost as disappointing, even though the surrounding scrub looked just the thing to provide good small bird habitat. In the event the first birds I saw were falcons out in the open of the ruins. Reference to my field guide identified them as american kestrels. The last american kestrel I saw was in the Yukon two years ago. In a most un-kestrel manner, they were perching on the walls and taking off to pounce on what I presume were insects in the grass.
Patience in scanning the scrub was rewarded by a few butterflies and three glimpses of humming birds. They were green, which reduces the number of possibilities to only about 15 species. I´ll need a much better sighting to identify these speedsters.
Laguna Huacqupay finally provided some clearly seen birds. The duck was too far away and too black in the evening light to be identified, but I did record definite sightings of andean gulls (a very long way from any sea), andean coots and moorhens.
All very common species, but at least the list is started.
09 July 2007
07 July 2007
Getting to Cusco
Here´s a tip for the traveller between Nazca and Cusco. Don´t accept a window seat when access to the aisle and the onboard toilet of your jumbo bus is blocked by a Peruvian apparently capable of sleeping for the entire 14-hour journey.
The seats recline a long way back, which is fine if everyone is laid back sleeping. When you are apparently the only person on the bus still awake, your bladder is bursting, to exit you have to climb over a complete stranger and the seats in front are almost horizontal, panic is not far away. To make things more challenging I was wearing tramping boots. It´s the easiest way to carry them.
Miraculously I managed to swing one leg over my companion without touching him - and then I found that the aisle was a lower level than the floor of the seating area so my questing foot found only air. Any observer at his point would have been forgiven for thinking that I was attempting to rape an innocent Peruano. The only way forward was to try and ´jump´ the few last inches.
It was not the success I wanted, but the collision elicited merely a couple of protesting grunts before Pedro van Winkle resumed his slumbers. And I was now in the aisle and only kicked two stray legs on my way to el baño in the rear of the bus.
Nature´s call satisfied, the problem was how to get back into my seat. I seriously considered standing until daylight when I supposed (incorrectly as it turned out) that Pedro would awake. Fortunately at this moment the passenger in front of Pedro awoke, took in the stuation with commendable promptness and raised the back of his seat to the upright position. I could now step over a pair of knees with no danger of unwanted contact and resume my own quest for slumber.
I don´t know why I found it so difficult to sleep. The seats were significantly more comfortable that those in the economy section of an aircraft. True, it was rather cold, but not terribly so, and a blanket was provided. So I remember much more of the overnight journey than I would have wished.
One episode stands out. We had set off on good, sealed highways, but at some stage the route switched to unpaved roads. These were slower, but not too bad. All around it was pitch dark unless a road sign glowed in the headlights. Then the lights of a settlement appeared. The route took us through this little town. Although it boasted street lighting the streets were innocent of any bitumen and, indeed, were one continuous pothole held together by shreds of original road surface.
Our multi-wheeled monster crawled through the treacherous, narrow streets with great care. In one lane near the centre small groups of people were huddled round little tables. I thought that the bus must be about to stop and these were hawkers hoping to sell snacks to the travellers. But no, our 21st century chariot ground on until the buildings were left behind and it was safe to move up into 2nd gear. I checked my watch. It was about midnight. I wonder what the villagers were doing in the street at that hour.
The seats recline a long way back, which is fine if everyone is laid back sleeping. When you are apparently the only person on the bus still awake, your bladder is bursting, to exit you have to climb over a complete stranger and the seats in front are almost horizontal, panic is not far away. To make things more challenging I was wearing tramping boots. It´s the easiest way to carry them.
Miraculously I managed to swing one leg over my companion without touching him - and then I found that the aisle was a lower level than the floor of the seating area so my questing foot found only air. Any observer at his point would have been forgiven for thinking that I was attempting to rape an innocent Peruano. The only way forward was to try and ´jump´ the few last inches.
It was not the success I wanted, but the collision elicited merely a couple of protesting grunts before Pedro van Winkle resumed his slumbers. And I was now in the aisle and only kicked two stray legs on my way to el baño in the rear of the bus.
