Fortunately I managed to sleep a little bit in the terminal of Santiago airport thanks to a couple of comfortable chairs. There were quite a lot of people waiting with me because of the early flights so the terminal looked more like a hostel rather than an airport. My plane left at 6am and at 9.30am I arrived in Lima. Raul came to pick me up at the airport and that was great, because Lima is far worse connected in terms of public transport than Santiago. I know Raul through a group of friends of my family which they met in Rome approximately two years ago. Since then my parents have always stayed in touch with them. Raul will join me in my travelling for approximately a week since he also wants to visit and to better know his own country.
Well....the first impression I had of Lima from the car was that of an overcrowded city with lots of poverty. There is practically no public transport, no real police on the street and except for the city centre, the suburbs of the city are like big ‘favelas’ all scattered around. Raul live with his wive and her sister and parents slightly in the suburb in a house composed by approximately 6 rooms. It is fully furnished including all the basic infrastructures of telephone, internet fresh current water and obviously electricity. The ‘barrio’ where they live is considered middle class in Lima and Raul and his wife own a little bar which makes incredible fruit juices. I was very lucky to be in Lima with them. Their hospitality, their simplicity, their friendly manners were amazing. I was exhausted when I arrived and they managed to feed me with terrific home-made food, to give me a comfortable bed and shower, and most of all to make me feel at home when I was so far away and in an environment that a first glance could have seemed so unfriendly and dangerous. Raul is such a great man. He works in the local factory of the most famous drink in Peru called ‘Inca Cola’, and also helps his wife in the little bar they have on the back side of their house. He is on holiday the whole month so he seemed very happy to take me around in Lima and later in Peru to share some travel experiences together. On the first day we visited Lima and the centre of the city. The city shows the typical characteristics and elements of many other developing countries, including the big contrasts between the rich and the poor. Moreover, in South America, the contrast is also given by the clash of now melting cultures between the Spanish (and later Italian) influence and the local culture. The influence from the colonial period and the existent pre-Colombian sites are now melted together in a very interesting mixture of architecture. The city centre is nice and clean but unfortunately very small compared to the rest of the city. We visited the national museum, the museum of the Spanish Inquisition, the catacombs, and the main commercial roads. I couldn’t however stop noticing the evident poverty and pollution of the city. I found many similarities with my previous experience in India few years ago but obviously the attitude of the people here is very different. The Peruvians seem much more active; they really are ‘never-tired’ workers. Fortunately as well, the richness of their land provides them with an amazing array of fruits, vegetables and all sorts of meat and fish. Useless to say that the food is simply amazing, especially the cebice, a typical Peruvian dish which is made with fresh fish and seafood served with maiz (corn), yuca and red camote. I spent three days in Lima and time passed by very quickly. Even if the city is obviously not the best city in the world, I experienced it ‘as a Peruvian’ together with a Peruvian family which gave me a great insight and understanding of the Peruvian people and customs.
I will be always grateful for their hospitality and their smiles.
Tomorrow I will be on my way to Nazca to see the mysterious lines made on the desert. I will leave around 4.30 am to catch the bus (together with Raul) which will take us there. From Nazca we will then move to Cuzco and to Macchu Pichu.
I love being in South America every moment more.
TWIMO
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