Damn you computer! And thoughts on Lima

All right, so I have been trying to upload this set of photos forever all to no success. So no photos. Still in Lima. Hanging out at the hostel. Leaving tomorrow for Cuzco, Peru by plane. That bus ride could have been over 24hrs (vomit).

Lima is quite nice where it´s nice, but overall, I did prefer the feel of Cuenca. Here, parts of the city are almost exactly like you´d find in the states. Examplë: the large ocean-side mall where we got our dinner and gelato last night. Also, the prices here--with the exception of housing--are sort of comparable to the States. Of course, you´d be hard pressed to find the octopus, conch, and sea urchin soup I had for dinner tonight for only 17/s ($6). Let me tell ya, this soup had tons of sea urchin which I love and costs a fortune in Chicago. With that said, I don´t think people who live in the midwest are designed to eat this much seafood. Am feeling a little nauseated at the moment.

So then, Lima´s nice parts (Miraflores) is too much like other US cities for me to find this place that interesting. As for the rest of the city, cabbies and restaurant proprietors alike warn against heading there as a tourist. I think these cautionary warnings are a little overboard but nonetheless, we didn´t have time to visit Central Lima this time around.

Thus far, my favourite part about all of this is meeting fellow travellers. There was the Californian surfer dude in Ecuador, and now these last couple of days at our hostel, there´ve been some interesting characters. There´s an Irish lad (Shane? Seamus?) whose every other word was ¨fuckin´¨. He seems to be about our age and quit his job 5months ago, took his savings, and hit the road. He´s heading to Colombia tomorrow since it´s the only country he can afford now, he claims. Also, there´s a French lad here who´s a bit odd. He likes to belt out American pop songs with his headphones on in his French accent.



Likes: Irish accents are sooo hot. So are French ones. German ones too. Accents in general, pretty much. South American ketchup. Jugo de Frutas (fresh!). Sea urchin.

Dislikes: The many, many stray dogs make me really, really sad. There was a really adorable one today near the restaurant--looked like a doberman mix--that was wandering around the streets lookin for food. He chased after a rickshaw when it got near him which was pretty funny.

Currently wasting money on: Pedi and mani combo for 25/S! It was too hard to resist despite the fact that we are going on a freakin multi-day hikes where showers (forget about nail polish remover) will be few and far between.

Hostel recommendation in Lima: Friend´s House, 368 Manco Capac, Miraflores. Dirt cheap. Good location. Free bikes even if they´re totally shitty. Free internet. Hot water aplenty.