Nature´s call satisfied, the problem was how to get back into my seat. I seriously considered standing until daylight when I supposed (incorrectly as it turned out) that Pedro would awake. Fortunately at this moment the passenger in front of Pedro awoke, took in the stuation with commendable promptness and raised the back of his seat to the upright position. I could now step over a pair of knees with no danger of unwanted contact and resume my own quest for slumber.
I don´t know why I found it so difficult to sleep. The seats were significantly more comfortable that those in the economy section of an aircraft. True, it was rather cold, but not terribly so, and a blanket was provided. So I remember much more of the overnight journey than I would have wished.
One episode stands out. We had set off on good, sealed highways, but at some stage the route switched to unpaved roads. These were slower, but not too bad. All around it was pitch dark unless a road sign glowed in the headlights. Then the lights of a settlement appeared. The route took us through this little town. Although it boasted street lighting the streets were innocent of any bitumen and, indeed, were one continuous pothole held together by shreds of original road surface.
Our multi-wheeled monster crawled through the treacherous, narrow streets with great care. In one lane near the centre small groups of people were huddled round little tables. I thought that the bus must be about to stop and these were hawkers hoping to sell snacks to the travellers. But no, our 21st century chariot ground on until the buildings were left behind and it was safe to move up into 2nd gear. I checked my watch. It was about midnight. I wonder what the villagers were doing in the street at that hour.
04 July 2007
Important Sequence Notes
I have started keying in my account of what transpired in Lima. I have dated it 30 June 2007 so that the blog records things in chronological order. Click on the title "Lima".
Thanks to all those who have posted comments. It´s nice to know there´s someone out there reading this.
Photos. Yes, I will attempt to upload some pics. Those of the Nazca Lines need cropping and rotating though. As always, finding Internet access with the right technology is a challenge.
Thanks to all those who have posted comments. It´s nice to know there´s someone out there reading this.
Photos. Yes, I will attempt to upload some pics. Those of the Nazca Lines need cropping and rotating though. As always, finding Internet access with the right technology is a challenge.
01 July 2007
New Email address
Because of difficulties accessing Xtra webmail I have created a gmail address. I can reliably pick up mail sent to bill.heritage@gmail.com.
Hopefully this will be a temporary measure, but feel free to use this address for the time being.
Hopefully this will be a temporary measure, but feel free to use this address for the time being.
Nazca Lines
Today is a red letter day in bold capitals and lights. I have seen the mysterious lines drawn in the desert by the Nazca people before they were overrun by the Incas.
If you don´t know what the Nazca Lines are click here.
The hostel owner sold me the flight last night even before I had unpacked. I knew I was being given the hard sell, but advice in the guide book and in Lima was that flights are difficult to get without booking ahead. It wasn´t cheap, but I have no objection to paying enough to make sure the plane is properly maintained. And at the end of the day I got more than enough value for money.
He had me out of bed and ready to go at 7 am. He had also recruited a couple for the flight so we filled his elderly, rattly little car for the drive to the airport. There we admired a squadron of parked Cessnas and even saw one or two take off. Meanwhile Sr Entrepreneur was engaged in earnest conversation with flight operators out of our earshot. If I were a cynic I might think that he had taken our money and was only now arranging delivery of the service. But other locals arrived with prospective sightseers in tow, so maybe that´s just the way it´s always done.
After a period of this inactivity we were ushered to a neighbouring operator´s office and shown a video about the Lines. In fact, it was mostly about Maria Reiche, the German mathematician who became obsessed by the lines and spent decades mapping and interpreting them. Since it was almost all a commentary in Spanish while actors mimed various scenes from her life it was not terribly helpful.
The couple had signed up for the economy trip, but I had selected the deluxe tour of everything so we had to be separated. It was now well past 8 o´clock and I was taken to a third operator´s office; this time Condor Air, the largest and most reputable aircraft operator. I was told that I would be going on my trip with a Japanese couple and since they had paid US$100 would I please not let on that I had paid $10 less. We would go up at 9:00.
The pleasant young Japanese couple didn´t discuss money so I told no fibs. We completed forms and promptly at 9 o´clock we were told that we would take off in a quarter of an hour. We sat optimistically by the elderly turnstyle that served as the departure gate and I peered around for birdlife. Hooray, my first Peruvian hummingbird. Tick. Hopfully the bird books I have ordered to be sent to Cusco will allow firm identification.
