Lima.
All the guidebooks and people say Lima is not very nice and not to hang around longer than you have too, but we have both really enjoyed it. Since last time we wrote we have seen a lot of the city. We have had some really cool and one not so great experience. On the way to the city centre a taxi driver dropped us off in the completely wrong place. we think this was an honest mistake as we wanted to go to plaza de
Mayor, but ended up in an industrial and mall area. In the end we found our way to the old colonial city square and saw all the amazing architecture. We were both blown away by the beautiful Spanish and French influenced cathedrals, government palace, libraries and churches etc. Absolutely colossal in scale and more intricate in detail than any we had ever seen. We took guided tours through these impressive buildings and learnt about some of the colonial history etc.
Our first bad experience in Lima came late in the afternoon when we had an hour until we were meeting an Irish guy we had met at the hostel. We got chatting to a local guy who spoke perfect english and his cousin who spoke no English. They appeared genuine and he had been to Wellington so was easy to make conversation. He was really nice but a wee bit pushy and ended up going for a pisco sour in a cool little bar. (a pisco sour is a Peruvian drink everyone is obsessed with. Contains egg white, pisco (a spirit) and various fruits depending on your choice). We insisted on the menu but before we could get one, four massive jugs of pisco sours arrived at our table. We didn't think too much of it at the time and all seemed well. It came time to meet the Irish guy and we brought him back to the bar. We started picking up on things that seemed quite strange and we kind of got the feeling we should be getting out of there quite soon. James the Irish guy had heard about local girls who find themselves a gringo boy to take advantage of, making them buy drinks and food all night, generally just ripping them off. Before we realised a girl had appeared and was quite "keen" on James. We all thought it was a bit too good to be true but just went along with it as we had these huge jugs of pisco sours to finish. James was lead off to another area by the girl and before he could think twice he was handed a menu and the girls was ordering things on behalf of James. What we all had kind of assumed had just been confirmed. Along with a few other signs we all sensed it was time to get the hell out of this place. Frano went off to go and try pay the bill which aroused a bit of panic as the guys realised we were cutting their plan short. Expecting to pay about 30soles per jug, Frano was confronted with a bill for 330soles. With 80soles between the two of us (which is all you need here) we were in a bit of a situation. Frano knew this was an excessive amount and knew somewhere between the Spanish speaking staff and English translation of the guy we had met, they were trying to get us to pay for the whole bill and some. Frano asked for the menu to reduce confusion of prices and the lady went off for a bit and came back with a "gringo menu" with prices at least double. The menu stated 70soles per jug which is still a massive rip off we realised we needed to suck it up, pay the bill and get the hell out of there as all the staff started gathering around saying there will be trouble. With a bill of 140soles we were 60 short but luckily James was able to bail us out by emptying his wallet. We were completely ripped off by 80soles but their intention was to continue bringing us drinks all night so we weren't as bad you can imagine some people get ripped off. In the end when you translate it back to our local currency it's not too bad (about $40) and we learnt a lot from it so we won't be getting ourselves into a situation like that again.
The next day we returned to the same area to look at the other plazas we missed the previous day with a Hungarian girl we met from the hostel. We ended up meeting another guy at the same time of day who was also very very friendly. You have to understand everyone here is so persistent. Everywhere you walk taxis are stopping for you, people insist on selling you useless things on the street and there is someone outside each restaurant trying to get you into their place. Being persistent is just part of the culture here, you have to be to get by. We couldn't get away from this guy. He was a tour guide and had a lot of interesting knowledge on the history of the buildings. All was well until he invited us for a drink at his favorite bar. After our experience from the previous day we weren't going to fall into another trap and asked what kind of place it was. He perfectly described the place we were at night before and we clicked on to him as he was trying to lure us back for round two. Ironically we saw the asshole from yesterday on the street and the two passed a funny look to each other. The new guy told us he was a drug dealer and was a bit dodgy. He seemed a lot more genuine than the guy from the previous day but just as persistent so we weren't taking any chances.
Later that night we made it to parque de las aguas. (a water fountain park). We coincidentally entered behind a large tour group and walked in for free, the first time it had payed off being a gringo and making us feel better about the experience the day before. The show was amazing with synchronized music, water, lights, lasers and projections onto the water. Took some awesome photos which we will put up when we get the chance.
That night we met up with Martin, a friend who lived in new Zealand for five years as his dad was the Peruvian ambassador. Martin and his girlfriend Vanessa took us out to some awesome bars and clubs in Barranco, a wealthy beautiful area of Lima. It was nice being taken around by a local who knows the ropes. We both had an awesome night beginning with the cervezas and trying several local pisco favorites.
Today we had a rest day as our 15day tour down the coast to cusco starts tomorrow and every night so far has been a big one. Coincidently the Hungarian girl we met at the hostel is on our GAP tour and we just met the rest of the group. It is mainly kiwis and Australians and everyone is around our age and seems really cool. Looks like it is going to be an awesome two weeks and our next post will be from nazca.
Love to you all, talk soon.
Adios amigos.
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