Horrid horrid bus! I didnt get any sleep because we were whizzing through the mountains so fast that everytime we turned a corner I got thrown from one side of my seat to another. I wished I was fatter so I would have wedged myself in!
I felt really ill too for the second half of the journey, I don't know whether it was travel sickness or altitude sickness or the strain of not going to the toilet but I was rough as hell.
At about 6 am we had to pull over because rocks were falling from the mountain side and it was too dangerous to cross, we waited there for nearly 3 hours and then when it was safe to go there was a back log of coaches. It took ages, and I STILL couldn't pee because the entire roadside was full of Peruvian men relieving theirselves, I wasn't exactly goin squat down in the middle of them all.
Sleepless and nausious, I was bombarded with yet more films, on full blast and dubbed in Spanish. The only redeeming factor being they played a Jason Statham marathon and his muscles lifted my moral.
I got to my hostel at about 4pm, a whole 26 hours after leaving Enzo's house yesterday. And all I wanted was a nice hot shower and bed. No such luck, the shower was so cold I could see my breath. But at least my sleeping bag is nice and toasty. My room mate is an Argentine lady called Julia, she's nice and gave me coca sweets and anti altitude sickness pills.
Sleep. Now. Over and out.
Thursday, 21 April 2011
The 24 Hour Bus Ride
I have currently been on a bus for 9 hours. And have another 12 to look forward to... At least.
I've left my little friend Enzo and am on my way to Cuzco. I could have flown, but in the end I chose to go by bus for the following reasons: it's cheaper, it's one night I dont have to look for accomodation, dinner and breakfast are included in the price, and its an opportunidad to see the country.
And I must say, so far I'm not regretting my decision. For the first 6 hours we headed south along the coast, down the "Pan Americana", is a motorway which runs the entire length of South America, all the way down the west coast. It was lovely watch the sunset over the ocean on the right, whilst on the left we passed moutains and cattle farms and shanty towns.
We then headed inland to cross the Andes. It's pretty amazing. Total darkess apart from the light from the full moon which highlights the grey rock, it actually looks quite moon-like.
The bus is impressive too, by far the most comfortable means of transport I have ever been on. Great big leather seats which recline to about 160 degrees, and air conditioned, thank God. They had films on too, a Steven Seagal marathon, of all things! Then a couple of comedies followed by Nightmare on Elma Street. An odd selection to say the least! My friend for the journey is a man from Cuzco, and guess what, his name is Elvis!! I have a friend named Elvis! We chatted for ages, he told me all about Cuzco, Peru, Bolivia, and I told him about England and Europe and my previous adventures closer to home. Lovely man. He's written me a list of things to do and see in Cuzco, who needs guide books eh?!
So it's midnight and I dont much fancy my chances of getting to sleep to be honest with you, we're zig zagging around bends in the roads and its not exactly smooth going. Everybody else seems to be asleep though. Oh and more good news: the attendant explained at the beginning that the toilet was for number ones only, which is bad enough considering my stomach has been somewhat off the past few days! But then around 10 o'clock he came on the intercom, rather pissed off, and announced that due to some disobediant little so and so having a forbidden poo, the toilet will be closed until we arrive in Cuzco!!! And I'd been holding on because I didnt want to break the seal! Nightmare! If only I'd have bought myself a shewee!!!
I've left my little friend Enzo and am on my way to Cuzco. I could have flown, but in the end I chose to go by bus for the following reasons: it's cheaper, it's one night I dont have to look for accomodation, dinner and breakfast are included in the price, and its an opportunidad to see the country.
And I must say, so far I'm not regretting my decision. For the first 6 hours we headed south along the coast, down the "Pan Americana", is a motorway which runs the entire length of South America, all the way down the west coast. It was lovely watch the sunset over the ocean on the right, whilst on the left we passed moutains and cattle farms and shanty towns.
We then headed inland to cross the Andes. It's pretty amazing. Total darkess apart from the light from the full moon which highlights the grey rock, it actually looks quite moon-like.