One of the big, geometric designs.
Finally, at about 9:30, we were admitted to the plane. As the ´single´I got to sit in front by Marco, the pilot. The economy tour doesn´t even fly by all the Nazca figures. We got the full set and the three further on at Palpa. Marco flew to each major figure and circled it twice, once to give those on the right a condor´s eye view and once standing on the port wing so that the passenger behind the pilot got the photo opportunity.
The ´Spaceman´in the bottom RH corner.
Hope you can see it.
They are quite amazing. The drawings are accurate, but just not the same as the real thing. I was taking photos almost constantly. The batteries in the digital camera expired, but I was ready with replacements. It was an hour of constant wonder at the lines, geometric shapes and representations of birds and animals.
And because Marco had arrived late he donated an extra side trip to get an aerial view of Nazca township and the old wells that pre-Hispanic residents used to access an underground river.
Finally I had the rare treat of seeing the landing while looking ahead. I think the Japanese couple were amused by how thrilled I was with our tour.
Pilot Marco with a very happy customer.
From the airport I spotted two large birds circling on a thermal. No, they weren´t condors, but they reminded me of another objective of this visit to Peru.
When my head returned to Earth I was sensible enough to book my onward bus ride to Cusco before setting off to get a closer look at the Lines. There is an observation tower about 20 mins drive from Nazca; a modest 2 soles (90c) on the bus. From the top there are two glyphs clearly visible. In fact they are easy to see from the first flight of steps, but are quite invisible from the road. All the pedestrian is aware of is a rocky plain stretching away in all directions. The big rectangle can be made out, but was that because I already knew it was there?
And I had to change batteries again. That´s a pair of alkaline batteries exhausted within a morning. But what a morning.
If you don´t know what the Nazca Lines are click here.
The hostel owner sold me the flight last night even before I had unpacked. I knew I was being given the hard sell, but advice in the guide book and in Lima was that flights are difficult to get without booking ahead. It wasn´t cheap, but I have no objection to paying enough to make sure the plane is properly maintained. And at the end of the day I got more than enough value for money.
He had me out of bed and ready to go at 7 am. He had also recruited a couple for the flight so we filled his elderly, rattly little car for the drive to the airport. There we admired a squadron of parked Cessnas and even saw one or two take off. Meanwhile Sr Entrepreneur was engaged in earnest conversation with flight operators out of our earshot. If I were a cynic I might think that he had taken our money and was only now arranging delivery of the service. But other locals arrived with prospective sightseers in tow, so maybe that´s just the way it´s always done.
After a period of this inactivity we were ushered to a neighbouring operator´s office and shown a video about the Lines. In fact, it was mostly about Maria Reiche, the German mathematician who became obsessed by the lines and spent decades mapping and interpreting them. Since it was almost all a commentary in Spanish while actors mimed various scenes from her life it was not terribly helpful.
The couple had signed up for the economy trip, but I had selected the deluxe tour of everything so we had to be separated. It was now well past 8 o´clock and I was taken to a third operator´s office; this time Condor Air, the largest and most reputable aircraft operator. I was told that I would be going on my trip with a Japanese couple and since they had paid US$100 would I please not let on that I had paid $10 less. We would go up at 9:00.
The pleasant young Japanese couple didn´t discuss money so I told no fibs. We completed forms and promptly at 9 o´clock we were told that we would take off in a quarter of an hour. We sat optimistically by the elderly turnstyle that served as the departure gate and I peered around for birdlife. Hooray, my first Peruvian hummingbird. Tick. Hopfully the bird books I have ordered to be sent to Cusco will allow firm identification.
One of the big, geometric designs.Finally, at about 9:30, we were admitted to the plane. As the ´single´I got to sit in front by Marco, the pilot. The economy tour doesn´t even fly by all the Nazca figures. We got the full set and the three further on at Palpa. Marco flew to each major figure and circled it twice, once to give those on the right a condor´s eye view and once standing on the port wing so that the passenger behind the pilot got the photo opportunity.
The ´Spaceman´in the bottom RH corner.
Hope you can see it.
