Lift Off - Whacky Races & a Dog in a Bag

 

Hi, hello, howdy, g’day, hola, fit like, dia duit & helo!  Welcome to our little travel blog for the big trip!  I’m still not entirely sure how Andy managed to convince me to come on such a big adventure (one week away from home is usually my limit) so embarking on a two month escapade in itself is quite an achievement!  Grab a cuppa, a pew and put your feet up for a few mins if you’d like to read about our exploits.

Day One

I have been packing and unpacking my bag for approximately 5 days.  Things have been neatly stowed in packing cubes, zipped shut and put in the bag only to be unpacked and have things removed or added multiple times!  The taxi is arriving at 4.15am so whatever is in it now is staying and fingers crossed it will all be fine.

We flew from London to Madrid, had a leisurely couple of hours in the airport before boarding our 12hour flight to Lima-Peru.  The flight was rather splendid, due to the fact we did had exceptionally comfy seats and some rather nice food!  I did breathe a sigh of relief when the final meal was being served, as Andy had been eyeing up “Homemade Octopus Pie” on the menu since boarding, but was too full to order it when the time came.  I can confirm my smoked salmon starter and roasted tomato gnocchi was delicious.

The flight was very uneventful for most of the 12 hours, until 20 mins from landing when a high pitched howling started. I couldn’t work out where it was coming from but it was very close by!  Unbeknown to me, the lady across the aisle from us had brought her dog on the flight!  Apparently in South America this is not unusual.  It was in it’s own little carry on bag (yes, you did read that correctly, it was zipped in a doggy bag with it’s head poking out) and for most of the flight had sat quietly in its bag on the floor.  In those final 20 minutes it very much made its presence felt and a wave of headphones and ear plugs were rapidly donned around the place.  We were very relieved to make a swift exit when the doors opened.

The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel was like nothing experienced before, it was a cross between F1, demolition derby and whacky races!  The taxi driver definitely earned his money on that journey!  We drove through parts of the city where “rooms with a view” took on a whole new meaning…… the entire front wall of one apartment was missing - you literally looked right into the front of the flat and saw everything!  We also saw a man crossing a very busy road (think 6 lanes of traffic) with a full size mattress and black bin bag on his head, a scooter with two people on it and a toddler squished in between them- no helmet on the toddler and bicycle helmets on the two grown ups but no chin straps to hold them on.  It’s bonkers!

The hotel for the next 3 nights is in the historic centre of Lima so we’re off to do some exploring. Xx