The bus is impressive too, by far the most comfortable means of transport I have ever been on. Great big leather seats which recline to about 160 degrees, and air conditioned, thank God. They had films on too, a Steven Seagal marathon, of all things! Then a couple of comedies followed by Nightmare on Elma Street. An odd selection to say the least! My friend for the journey is a man from Cuzco, and guess what, his name is Elvis!! I have a friend named Elvis! We chatted for ages, he told me all about Cuzco, Peru, Bolivia, and I told him about England and Europe and my previous adventures closer to home. Lovely man. He's written me a list of things to do and see in Cuzco, who needs guide books eh?!
So it's midnight and I dont much fancy my chances of getting to sleep to be honest with you, we're zig zagging around bends in the roads and its not exactly smooth going. Everybody else seems to be asleep though. Oh and more good news: the attendant explained at the beginning that the toilet was for number ones only, which is bad enough considering my stomach has been somewhat off the past few days! But then around 10 o'clock he came on the intercom, rather pissed off, and announced that due to some disobediant little so and so having a forbidden poo, the toilet will be closed until we arrive in Cuzco!!! And I'd been holding on because I didnt want to break the seal! Nightmare! If only I'd have bought myself a shewee!!!
Callao
Monday 18th April. Enzo and I visited the town of Callao, north of Lima. And I had my first experience on a "combi" the smallest type of crazy bus you find here. Small, cramped and reckless.
Callao is home to a big colonial fortress by the sea, which we entered briefly. It's still used by the army and also has guided tours for visitors.
We saw the port, then walked along the coast to "La Punta", a bit of land that juts out where you can walk to the most westerly point. It's a nice place, much quieter and calmer than Lima, with brightly coloured wooden houses and a pebbly beach. We stopped at a very up market restaurant for a drink, we sat on the terrace over looking the ocean and a military school and watched pelicans driving into the sea for fish. We arrived at the western point just in time to watch the sun setting. It was a very peaceful and serene way to spend an afternoon.
In the evening we went into the center for tea and I had "lomo saltado" for the first time. It translates to 'tossed steak' and is delicious. Steak is 'tossed' in a huge wok with peppers and onions and other yummy bits. It's the ultimate stir fry and is a very tradicional dish here. On the subject of food, the portions here are HUGE! Enough for two, maybe three people! And there was me hoping to lose a few pounds here!
Callao is home to a big colonial fortress by the sea, which we entered briefly. It's still used by the army and also has guided tours for visitors.
We saw the port, then walked along the coast to "La Punta", a bit of land that juts out where you can walk to the most westerly point. It's a nice place, much quieter and calmer than Lima, with brightly coloured wooden houses and a pebbly beach. We stopped at a very up market restaurant for a drink, we sat on the terrace over looking the ocean and a military school and watched pelicans driving into the sea for fish. We arrived at the western point just in time to watch the sun setting. It was a very peaceful and serene way to spend an afternoon.
In the evening we went into the center for tea and I had "lomo saltado" for the first time. It translates to 'tossed steak' and is delicious. Steak is 'tossed' in a huge wok with peppers and onions and other yummy bits. It's the ultimate stir fry and is a very tradicional dish here. On the subject of food, the portions here are HUGE! Enough for two, maybe three people! And there was me hoping to lose a few pounds here!
Monday, 18 April 2011
Lima at night
Yesterday I had lunch with Enzo and his family, home cooked Peruvian food, mmmm. Then we went into the center and did a spot of shopping/haggling with market vendors.
Semana Santa (Easter) started yesterday and there were literally millions of people out to go to Mass at the main catedral. It was a really big deal, there were choirs and processions and brass bands playing. Everybody was carrying these things called Palmas, which are fancy bouquets of palm leaves. I've never seen anything like it.
Just as the sun was setting we got on a tour bus which took us to Santo Cristobal, a cross on top of a mountain which had panoramic views of Lima. Going up we went through tiny winding streets, through a quite undesirable neighborhood where our guide advised us to shut the windows! From the top the sunset was amazing (i'll add some photo's when possible), you could see the sea and the mountains, brilliant. All for £1.