They are quite amazing. The drawings are accurate, but just not the same as the real thing. I was taking photos almost constantly. The batteries in the digital camera expired, but I was ready with replacements. It was an hour of constant wonder at the lines, geometric shapes and representations of birds and animals.
And because Marco had arrived late he donated an extra side trip to get an aerial view of Nazca township and the old wells that pre-Hispanic residents used to access an underground river.
Finally I had the rare treat of seeing the landing while looking ahead. I think the Japanese couple were amused by how thrilled I was with our tour.
Pilot Marco with a very happy customer.
From the airport I spotted two large birds circling on a thermal. No, they weren´t condors, but they reminded me of another objective of this visit to Peru.
When my head returned to Earth I was sensible enough to book my onward bus ride to Cusco before setting off to get a closer look at the Lines. There is an observation tower about 20 mins drive from Nazca; a modest 2 soles (90c) on the bus. From the top there are two glyphs clearly visible. In fact they are easy to see from the first flight of steps, but are quite invisible from the road. All the pedestrian is aware of is a rocky plain stretching away in all directions. The big rectangle can be made out, but was that because I already knew it was there?
And I had to change batteries again. That´s a pair of alkaline batteries exhausted within a morning. But what a morning.
Lima
What could get me, a famously late riser, out of bed and walking down the wet, glistening, pre-dawn streets of Lima at five past six in the morning? It was the misplaced confidence that I could walk up and get a seat on the 7am bus to Nazca.
Getting to Lima was uneventful. In fact it was pretty tedious, but I was all in favour of some tedium after the frantic pace of the days leading up to to my departure. In addition to setting my practice review work in order and handing over the waiting-for-a-reply files to Tim Shaw (Thanks, Tim), I had agreed to write some technical material and deliver it before I left. And my last seminar was only 5 days before I flew out. On top of that I was moving right out of the house in Willcott Street and had to see dozens of boxes and masses of household ´stuff´ into storage.
The drive to the airport included posting two last-minute insurance cheques, but eventually I was checked in, through customs and what wasn´t done wouldn´t get done, so I could sit back in LAN Chile´s Boeing and relax.
Relax I did but little sleep came. We flew through the short night and shorter morning heading about due East and arriving in Santiago at lunch time of the same day I left Auckland. South America welcomed me with brilliant sunshine and a dry heat that reminded me of California. The dusty plain contrasted with the snow-capped mass of the Andes. Photos had to be taken through the glass of the airport terminal because I was in transit and have not yet officially entered Chile.
The view from Santiago Airport
Sleep finally came at the relatively deserted end of the terminal building until a zealous cleaner started work with a powerful and noisy vacuum cleaner. It was a struggle to stay awake long enough to board the flight to Lima and eat the dinner provided. You have to appreciate that backpackers never ignore a meal that has been paid for.
Lima airport was fairly humming even though it was 11pm when I was released into Peru. The promised pick-up worked like clockwork and my greeter ushered me into a pre-arranged taxi. Despite the time, the main thoroughfares were busy as we accelerated, braked, swerved and tooted our way to the Machu Picchu Suites.
For my US$20 I was given a double bed, an equipped kitchen and an ensuite bathroom. The shower was not very powerful, but it delivered genuinely hot water, which is not universal in Peruvian accommodation.
My guide book and several encouraging friends have pointed out that Lima has many poor and unemployed, and theft is common. As my clean body lay between clean sheets strange whistles sounded. Were they traffic police or were they coded messages between sinister figures lurking in the shadows?
Daylight revealed a tidy morsel of park in front of the accommodation and my first S. American birds - pigeons. The nature notes can only get better from here. And it was ´tomorrow´at last.
My plan for the day started at the South American Explorers club house. The taxi ride, one that seemed to go 3/4 of the way across Lima, cost only S/.10 (just over $4), hardly more than the flag fall in Auckland. The route included a generous stretch of coastline. Cormorants I have seen before, but never scores of them perched in rows on the telephone lines.
South American Explorers (SAE) provides masses of information for travellers round the continent. I was particularly in search of information on buses to Nazca. Internet searches provided some data and I even managed a telephone call to check on another company. This was a major achivement for my primitive Spanish - and doubtless a trial for la señora at the bus company. My choice was a 7am departure to take advantage of a lower fare.
