Lima in a day

Hola hola hola!

We were in Lima only briefly but I shall regale you with our historias chicatitas :)

The weather in Lima was horrid when we arrived, worse than London when it rains. The definition of 'overcast', grey, drizzly and cold. Naice.

We headed straight into town from our hostel which was a little on the outskirts. When we approached the centre we could hear the low rumble of thudding drums emmanating from  behind the building facades, turns out we arrived just in time for a mass school festival, complete with traditional dress and music.

Hundreds of schools must have been there, each with their own banners, all the children in military organised group, beautifully bright costumes, it was so great to have seen it (check facebook for pictures!)

Headed straight to Monasterio de San Francisco. No more buying of products off of nuns this time though, only catacombes filled with 25,000 human remains. But nothing too creepy, it was not a ritual burial site or anything, solemente a neat and tiday way to the bury the citizens.

Then some wandering around and headed to the Museum of Art there. Have to hit up a museum anywhere we can. It's like a santuary for travelers. Clean, safe, there's a loo you can use with minimal risk of contracting a disease. And generally a coffee shop too. Bliss.

We saw two Peruvian artists, whos names escapes me now, but I really quite liked them. The first used bright colours with crazy shapes, and lines and things :P It pleased my eyes. And the other guy was like realistic surrealism :P He somehow created realistic light images but using a surrealistic landscape. Hard to explain but was again much funz to see.

So the day was chilled really, a filler day between Ecuador and our final volunteering destination in Huancayo.

Now cue the 7hr 10.30pm bus ride from Lima to Huancayo. Cruz del Sur buses are like planes on the land! :D They have stewardesses and give vaccum packed food (mmm travel food) and safety videos and baggage check. All very swish. Unfortuneatly all the niceties in the world do not cover the fact that I am attempting to sleep, sitting up and that the left side of my body is frozen due to close proximity to window. It was like an all nighter but with none of the fun.

Arrived in Huancayo at 5.45am to be greeted by Eli, one of the founders of CarismaPeru, and whos house I will be staying at for the next 3 weeks.

Eli tells me that there at 8 other volunteers staying with her, her husband Neto and their 3 yr old daughter in their house. A big happy international family. Their house is like a mary poppins house though, people always are emerging from rooms I didn't know existed. Anyhooz, sorry about the poor english and tense jumping, I'll try and stay past for a bit now.

So Eli shows me to my little room: it's a teeny weeny box room cerca Harry Potter the early years :P But I love it. It's a place of my own to escape when I wish. Eli tells me to rest for the morning and to see her in the afternoon to discuss my volunteering. I take her literally and am dead to the world for the next few hours, only to be roused by strange shouts and voices travelling up from the open plan living room below. Hmm, maybe time to venture out and introduce myself to some new peepz :)

bexxxxxxxxxxxxxx