In Peru

So we arrive at Agua Calientes, the town from where the climb to Macchu Pichu starts, in glorious sunshine. But that evening the rain started and didn´t let up. so we arrived in the dark and wete with mist and clouds covernig the entire site. But the weather is really strange there and every now and again everything would clear and we had a perfect view. It really is a magical place. Not only the mystery of how and why the temples were buit on that site - the top of a mountain with vertical drops of about 1000 metres ot the river below and surrounded by even higher mountains. Naturally the place is overrun with visitors but it is big enough that you can find space and enjoy the sense of peace and calm in serenity. We did the tour from Cusco where we had stayed for five days visiting a series of sites of Inca ruins. Some were really impressive and gave a good impression of how advanced their building skills were. Cusco itself is a lovely town with a very relaxed atmosphere. Naturally, you are constantly approached by people selling souvenirs but even they are relaxed and quite willing to take no for an answer without pestering you. We arrived on Saturday and had been told that there was a Carnival like parade every Sunday morning. So of course we went intpo town and took up position outside the cathedral and waited, and waited, while various units of the army went through drills that really appeared as though they had never done them before. It was all a bit of a shambles. This was all the prelude to a ceremony where some local dignitaries were invited to hoist the Cusco and Peru flags in the main square. Fair enough, but then instead of the fun parade we were expecting, it turned out that the days event was devoted to the local university and for the best part of an hour every employee and student paraded past the viewing stand. We finally gave up and went of to the Irish pub around the corner for the rugby match against England, only to find that we had misjudged the time difference and had missed the first hour of the game. The bus from Cusco to Lima was leaving at four in the afternoon, so we visited three of the museums in the city in the morning. Unfortunately, they seem to have shared all the artefacts from the Inca sites among themselves, so they were all the same. They all had a few pieces of pottery, some pieces of jewellery and some houshold implements or tools. Worst of all, where there was an English explanation of the display it was literally incomprehensible. I suspect Google Translate may have been involved.
One night we saw part of a performance of Peruvian folk music and dancing. We arrived late and as we entered they were doing a number that sounded more Irish that Peruvian and I am convinced the dance was a parody of Riverdance. And so on to Lima - 21 hours on the bus. It was actually not as bad as expected. The buses are pretty comfortable with large seats that recline quite far so we both got some sleep, you get dinner and breakfast (sort of) and we were even treated to a game of bingo to pass the time during the last few hours, which are the worst. But arriving in Lima was a delight, simply because for the first time in weeks it was genuinely warm. It is an enormous city that sprawls for miles in every direction. We are staying in the upmarket area of Miraflores just a hundred yards from the sea. It´s all high rise apartment blocks, most of which have private security guards on the door. We immediately took a walk along the sea front which has some nice parks but no real beaches. Latre on we decided to make up for not going out to dinner in Cusco and made a reservation at one of the recommended restaurants her to try some of this famous Peruvian food (guinea pig is one of the leading delicacies). It´s a pity, but the fame seems to have gone to their head. It was a lovely restaurant sitting inside the site of an impressive pre-Inca site of what was a religious and administrative centre and which was lit up for the clientele. But we were not allowed ot eat outside and then the entire evening the waiters were rushing us, They hadn´t even cleared the starters before the main course appeared on the table. The food was very good, but it was not a particularly good experience and certainly not worth the five nights of starvation we face to pay for it. Today we did tour if the city centre and it was a very pleasant surprise after all the horror stories you hear about how dangerous it is. At one point we were standing at traffic lights and a man turned around and said in English: Welcome to our city. We are happy to see you´. A short time latre we wer looking at the map to see where we had to go and within seconds a tourism official stopped to give us directions. Naturally, the sense of safety is increased by the fact that there are police standing practically every twenty metres. Nevertheless, Lima´s city centre is really lovely with a lot of really lovely buildings. Of course it was a Sunday which probably made a difference, particularly with the traffic, but we really liked the centre. Tomorrow´s a day of rest and then we´re off to the Amazon