"Registered taxis have a blue, diamond-shaped sticker in the windscreen and are usually yellow. They are a bit more expensive but they´re safer." This is the kind of information I joined SAE for. Observation on nearby main roads showed no correlation at all between sticker-bearing and colour. So I simply made sure that my cab had a sticker and set off for the gold museum.
"Aggressive" is hardly adequate to describe the technique of this driver. His judgement of a space was refined to millimetres and turning across lanes of moving traffic a part of the sport. Lane discipline is clearly something that happens to other people. If you are familiar with the Knight Bus from the Harry Potter stories you will have an excellent idea of the sensations I experienced on this journey.
When I wasn´t mesmerised by the manouvres of my cabbie I studied the passing buildings. It seems that everyone lives behind bars and railings. Every building was a fortress of ironwork. To get in to the SAE clubhouse I had to press the bell and wait for the gate to be opened once I passed muster as harmless. Clearly, security is not just an issue for tourists.
Traffic is dominated by public transport. Taxis, buses and "collectivos" crowd the main streets. The "collectivos" are minibuses that follow a fixed route, but they pick up and put down anywhere for a flat fare of S/.1.50 (NZ$0.66).
The hair-raising ride ended tamely in a quiet street in front of the gold museum.
The collection of pre-columbian artefacts includes pottery, featherwork, copper and silver as well as the gold. Nearly all of it pre-dates the Incas, because the conquistadors looted everything above ground when they arrived and the exhibits have mainly been retrieved from graves. The audio guide made many references to exhibits that were missing from their cases. Since the place was not crawling with police I presume they were away for some legitimate reason. Mostly it seemed that they were the most impressive pieces that were having a holiday - just my luck.
The exit was attended by human raptors hoping to prey on foolish visitors. The first crooked smile offered the return taxi ride for S/.25. His audacity in demanding triple the regular fare earned him a curt "No". Another optimist offered S/.15 and wouldn´t budge when I tried to haggle. So I flagged down a passing cab and paid only S/.10 to return to SAE and recover my pack.
The youth hostel was cheap but not very welcoming. Maybe management was distracted by preparations for a party. One of the helium balloons announced a baby shower. I fell into comversation with Mike, a Dutch backpacker even older than I am. Observing the uniformed waiter and the live band for a mere baby shower, Mike speculated on the splendour of the wedding. Outside, brightly polished, late model cars crowded the kerb and a young man in a peaked cap and hi-vis jacket blew an officious whistle at anyone who cast a covetous eye on his valuable charges. These party-goers were not collectivo riders!
I took a lukewarm shower and set my new travelling alarm for 5:30 to the sound of amplified Andean pop music. I needn´t have bothered with the alarm. I slept very badly, probably due to the effects of jet lag.
Taxis are so ubiquitous in Lima that, even at six in the morning, I hailed a blue-diamond cab before I´d walked two short blocks.
The fellow SAE member who theorised that it was not necesary to book ahead for buses was WRONG. "Nada hoy (nothing today)" was the message from the ticket counter. However, further research discovered a seat available to Nazca on the 2pm service to Cusco. Cruz del Sur is the most expensive of the bus companies, but if the most expensive buses are full what is the probability of finding a seat on any other bus? I paid up.
So now all I have to do is kill the time between 6:30 and 2:00pm.
The bus station is in a particularly "bad" part of the city and there appear to be no left luggage lockers. Going for a stroll in the drizzle is possibly not a wise option. My pocket diary notes 29 June as St. Peter and St. Paul´s Day. That´s a holiday in Peru. Any attraction I visit risks being closed. The bus station has a tiny, unimaginative cafeteria within its railing-protected estate so I can sit at a table, sip instant coffee and draft this post pending arrival at an Internet cafe with a working, available terminal.
I can also take photos of the view from the cafe. My camera´s duty free memory card has a capacity of 2Gb. I can take another 1,600 photos before I run out of space.
