Lima

Lima was always going to be the place we said we would rest and wind down from the chaos of the last four weeks. And that`s exactly what we`re doing. The hotel is gorgeous, extremely comfortable. So I see this as base camp for the next couple of days.

We were up early again this morning to catch a flight from Cusco to Lima. As we were descending into Lima, the views of the Andes behind us were spectacular, and then we saw Lima. 100% cloud cover. I mean a sheet of white cloud covering the entire city from one end to the other. Referring to the guide book, we noticed a paragraph we had never seen before. It read something like: "During the summer months of November to May, Lima enjoys very sunny days with temperatures sometimes reasching 30 degrees celcius. However, during the rest of the year, the entire city is covered by cloud which moves in from the Pacific, but gets trapped due to the high mountains surrounding the region." This was later confirmed to us by both a taxi driver and a waitress in a small cafe by the beach. Great, no sun. But at least the hotel has an indoor pool, and the room service menu looks fairly substantial!

Deciding not to spend the entire day in the hotel, we wandered down to the beach area where we found a rather large shopping mall. There I found another lovely pair of Merrills, which just had to be bought - how I intend to get everything home I have no idea. Tonight, we plan to go out for some food, drinks, bowling, and if at all possible, some karaoke. After our tiring activities of the last few weeks, we deserve it.

So on Thursday, we come home. I`m feeling rather opposed to the idea right now. I would love to stay here for another month, as there is so much here to see. If I could take the time, I would. Without hesitation. But unfortunately, it`s not so simple. I start back to college on Monday night, and I am kind of looking forward to it. Work on the other hand, I really do not want to go back. The routine scares me to my core. But what are you going to do? This trip has been such an eye opening experience for me. The world is such a huge place, so much to see and do, so many people to meet and experiences to face. The idea of sitting in front of a computer screen for 5 days a week really doesn`t compare in any way. Perhaps it is something for me to think about.

But for now, I`m hungry, so it`s time to go restaurant hunting.