Around the world in 40 weeks (blah blah)

Street crime is a problem in South America!










At last made it on holiday, and am sitting in a booth in Click.com (Ica) 'el lugar ideal para ti' apparently. And because I´m on the internet I can translate that means the perfect place to be. Wish I´d done just a little more Spanish before coming out, but with Sam´s help I´m sure I´ll be right there by 27th Oct (flying out day). Had a surprise at first when we read the conversion rate the wrong way around ... the cash machine didn´t have an exchange rate and we thought one Peruvian splat equals three point something US dollars. I think the taxi drivers etc must have thought we were just a little too excited in our face of outrage and walking away negotiating techniques. Although suspecting for a while that our dinner last night didn´t cost 12 pounds and our somewhat nasty accommodation (we were feeling poor at the time) wasn´t 15 pounds it´s only now on the internet when we got the actual exchange rate.

So last nights dinner was under two pounds and the accomm was just three pounds forty. Phew. Anyway - the prebooked hotel in Lima on Monday night was lovely (Jacuzzi, seven foot wide bed, very nice breakfast in the morning (and later that day courtesy of big pockets). Lima itself though, as widely informed, is an armpit. It has the constant noise, fumes, smog, noise and general nothing-going-for-itness that we were expecting. Yesterday therefore we came down the coast to Ica, just a four hour coach journey (three pounds each - not forty five). Just seven hours later we arrived and ditched the plan to go on in favour of sleep. Ica is OK, a mini version of constant noise, fumes, smog, noise but with somethings going for it. Standard plaza´s and churches etc. As a reward for all our hard travelling we´re off to Huacachina, this is

´Surrounded by dunes, palm trees and huarangos, small tropical American trees (Caesalpina coriaria); the Lagoon of Huacachina appears Ica. In olden times, the lagoon became famous among the residents due to the medicinal properties of its filtered waters. Today it is apeaceful resort which is ideal to take a rest and enjoy thelandscape´.

The book says highest sand dunes in the world (blah blah) and there are lots of places hiring sand boards for a bit of highspeed suicide which we´ll clearly have to do! Anyway - day two effectively, and hopefully we´ve got past the stage of complete stupidity that takes effect when you´re suddenly jumped into alien places (I´m sure I gave a taxi man the agreed $5 dollars, but now I think he only asked for 5 local splats) - it´s the stuff of cold sweats and nightmares.

Speaking of the weather, winter here is warmer than summer in UK. We´ve yet to hit the altitude places though (highest everything in the world (blah blah blah)). Righto - so everything is OK and just four months and eleven days to go in S.A., think I´d better check on the status of that revolution in Bolivia now. Adios.