Getting to Lima was uneventful. In fact it was pretty tedious, but I was all in favour of some tedium after the frantic pace of the days leading up to to my departure. In addition to setting my practice review work in order and handing over the waiting-for-a-reply files to Tim Shaw (Thanks, Tim), I had agreed to write some technical material and deliver it before I left. And my last seminar was only 5 days before I flew out. On top of that I was moving right out of the house in Willcott Street and had to see dozens of boxes and masses of household ´stuff´ into storage.
The drive to the airport included posting two last-minute insurance cheques, but eventually I was checked in, through customs and what wasn´t done wouldn´t get done, so I could sit back in LAN Chile´s Boeing and relax.
Relax I did but little sleep came. We flew through the short night and shorter morning heading about due East and arriving in Santiago at lunch time of the same day I left Auckland. South America welcomed me with brilliant sunshine and a dry heat that reminded me of California. The dusty plain contrasted with the snow-capped mass of the Andes. Photos had to be taken through the glass of the airport terminal because I was in transit and have not yet officially entered Chile.
The view from Santiago AirportSleep finally came at the relatively deserted end of the terminal building until a zealous cleaner started work with a powerful and noisy vacuum cleaner. It was a struggle to stay awake long enough to board the flight to Lima and eat the dinner provided. You have to appreciate that backpackers never ignore a meal that has been paid for.
Lima airport was fairly humming even though it was 11pm when I was released into Peru. The promised pick-up worked like clockwork and my greeter ushered me into a pre-arranged taxi. Despite the time, the main thoroughfares were busy as we accelerated, braked, swerved and tooted our way to the Machu Picchu Suites.
For my US$20 I was given a double bed, an equipped kitchen and an ensuite bathroom. The shower was not very powerful, but it delivered genuinely hot water, which is not universal in Peruvian accommodation.
My guide book and several encouraging friends have pointed out that Lima has many poor and unemployed, and theft is common. As my clean body lay between clean sheets strange whistles sounded. Were they traffic police or were they coded messages between sinister figures lurking in the shadows?
Daylight revealed a tidy morsel of park in front of the accommodation and my first S. American birds - pigeons. The nature notes can only get better from here. And it was ´tomorrow´at last.
My plan for the day started at the South American Explorers club house. The taxi ride, one that seemed to go 3/4 of the way across Lima, cost only S/.10 (just over $4), hardly more than the flag fall in Auckland. The route included a generous stretch of coastline. Cormorants I have seen before, but never scores of them perched in rows on the telephone lines.
South American Explorers (SAE) provides masses of information for travellers round the continent. I was particularly in search of information on buses to Nazca. Internet searches provided some data and I even managed a telephone call to check on another company. This was a major achivement for my primitive Spanish - and doubtless a trial for la señora at the bus company. My choice was a 7am departure to take advantage of a lower fare.
"Registered taxis have a blue, diamond-shaped sticker in the windscreen and are usually yellow. They are a bit more expensive but they´re safer." This is the kind of information I joined SAE for. Observation on nearby main roads showed no correlation at all between sticker-bearing and colour. So I simply made sure that my cab had a sticker and set off for the gold museum.
"Aggressive" is hardly adequate to describe the technique of this driver. His judgement of a space was refined to millimetres and turning across lanes of moving traffic a part of the sport. Lane discipline is clearly something that happens to other people. If you are familiar with the Knight Bus from the Harry Potter stories you will have an excellent idea of the sensations I experienced on this journey.
When I wasn´t mesmerised by the manouvres of my cabbie I studied the passing buildings. It seems that everyone lives behind bars and railings. Every building was a fortress of ironwork. To get in to the SAE clubhouse I had to press the bell and wait for the gate to be opened once I passed muster as harmless. Clearly, security is not just an issue for tourists.Traffic is dominated by public transport. Taxis, buses and "collectivos" crowd the main streets. The "collectivos" are minibuses that follow a fixed route, but they pick up and put down anywhere for a flat fare of S/.1.50 (NZ$0.66).
The hair-raising ride ended tamely in a quiet street in front of the gold museum.
The collection of pre-columbian artefacts includes pottery, featherwork, copper and silver as well as the gold. Nearly all of it pre-dates the Incas, because the conquistadors looted everything above ground when they arrived and the exhibits have mainly been retrieved from graves. The audio guide made many references to exhibits that were missing from their cases. Since the place was not crawling with police I presume they were away for some legitimate reason. Mostly it seemed that they were the most impressive pieces that were having a holiday - just my luck.
