Yesterday was a long day. We left Brighton at 0300 in order to get to Heathrow for our 0620 flight to Madrid (2hr 20 duration). After a 3 hour wait in Madrid we caught the 1250 flight to Lima (11hr 55 duration), landing at 1745 local time (GMT -5). We were straight through passport control, relieved when we saw our bags arrive on the belt and then straight through customs as well. In arrivals there were what seemed like hundreds of taxi drivers holding up boards, but we eventually managed to find ours driver, called Fernando. We then an introduction to south american rush hour – it was crazy!! Lima has a population of almost 10 million (London has about 8 million) and the drivers pay no attention to lane markings. One road had three lanes in each direction, but our side of the road had 6 cars side by side. I was amazed that not all cars had dents in! After an entertaining 45 minute drive we were dropped at our hotel – Hostel El Patio in Miraflores district. Miraflores is an upmarket district of Lima on the sea front, although our hotel is a few streets back from the beach. By this time it was almost 24 hours since we got out of bed in Brighton so we were quite tired, despite both of us getting some sleep on the flights. After a quick wash we hit the sack to get some proper sleep!
This morning has been quite leisurely so far. There is a little fountain outside our room window, so we awoke to the sound of running water. We have been for breakfast – bread, jam and melon – and are about to head out for the day to explore the local area.
What a long day! I will not write too much as I want to see if this reaches you. I have shown my tutor group the picture of your ruck sack and will show them about your 1st day. Traffic sounds great!! Hope that you have manage to relax before your 22 hour journey!