The end of 31 October to 1 November
Huaca Puellama was interesting seeing as it was my first encounter with the legendary and somewhat rat like Peruvian hairless dogs who are considered endangered. Not sure why the locals seek to preserve such an ugly looking being although they are an odd bunch. Hermy was introduced to Angelica (a local student from Lima) before we made our way to Mercado del Indies (a local market). Each stall is packed to the rafters with some (most) of Peru´s finest merchandise...alpaca jerseys with steamy tassels / beanies that cover the ears and some / and bags (purses, handbags, manbags etc). Needless to say, each stall was exactly like the previous one and just when I thought I´d discovered a unique item, I was thrown "no para ventar"...not for sale. I ended up parting with 10 soles for a manbag as a solution to my ever present shoestring book (400 pages nog al!) and other bits and pieces that I´ve been lugging around buses, ruins and cathedrals for the last couple of days.
Popped back to the Lion to psych myself up for the arvie session of heading thru to Explore Bicycle Rentals and bumped into a new recruit, Beau from Florida. A freindly looking chap (compared to Mik the Psycho and Chad the tattoo man) and he was keen to get out and about and decided to join me for the afternoon excursion. We got talking about our past lives which seemed remarkably similar despite coming from different continents. We walked around in circles for about an hour and finally decided that my 2007 shoestring was outdated and the Bicycle Rental place must have moved. Popped into a trendy retro bar and sunk a couple while getting to know the ins and outs of what we´re both about. Beau had decided to head to Lima to learn Spanish for 5 weeks to obtain a certification as a final step in completing his Political Science degree. A very open minded chap with strong opinions on the world and where he fits in...certainly not in an office! On our way home, we couldn´t help noticing how serious the Limans take Halloween so made an entry into the nearest store stocking kit and came away with an elephant and monkey hat. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing 100 club with Beau in anticipation of the big night on the town and we were certainly not disappointed. The Tasca Bar was 5m long by 1m wide and had an awesome vibe. A great mix of people both local and foreign. I ended up jamming with Jason from the US and before long we were in the Flying Dog Backpacker Bar which was going some. After an hour´s idle banter with some South African dude and his bird we headed off to some nightclub. The evening / morning´s last memory included cocktails, local mixes and green inflourescent lights.
The 1st of November was a complete non event given the festivities of Halloween. I was shaken from my slumbers by a tremor which rocked the city of Lima around 3pm (I subsequently discovered this measured in at 4.3 on the Richter Scale)! I decided this was a sign to move on from the Lion and checked into La Castalene Hotel for the start of the Gap Tour thru the rest of Peru.
Adios amigos
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