Back in the center I had my first taste of Pisco Sour, Peru's national drink. It tasted vaguely like rum, but it comes from grapes, is very strong and bitter and is made with eggs?! It wasn't delicious but was drinkable, very strong, after 2 or 3 I'd be hammered.
We also ended up ordering roast chicken and chips for supper at about half 10 at night. Leaving to go home Enzo started taking off his watch and hiding money in his socks, obviously I'm quite a trouble magnet, so I persuaded him to get a taxi instead of the bus. The taxi ride was quite hilarious, the guy beeped his horn about 25 times a minute and zoomed in and out of traffic like a mad man. Enzo didn't understand why I was laughing and gripping onto my seat, but then again I suppose he's use to risking his life on a daily basis.
Semana Santa (Easter) started yesterday and there were literally millions of people out to go to Mass at the main catedral. It was a really big deal, there were choirs and processions and brass bands playing. Everybody was carrying these things called Palmas, which are fancy bouquets of palm leaves. I've never seen anything like it.
Just as the sun was setting we got on a tour bus which took us to Santo Cristobal, a cross on top of a mountain which had panoramic views of Lima. Going up we went through tiny winding streets, through a quite undesirable neighborhood where our guide advised us to shut the windows! From the top the sunset was amazing (i'll add some photo's when possible), you could see the sea and the mountains, brilliant. All for £1.
Back in the center I had my first taste of Pisco Sour, Peru's national drink. It tasted vaguely like rum, but it comes from grapes, is very strong and bitter and is made with eggs?! It wasn't delicious but was drinkable, very strong, after 2 or 3 I'd be hammered.
We also ended up ordering roast chicken and chips for supper at about half 10 at night. Leaving to go home Enzo started taking off his watch and hiding money in his socks, obviously I'm quite a trouble magnet, so I persuaded him to get a taxi instead of the bus. The taxi ride was quite hilarious, the guy beeped his horn about 25 times a minute and zoomed in and out of traffic like a mad man. Enzo didn't understand why I was laughing and gripping onto my seat, but then again I suppose he's use to risking his life on a daily basis.
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Madrid - Lima
So, after an emotional goodbye with the parents I left Manchester and boarded my Ryanair flight to Madrid. My excitement was obviously somewhat contagious as I befriended half the people on the plane, then I ditched my bags in the left luggage office at the airport and went to meet my two favourite Spaniards, Javi and Juanto. We had some beers and ended up in an Irish pub until daft o'clock. I manage to sleep an hour or two in Juanto's spare room before dragging myself back to the airport with a stunner of a hangover.
I had to pick up my bags from terminal 1 and get a bus to terminal 4. Realising how MASSIVE Madrid airport actually is. Then I had to get a train to the gate. Its huge.
Finally, 20 hours after leaving home, I boarded my Iberia flight to Lima! It was exciting. For the past 5 years Ive almost exclusively used Ryanair flights for my travels, so imagine my amazement to see pillows and blankets and big comfy chairs on the Spanish plane! I even bagged myself an extra legroom seat next to the emergency exit. My friend for the next 12 horas was Diego, a peruvian who was highly amused by my life, especially when I whipped some masking tape out of my bag and taped my head phones into the socket because they weren't working.
Arrived in Lima at 6.30pm local time, an hour late. Met my wonderful couch host Enzo, who got stopped by the police as we left the airport and was accused of kidnapping me!! My first bit of drama. We got in a taxi and I had my first experience of Peru traffic. It's like nothing I have ever seen before. There are no lanes, no one has right of way, cutting each other up and beeping horns are as normal as changing gear, grid lock is a constant, all cars have bumps, some have parts missing. Its fun, like a rollercoaster, but I wouldnt want to be behind the wheel here!!
Enzo lives with his family in the north of Lima in the distict of Olivos, it's far from the tourist track and is unlike any place I have ever seen before. People selling things on every inch of the pavement, everything from barbecued corn to stole car doors. Dogs roam the streets and 'mototaxis' zip between the cars.
