Last Day In Lima
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And then there were two…
We’re the only ones left from our tour group of 12. We spent yesterday morning with Catherine and Brian, visiting the Rafael Larco Herrera private gallery of pre-Inca porn pottery. That’s not really what it’s called, but that’s what the ground floor of the gallery is – pottery figures of every kind of sexual act known between the living and the dead, and animals. Particularly amusing was the pottery depiction of sexually transmitted diseases – there was no beating around the bush (or maybe that’s all there was…) in the blatancy of the imagery. That’s not all there was to the gallery. There was also a very thorough collection of pottery depicting scenes, animals, objects and deities of importance to the every day life of pre-Inca civilization, gold and silver body adornments, woven textiles of incredible intricacy, but they were a little overshadowed by the enormous endowments of the pottery figurines downstairs. We left felling like we were walking underwater – it was all a little overwhelming but well worth the visit.
We met up with Kim & Holly for lunch and they managed to make flight arrangements with their parents to get them home to Australia (as nobody in Peru – save our tour guides – was capable of handling the task). Peru airlines do not seem to have any compensation for travelers who miss connecting flights due to schedule malfunctions. Air mile travelers beware!
We took one last tour around the Indian market, looking at the same stuff we’ve been looking at in every market for the last 21 days, but this time we got around to buying some gifts for some people at home. Nobody ever buys anything until the end of the trip, as you don’t want to have to carry a bunch of crap in your backpack for a month. You’ve usually brought enough crap with you…
Back at the hotel, we said our goodbyes to Catherine & Brian who were off to Bolivia…and then there were four. It felt very strange to have Catherine & Brian gone, so Holly, Kim, George & I did something ridiculously decadent for Peru – we took a cab to the only Starbuck’s in town (which, incidentally, is huge, and has a guy standing at a podium out front directing the valet parking… I kid you not…)and had a decent cup of coffee which is so darn hard to find in Peru. We killed an hour there before going back to the hotel where Holly & Kim would be able to find out their definitive flight plan for their escape from Peru.
As it turned out, Holly & Kim were booked on a 7:00AM flight this morning, and had to be at the airport at 4:00 AM – nothing new for us on this trip to be up between 4:00 – 6:00 AM, so it didn’t seem like a hardship as much as it was a relief for them to be going home. We said our goodbyes last night, and then there were two…
So here we are on our last day in Lima. We’ve been amusing ourselves by scaring the next GAP tour people at the hotel – regaling them with stories of playing soccer at 4000 m above sea level, getting up between 4-6 AM every day of the trip, and travel screw ups. Actually, we’ve been raving about the Inca Trail, and how great our tour leaders and guides were, but they all seem to be most interested in how much sleep they’re going to get, which truthfully is NONE.
We’re currently in an Internet cafe in Lima, after an interesting tour of the Archaeological Museum (big, alarming police presence, as the Minister of Culture & his family was taking a tour at the same time…), listening to a “Best of the ’80′s” 8-track over the tin speakers in the ceiling. It’s sort of like listening to “Oh Canada” on the PA at school, only these songs have a catchier beat… I know you all wish you could be here head banging along to Twisted Sister with us. Oh – now it’s Dire Straights – things are looking up. For anyone in our group who’s reading this – today is the only sunny day we’ve seen in Lima. I know you won’t believe us, but it’s true.
Well, we’re off to wander for a while before we head to the airport. It’s been great, but it will be great to be home too. As always, we miss our friends, families and doggies. We’ll see you all soon…
Noel & George
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