Thursday, July 12, 2001
Total Miles Traveled: 0 miles

In Austin
Altitude: 100 ft
Weather: Sunny, 95 F

Austin to Lima

We have arrived here in Lima at 12:30 am Friday. Just a 7 1/2 hour flight from Dallas.

It is hard to believe that just a month ago, my friend Claudia mentioned a trip to Peru, while we were hiking in Pedernales State Park. The Inca Trail is on my "Top Ten Things I Must Do Before I Die" list, and, of course, I would go with her. After a conversation with my loving husband Nils, the adventure to Peru was set.

It is early Friday morning, and our flight was crowded. We met a very nice Spanish/Peruvian man, Nacho, who sat next to us on the plane. He noted the "must eat" Peruvian cuisine and volunteered to shows us Lima. My spanish is rusty and Claudia's spanish consists of singing "Deis Indios Pequenos" or "10 little Indians". We were grateful to have a spanish-english speaking host for Lima.

First impression of Lima... no jet ways at the International Airport. We made it through customs, collected our luggage and met our guide Daniel from Explorandes , who is our host while in Lima. He is a wealth of information about Lima and Peru, as he explained the city/sigths during our bus ride to the hotel.

At our hotel, La Castallana in Miraflores, we quickly changed and crashed, as it was 1:30 am. Good thing Peru and Texas are on the same time zone. Tomorrow, we have a day of exploring and Nacho is meeting us at noon.

Friday, July 13, 2001
Total Miles Traveled: 3540 miles

In Lima
Altitude: Sea Level
Weather: Cloudy 55 F

Lima

My Spanish is getting better. We enjoyed a leisure breakfast of toast and cafe con leche, then went back to sleep.

We called and waited for Nacho, and did not get in touch. So we decided to go to Museo Oro , which is a private collection of gold and artifacts from pre-Inca and Inca times. The collection was amazing and we spent several hours looking at the exhibits. It is must see, if you go to Lima.

We experienced our first taxi ride, in which the taxi was hit by a truck only a few blocks from our hotel. It was a minor dent, however the taxi driver and truck driver exchange words. We could not understand the words, but we understood the hand gestures... We were pickup by another taxi that took us to Museo Oro.

Driving in Lima is an experience. Claudia and I did not understand the rules, but that was okay, as we were only passengers.

We meet up with Nacho after the Museum. Nacho, his cousin Deigo, Claudia, and I went for our first Peruvian dinner at Pardo's Chicken. Don't let the name fool you, we had a good dinner on Anticuchos, Pappas Fritas, BBQ Pollo, and Pisco Sours.

Anticuchos is a Peruvian dish consisting of cow heart. Pisco Sour is the national drink of Peru, which is Pisco with lime, egg white, and bitters. So far, both Claudia and I enjoy the cuisine.

We went back to hotel, as our pick-up is at 7:30 AM for the Airport. Tomorrow, we fly to Cusco.