I met Enzo's two sisters, Vanessa & Karen, his mum, grandma and aunty. Then crashed out dead from jet jag and 48 hours travelling with hardly no sleep.
On Friday we went into the center. On the bus. There are 4 different types of bus here, of varying sizes, some are huge brand new ones which have their own bus lane, others are tiny minibuses or cars and the driver holds a piece of paper out of the window with the destination. All are packed to the rafters. We got on a middle sized one.
The center of Lima is huge, diverse and chaotic. Some areas like the La Plaza de Armas (the main square) are really pretty, touristy and clean. Others and run down decaying buildings with street vendors and beggars. We saw loads; the palace, the change of the guards, the catedral, the river, the Central Bank museum which has gold tribal masks from pre Inca times, the literature museum, churches, an exposition of Inka artefacts, China Town, Parque de la muralla... Enzo should be a tour guide, his knowledge of this city is amazing.
For lunch we had a 3 course set menu for 5 soles... thats less than £1!!! I ate Ocopa (potato with a creamy green chili sauce) Aji de pollo (chicken korma).
Oh and a scruffy pregnant girl tried to rob me but we caught her in time.
Saturday we went to the southern districts of Lima, Baranco and Miraflores. They're the upmarket areas, very touristy, by the coast. Again completely different to the old town. I paddled in the Pacific ocean, the beach is natural and rocky, not particularly clean. We watched paragliders by the cliffs then went to a park where a typical band were playing and old couples were dancing.
I ate street food for tea, these kebab type things that Enzo said were "meat" - by which he meant heart and stomach meat! He tricked me. The heart was nice, the stomach wasnt. Also had Peru's answer to egg fried rice which cost £1 for a huge bag that fed 5 of us!
Saturday nobody tried to rob me, result!
So thats the highlights so far. Im really glad I decided to couch surf here, I would have been scared and clueless without Enzo.
I had to pick up my bags from terminal 1 and get a bus to terminal 4. Realising how MASSIVE Madrid airport actually is. Then I had to get a train to the gate. Its huge.
Finally, 20 hours after leaving home, I boarded my Iberia flight to Lima! It was exciting. For the past 5 years Ive almost exclusively used Ryanair flights for my travels, so imagine my amazement to see pillows and blankets and big comfy chairs on the Spanish plane! I even bagged myself an extra legroom seat next to the emergency exit. My friend for the next 12 horas was Diego, a peruvian who was highly amused by my life, especially when I whipped some masking tape out of my bag and taped my head phones into the socket because they weren't working.
Arrived in Lima at 6.30pm local time, an hour late. Met my wonderful couch host Enzo, who got stopped by the police as we left the airport and was accused of kidnapping me!! My first bit of drama. We got in a taxi and I had my first experience of Peru traffic. It's like nothing I have ever seen before. There are no lanes, no one has right of way, cutting each other up and beeping horns are as normal as changing gear, grid lock is a constant, all cars have bumps, some have parts missing. Its fun, like a rollercoaster, but I wouldnt want to be behind the wheel here!!
Enzo lives with his family in the north of Lima in the distict of Olivos, it's far from the tourist track and is unlike any place I have ever seen before. People selling things on every inch of the pavement, everything from barbecued corn to stole car doors. Dogs roam the streets and 'mototaxis' zip between the cars.
I met Enzo's two sisters, Vanessa & Karen, his mum, grandma and aunty. Then crashed out dead from jet jag and 48 hours travelling with hardly no sleep.
On Friday we went into the center. On the bus. There are 4 different types of bus here, of varying sizes, some are huge brand new ones which have their own bus lane, others are tiny minibuses or cars and the driver holds a piece of paper out of the window with the destination. All are packed to the rafters. We got on a middle sized one.
The center of Lima is huge, diverse and chaotic. Some areas like the La Plaza de Armas (the main square) are really pretty, touristy and clean. Others and run down decaying buildings with street vendors and beggars. We saw loads; the palace, the change of the guards, the catedral, the river, the Central Bank museum which has gold tribal masks from pre Inca times, the literature museum, churches, an exposition of Inka artefacts, China Town, Parque de la muralla... Enzo should be a tour guide, his knowledge of this city is amazing.
