Buenos Tardes de Peru Mis Amigos

The good news is that I made it 4 days before getting Peruvian Jelly Belly {compulsory travel illness for me ... see Alex's earlier blog comments about carrier bags in Eygpt, speak to Lucy about the maximum immodium dosage on the Inca Trail}. The bad news is that I spent the first 2 days here pretty much sleeping off a virus, and Andre is going to love this...was woken up this morning at 6am by an earthquake. So that's a hurricane and an earthquake notched up already.

It was very strange being here without Lucy, and it suddenly struck me how quickly I made the decision to do the course and take this break. When we were here in March it never occurred to me that I'd be back ever let alone so soon. I went to a couple of our old haunts, the beach and Parque d'amour in Miraflores which is an area where people take wedding vows and have photos taken overlooking the Pacific and against a rather Daliesque monument. I explored Miraflores further. I went back to the artesan markets Lucy, Lyn and I did earlier in the year and discovered new restaurants and pisco sour bars. I didn't buy anything because frankly there is nothing I need { except new trousers on account of splitting a second pair...Milly looking good!}. I did visit some museums, one of the catacombs and the inquisition, and the Museo de la Nacion which houses some spectacular recently discovered gold inca funerial masks.



Parque Kennedy, Miraflores.




So I was wandering through the Plaza des Armes as the President of Paraguay arrived at the Palace...which was nice. Then I bumped into H and Kate, my lovely new tent mates from Yosemite. We had been trying to arrange to meet since they arrived late last night, without success, mainly on account of my refusal to get a mobile phone while I'm away. Hoorah! So they are just finishing off their meeting about their trip which starts tomorrow. They are doing the old gringo trail, Nazca, Cuzco, Camino Inca, Macca Peachy {that one's for Lucy}. So I thought I'd post anew as I wait for them to pick me up in about 15 minutes...black russians all round!