Lima revisited
Huacachina was awesome! If time permitted, we would have stayed there another week practicing our sand-boarding skills and drinking Tacama Sangria. However, Lima was only four hours away, and a not to be misseed flight from there to Florida for Tamaras, Shurik's mom sixty fifth birthday on 21st of January.
Lima is a beautiful city, but never the less we planned our arrival to be in the middle of the day as 99% of people whom we met on the road and who passed through Lima have told us they have been robed there. We heard all sorts of stories. From an Israeli girl who knew Spanish, we heard that in brought day light, on a busy street, a man simply approached her and demanded the contents of her money belt, and she, by far not a small and gentle little thing with all her military training had no choice, but to surrender her belongings as she saw his buddies lurking around. From an American girl, we heard that while walking on an unfamiliar street the neighborhood all of the sudden turned bad and in no time somebody ripped off the hat from her head, and then a man tried to pull off her fanny pack that was strapped to her waist. She said he tagged on it twice, but the belt was too strong and then when he pulled on it the third time, it flew off as if it wasn't even attached. Confused, she looked at her hands and was horrified to see they were covered in blood. Apparently, the man used a knife to remove the bag, and cut her hands on the way.
I really don't mean to scare or discourage anyone from going to Lima. Not all stories are dreadful, some are actually quite amusing. While waiting in Colca Canyon for the condors to show up, we talked to a Spanish speaking German woman who on her first day in Lima met a nice local guy who walked around with her, showing her the sites, taking her to restaurants and recommending a nice and cheap hostel for the night. The next day they met again and it would have been another wonderful day, if only when she gave him her camera to take a picture of her, he wouldn't have run away with it. How charming.
Lima is a beautiful city, but never the less we planned our arrival to be in the middle of the day as 99% of people whom we met on the road and who passed through Lima have told us they have been robed there. We heard all sorts of stories. From an Israeli girl who knew Spanish, we heard that in brought day light, on a busy street, a man simply approached her and demanded the contents of her money belt, and she, by far not a small and gentle little thing with all her military training had no choice, but to surrender her belongings as she saw his buddies lurking around. From an American girl, we heard that while walking on an unfamiliar street the neighborhood all of the sudden turned bad and in no time somebody ripped off the hat from her head, and then a man tried to pull off her fanny pack that was strapped to her waist. She said he tagged on it twice, but the belt was too strong and then when he pulled on it the third time, it flew off as if it wasn't even attached. Confused, she looked at her hands and was horrified to see they were covered in blood. Apparently, the man used a knife to remove the bag, and cut her hands on the way.
I really don't mean to scare or discourage anyone from going to Lima. Not all stories are dreadful, some are actually quite amusing. While waiting in Colca Canyon for the condors to show up, we talked to a Spanish speaking German woman who on her first day in Lima met a nice local guy who walked around with her, showing her the sites, taking her to restaurants and recommending a nice and cheap hostel for the night. The next day they met again and it would have been another wonderful day, if only when she gave him her camera to take a picture of her, he wouldn't have run away with it. How charming.