For lunch we had a 3 course set menu for 5 soles... thats less than £1!!! I ate Ocopa (potato with a creamy green chili sauce) Aji de pollo (chicken korma).
Oh and a scruffy pregnant girl tried to rob me but we caught her in time.
Saturday we went to the southern districts of Lima, Baranco and Miraflores. They're the upmarket areas, very touristy, by the coast. Again completely different to the old town. I paddled in the Pacific ocean, the beach is natural and rocky, not particularly clean. We watched paragliders by the cliffs then went to a park where a typical band were playing and old couples were dancing.
I ate street food for tea, these kebab type things that Enzo said were "meat" - by which he meant heart and stomach meat! He tricked me. The heart was nice, the stomach wasnt. Also had Peru's answer to egg fried rice which cost £1 for a huge bag that fed 5 of us!
Saturday nobody tried to rob me, result!
So thats the highlights so far. Im really glad I decided to couch surf here, I would have been scared and clueless without Enzo.
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
CHAPTER II : South America
Tonight I leave Manchester with a one-way ticket to Peru. I can't believe today has finally come after 6 months planning and 6 years dreaming about this trip! It's The Big One. Different continent, different time zone, different hemisphere of the planet!!! No jumping on a £15 Ryanair flight and popping home for the weekend.
Although I've traveled in Europe on my own before this really is going to be a completely different experience, and I'm scared. In a good way.
As usual I find myself asking myself "whhyyyy are you doing this?", "why don't you just get a job and settle down", it would be cheaper, easier and would stop my mother getting grey hairs. But I wouldn't be happy. I wouldn't be me.
So I'm all packed, I'm taking hardly any clothes with me, and only 7 pairs of knickers!!! I don't even know when I'll be coming home, going to aim to be back by November at the latest though.
Tonight will be spent wandering the streets of Madrid with Javi and Juanto, then I'll be back at the airport in the morning to catch my flight to Lima.
Farewell England!!
Monday, 4 April 2011
London
During my stay at Hatfield, Laura and I went for a day out to
…With
There’s a canal that goes right through the middle of the town, with bars and grass on either side and there were people sat chilling in the sun.
And there were real punks hanging out on street corners. Proper punks in ripped tartan and leather, not your moody-fourteen-year-old that passes as a punk these days.
We also went to
We survived the ordeal and rewarded ourselves with happy hour cocktails back in
3 cocktails later we caught the train back to Hatfield, then collapsed into bed!
Hatfield (Hertfordshire)
From
The journey down was long and complicated, I had 3 changes, two of which in
Now I don’t know what it is with Laura, but when we’re together we somehow manage to get away with murder and end up getting everything for free. Like when I went to visit her in
We spent a couple of hours chilling in her room catching up on the 7 months we haven’t seen each other, then went to the shop to buy supper and booze. As we were both on a tight budget we opted for possibly the cheapest meal imaginable: noodles 40p; Lambrini £1.60; bag of Haribo £1!!
After our romantic fine dining we headed out to a club. We actually waited at the bus stop for about 20minutes before consulting the timetable and realising that it wasn’t going to come. Which was unfortunate as I’d gotten ready in a rush and was planning to do my make up on the bus!! In the end, we got a taxi and arrived at Forum, the local student club.
Within seconds of joining the queue we made friends; A group of
Cut a long story short, we spent the night with our new friends, who were lovely, funny and paid for my double G&T’s all night long. The DJ was absolutely amazing and put out some incredible bootlegs, and the club was huge, studenty and unpretencious. Win.
Saturday we went to London (see separate blog) and Sunday we had a lazy day watching films, managing to leave the house briefly to munch some Nando’s chicken and look around the local shopping centre called the Galeria.