The exit was attended by human raptors hoping to prey on foolish visitors. The first crooked smile offered the return taxi ride for S/.25. His audacity in demanding triple the regular fare earned him a curt "No". Another optimist offered S/.15 and wouldn´t budge when I tried to haggle. So I flagged down a passing cab and paid only S/.10 to return to SAE and recover my pack.
The youth hostel was cheap but not very welcoming. Maybe management was distracted by preparations for a party. One of the helium balloons announced a baby shower. I fell into comversation with Mike, a Dutch backpacker even older than I am. Observing the uniformed waiter and the live band for a mere baby shower, Mike speculated on the splendour of the wedding. Outside, brightly polished, late model cars crowded the kerb and a young man in a peaked cap and hi-vis jacket blew an officious whistle at anyone who cast a covetous eye on his valuable charges. These party-goers were not collectivo riders!
I took a lukewarm shower and set my new travelling alarm for 5:30 to the sound of amplified Andean pop music. I needn´t have bothered with the alarm. I slept very badly, probably due to the effects of jet lag.
Taxis are so ubiquitous in Lima that, even at six in the morning, I hailed a blue-diamond cab before I´d walked two short blocks.
The fellow SAE member who theorised that it was not necesary to book ahead for buses was WRONG. "Nada hoy (nothing today)" was the message from the ticket counter. However, further research discovered a seat available to Nazca on the 2pm service to Cusco. Cruz del Sur is the most expensive of the bus companies, but if the most expensive buses are full what is the probability of finding a seat on any other bus? I paid up.
So now all I have to do is kill the time between 6:30 and 2:00pm.
The bus station is in a particularly "bad" part of the city and there appear to be no left luggage lockers. Going for a stroll in the drizzle is possibly not a wise option. My pocket diary notes 29 June as St. Peter and St. Paul´s Day. That´s a holiday in Peru. Any attraction I visit risks being closed. The bus station has a tiny, unimaginative cafeteria within its railing-protected estate so I can sit at a table, sip instant coffee and draft this post pending arrival at an Internet cafe with a working, available terminal.
I can also take photos of the view from the cafe. My camera´s duty free memory card has a capacity of 2Gb. I can take another 1,600 photos before I run out of space.
30 June 2007
I´m in Peru
This is a short entry to confirm that I have arrived safely in Peru. I spent a full day in Lima and have moved smartly on to Nazca. A very entrepreneurial gentlemen has not only provided basic accommodation but sold me a full bells and whistles flight over the Nazca Lines tomorrow. He has my money, so this better be good.
Although Internet access is widely advertised I have not yet found a computer with a USB port that will read my memory stick, where I have stored all my passwords, suitably encrypted. My webmail password is so unguressable that I cannot remember it. Once I get the memory stick to work I shall have to fix that. Loading pictures is also dependent on a USB connection so this matter has to be resolved!
A longer blog entry has been hand drafted while waiting for a bus. I will enter it tomorrow or on Sunday, depending on when I get to a modern Internet Cafe. Access is incredibly cheap - only 1 Sol (about NZ 45cents) per hour. But I´d rather pay more and have modern gear that does what I want.
The Spanish keyboard is not too bad, but it has some very funny special characters and it took a while to work out the @ sign. It´s Control-Alt-2.
Hasta la vista!
Although Internet access is widely advertised I have not yet found a computer with a USB port that will read my memory stick, where I have stored all my passwords, suitably encrypted. My webmail password is so unguressable that I cannot remember it. Once I get the memory stick to work I shall have to fix that. Loading pictures is also dependent on a USB connection so this matter has to be resolved!
A longer blog entry has been hand drafted while waiting for a bus. I will enter it tomorrow or on Sunday, depending on when I get to a modern Internet Cafe. Access is incredibly cheap - only 1 Sol (about NZ 45cents) per hour. But I´d rather pay more and have modern gear that does what I want.
The Spanish keyboard is not too bad, but it has some very funny special characters and it took a while to work out the @ sign. It´s Control-Alt-
Hasta la vista!
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