Word.
So I know I said I wasn't posting for awhile but instead of trying to mission straight through to hippie town one time I decided to stop over a night in Lima - mainly because I am exhausted but also to eat meat and dairy products and I wish I could say engage in non-marital relations but I can't. All things frowned upon by the hare's.
I am ensconced in my lovely hostel (a nice smelling, comfy bed and clean bathroom with not a pube in sight - what more could a girl ask for?), after venturing out into the rain for a DOPE crispy pizza (chorizo, REAL mushrooms - they seem to like a canned mushroom over here as far as I have seen - and avocado) followed by - remember that this is a judgement free zone - the biggest Starbucks cafe mocha EVER. I know it's not very travel-y and instead of visiting corporate America I should have been getting amongst it at some road side stall eating barbequed cow offal and talking to the locals in Spanish about the meaning of life blah blah. But Starbucks was warm and had comfy couches and they were playing Jack Johnson and so I drank my bucket of mocha and read my book surrounded by English speaking people and it was bliss. Tomorrow I will go be uncomfortable in a local dive bar and grow as a person on this journey that I have undertaken but today I chose easy and familiar.
So I mentioned that it was kind of a mission to get here. The normal border between Bolivia and Peru has been shut for over a month now due to protests (something to do with Canadians and or mining apparently) so it takes a bit more effort to get from the one country to the next. To do so - I left La Paz on Saturday morning at 7am and it only took a 10 hour bus trip with 1 border crossing in the middle (Bolivia to Chile), another border crossing (Chile to Peru) via a collectivo, straight away followed by another bus trip - this time for 22 hours overnight - and lastly a taxi drive to my hostel from the bus station - during which I had to direct the taxi driver using my 2007 Lonely Planet. Oh well. To be sure I am here and it wasn't that bad. It was issue free for the most part and I arrived alive which has to count for something.
I do have to make mention though of how serious the Peruvians took their security during the second bus trip. Before I boarded the overnight bus I had to show them my passport with entry papers even though I wasn't going through a border. They then videoed me and my seat number, as well as everyone else on the bus before we set off. Then at least 4 times during the trip, including at like stupid in the morning, the bus was stopped at certain check points and random bags were pulled out of the cargo hold by the police/army/scary looking dudes and the entire contents scattered gaily over the cold dirty ground. Luckily my bag wasn't picked out because if they had yanked MY smalls out to be sniffed through by some large dog I would have broken someone in half. For realz. It was amazing at how patient my fellow bus mates were while their possessions were being man handled. Those were some serious Mona Lisa smiles I saw.
Another pleasantry on the bus was the fact that, although they had a toilet on board, we were strictly prohibited from dropping the kids off using said toilet. If we wanted to do a number 2 we had to tell the bus conductor and he would tell the bus driver who would then stop at a suitable location. Then everyone would watch you get off the bus, WIF toilet roll in hand and they would know what you were about to do. Lucky for me I don't do number 2's, so I was ok.
And that is all. A post about nothing really. And not very exciting. But I find that if I don't do this as regularly as I can, then it doesn't happen.
Be well.
PS Thanks for the blog love peeps (via the Facebook, as it seems commenting through the blog is somewhat troublesome.) It can be somewhat nerve racking posting things for all the world to see here. I know my mum and dad will be amused at most of what I write but I can't say the same for the rest of you lot.
So I know I said I wasn't posting for awhile but instead of trying to mission straight through to hippie town one time I decided to stop over a night in Lima - mainly because I am exhausted but also to eat meat and dairy products and I wish I could say engage in non-marital relations but I can't. All things frowned upon by the hare's.
I am ensconced in my lovely hostel (a nice smelling, comfy bed and clean bathroom with not a pube in sight - what more could a girl ask for?), after venturing out into the rain for a DOPE crispy pizza (chorizo, REAL mushrooms - they seem to like a canned mushroom over here as far as I have seen - and avocado) followed by - remember that this is a judgement free zone - the biggest Starbucks cafe mocha EVER. I know it's not very travel-y and instead of visiting corporate America I should have been getting amongst it at some road side stall eating barbequed cow offal and talking to the locals in Spanish about the meaning of life blah blah. But Starbucks was warm and had comfy couches and they were playing Jack Johnson and so I drank my bucket of mocha and read my book surrounded by English speaking people and it was bliss. Tomorrow I will go be uncomfortable in a local dive bar and grow as a person on this journey that I have undertaken but today I chose easy and familiar.
So I mentioned that it was kind of a mission to get here. The normal border between Bolivia and Peru has been shut for over a month now due to protests (something to do with Canadians and or mining apparently) so it takes a bit more effort to get from the one country to the next. To do so - I left La Paz on Saturday morning at 7am and it only took a 10 hour bus trip with 1 border crossing in the middle (Bolivia to Chile), another border crossing (Chile to Peru) via a collectivo, straight away followed by another bus trip - this time for 22 hours overnight - and lastly a taxi drive to my hostel from the bus station - during which I had to direct the taxi driver using my 2007 Lonely Planet. Oh well. To be sure I am here and it wasn't that bad. It was issue free for the most part and I arrived alive which has to count for something.
I do have to make mention though of how serious the Peruvians took their security during the second bus trip. Before I boarded the overnight bus I had to show them my passport with entry papers even though I wasn't going through a border. They then videoed me and my seat number, as well as everyone else on the bus before we set off. Then at least 4 times during the trip, including at like stupid in the morning, the bus was stopped at certain check points and random bags were pulled out of the cargo hold by the police/army/scary looking dudes and the entire contents scattered gaily over the cold dirty ground. Luckily my bag wasn't picked out because if they had yanked MY smalls out to be sniffed through by some large dog I would have broken someone in half. For realz. It was amazing at how patient my fellow bus mates were while their possessions were being man handled. Those were some serious Mona Lisa smiles I saw.
Another pleasantry on the bus was the fact that, although they had a toilet on board, we were strictly prohibited from dropping the kids off using said toilet. If we wanted to do a number 2 we had to tell the bus conductor and he would tell the bus driver who would then stop at a suitable location. Then everyone would watch you get off the bus, WIF toilet roll in hand and they would know what you were about to do. Lucky for me I don't do number 2's, so I was ok.
And that is all. A post about nothing really. And not very exciting. But I find that if I don't do this as regularly as I can, then it doesn't happen.
Be well.
PS Thanks for the blog love peeps (via the Facebook, as it seems commenting through the blog is somewhat troublesome.) It can be somewhat nerve racking posting things for all the world to see here. I know my mum and dad will be amused at most of what I write but I can't say the same for the rest of you lot.
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