I finally made it home to
Home sweet home… for one week, then it’s The Big One;
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Let Loose in Leamington
As you may have gathered from the previous two posts, I'm on the move. As usual :) I've decided to do a wee tour of England (and Wales) visiting friends before I disappear off to the other side of the world. And this week I'm in Royal Leamington Spa, home to the river Leam, the Royal Baths and most importantly, Jenny Edwards.
Jen's at work during the day, I've just been chilling and we've been doing nice things together in the evening. She even dragged me along to Aquaerobics the other day on the premise of going in the sauna!!! I've been playing wifey and cooking her tea, and trying to feed her up because she's tiny.
Yesterday I got a bit bored of my own company and decided to go make some random friends (it's what I do best afterall). So I went to the pub. Alone. I know it's not exactly the done thing for a young lady to do but it doesn't really phase me. I ordered a Chardonay and got chatting to my first random friend, Rob, the barman. We hit it off because he'd been travelling and he was actually a very nice guy. I also met Pete, a middle aged unemployed alcoholic (standard stereotype found in every pub in the world) Aid, Pete's accomplice and Richard an old man who tried teaching me how to do the cryptic crossword (he failed, I'm dim). I was already quite tipsy at 4 o'clock when Jen texted me asking me if I fancied going for a run when she got home from work. (You can guess what my answer was.)
Instead of jogging we went back to the pub to see my new friends and to do the quiz. Much more my cup of tea. We even did fairly well (by our standards, and with a little help...) and we got nicely drunk, which isn't in the least surprising really considering I started at 3!
Jen's been here 9 months, I've been here a couple of days and I know all the bar staff and half of the regulars by name.
Jen's at work during the day, I've just been chilling and we've been doing nice things together in the evening. She even dragged me along to Aquaerobics the other day on the premise of going in the sauna!!! I've been playing wifey and cooking her tea, and trying to feed her up because she's tiny.
Yesterday I got a bit bored of my own company and decided to go make some random friends (it's what I do best afterall). So I went to the pub. Alone. I know it's not exactly the done thing for a young lady to do but it doesn't really phase me. I ordered a Chardonay and got chatting to my first random friend, Rob, the barman. We hit it off because he'd been travelling and he was actually a very nice guy. I also met Pete, a middle aged unemployed alcoholic (standard stereotype found in every pub in the world) Aid, Pete's accomplice and Richard an old man who tried teaching me how to do the cryptic crossword (he failed, I'm dim). I was already quite tipsy at 4 o'clock when Jen texted me asking me if I fancied going for a run when she got home from work. (You can guess what my answer was.)
Instead of jogging we went back to the pub to see my new friends and to do the quiz. Much more my cup of tea. We even did fairly well (by our standards, and with a little help...) and we got nicely drunk, which isn't in the least surprising really considering I started at 3!
Jen's been here 9 months, I've been here a couple of days and I know all the bar staff and half of the regulars by name.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Stratford-Upon-Avon
On Monday Jen, Ken and the Meat Heads (aka me and Stacey) went to Stratford-Upon-Avon to visit Shakespeare. What a lovely place. I'm glad we went, I've probably seen more places in France than I have in England so it's nice to see somewhere in my own country. Some of my hertitage!
We saw Shakespeare's birth place, some old house, although we didn't go in. And we had a picnic by the river Avon, and then a stoll in the sun. It's ever so pretty, little barge boats and quaint bridges over the river.
It's your typical old English town, full of pensioners and asian tourists, tudor-style houses and little tea rooms. We went very English and had afternoon tea in the nicest cafe ever! Three little tea pots, three jugs of milk, three cups and saucers and three HUGE pieces of cake. And my two best friends.
Stratford-Upon-Avon... thumbs up!
We saw Shakespeare's birth place, some old house, although we didn't go in. And we had a picnic by the river Avon, and then a stoll in the sun. It's ever so pretty, little barge boats and quaint bridges over the river.
It's your typical old English town, full of pensioners and asian tourists, tudor-style houses and little tea rooms. We went very English and had afternoon tea in the nicest cafe ever! Three little tea pots, three jugs of milk, three cups and saucers and three HUGE pieces of cake. And my two best friends.
Stratford-Upon-Avon... thumbs up!
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