Lima: First Impressions

 Travelling in Europe is very different. I am used to travelling in Europe. It is cosy, it is private, it is familiar, it is expected...

Going to Latin America is something else, it is an adventure from the very start, from the moment we wake up in the morning to get the 9:30 train to Amsterdam, which, as it turns out, does not exist, in order to catch our 12-hour flight across the ocean and the desert. Fortunately, we are not the only backpackers booked for the mystery train. Hardly making it into the first hour of our journey, we have already found accomplices in the very first and very important part of the adventure: getting to the desired destination, which for us is Lima, Peru! Little do I know at this point that meeting fellow-travelers at every step is my new favourite hobby! … After 2 train changes, last minute check-in, and the chance of being left behind, we finally made it on board. KLM = flying among the heavens. We spent 12 tranquil hours of being pampered by the staff angels, settling into the cloud seats, and drifting into a satisfying sleep along the accompaniment of all my six Bonobo albums. Heaven.

Upon arrival, my very very first impression of Lima is a smell, or rather a terrible stink of rotten eggs, which envelopes us until we are way out of the airport. Leaving the smell behind, my other senses begin to sharpen for the twilight image of Lima. One thing that definitely catches the attention of every tourist, especially a European tourist, should ,of course, be the traffic. Cars of all sorts, some of them looking as if stolen from the junkyard after a shooting of Fast and Furious 80s style, magically manage to sneak through one another in a synchronized wave frequency manner, so flowingly we almost do not notice the 50 accidents that could have just happened! I like it, I like it very much here :)

Proceeding into the city, I begin to sense its atmosphere. There is a European magnificence to it, which, however, has been soaked with humidity, causing it to rot regularly, making it so hard to maintain that any rational being, and I am sure Peruvians are such (still to confirm!), would have given up long time ago. And they did. It is still beautiful though. The Latin American unique choice of bright blue, yellow, and orange colours combined with traditional Spanish facades, with benjamin trees on the side of the buildings and down the streets, construct my first memory of this place which I am yet to explore!

For now, let me rest my head on the soft pillow on this hard bed in this high rank Peruvian guesthouse:

I am happy! I am travelling! I am loving!

In peace and light,

Eliza