Saturday, June 7th, 2003 – Day 109
Woke up at 8.30am but was really tired. Made an executive decision to do nothing today. Stayed in bed until 12.30 and then walked around the Miraflores area until 2.00pm. This is a really posh area with Rolex, Ripleys and other fine establishments. Saw people buying camcorders, big screen TVs etc. This was unusual when compared with alot of poverty I’ve seen. I took a taxi to the bus company area to buy a ticket from Lima to Chiclayo tomorrow tonight. Its a nightmare. Avenue Grau is a very poor and dangerous area. Finding tour way around and finding the one company to get you to your destination is also difficult. Every company has its own office with no central stations. Coupled with manic drivers, stalls and dodgy characters, I didn’t enjoy the hour I was looking for a company. Finally settled on CRUZ DEL SUR with a expensive 62 Sole price tag. they are one of the best companies and their buses have toilets and movies. I am leaving at 8.00am tomorrow night. This gives me time to see Sports Boys play at the National Stadium at 3.30pm.
Walked around town trying to buy rechargeable batteries. Must have tried 50 places. They seem to think by stocking them it will put them out of business. I found Sony recharables in Ripleys but for 25 US (pack of four).
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Lima – Peru – Horse drawn carriage available for hire (07-06-2003)
Went down to the from Miraflores to a US-style shopping mall, called Larco Mar, with ten-pin bowling, a multiplex cinema, snack bars, restaurants, discos and live music. The mall is situated right on the cliffs overlooking the sea and publishes a full list of its attractions online. Well, it overlooks the sea but you can barely see the sea with the fog. No shame in saying I played video games for an hour with a great game called MOCAP BOXING. In Mocap Boxing, you take on the roll of a boxer who’s trying to fight his way to the top, and you’ll have to fight through many opponents on the way. The controls consist of two glove-like things that are held in each hand, each glove connected to the cabinet by a wire. They look something like fingerless boxing gloves. Gameplay consists essentially of dodging your opponents blows by either ducking or weaving and waiting for an opening. When such an opening occurs, you then have to throw a punch, or in many cases, several punches as a combo to lower your opponents energy bar. You are pretty much exhausted at the end of the game. Great exercise.
Had a few drinks in a local pub and was in bed by 3.30am. I know, I know, but I had a few drinks and went to a club for an hour.
Sunday, June 8th, 2003 – Day 110
Woke at 10.00am and checked out. I asked the hotel to mind my bags until tonight. I didn’t want to bring anything to the National Stadium. It hasn’t the best reputation. I spent the morning around Miraflores but I wasn’t feeling good. Every muscle in my body was aching from that boxing game (I played around 5 times)
I had passed the stadium on my way from Miraflores to Centro each day I was here. To be honest, it looks like it going to fall down. all the windows on the outside are broken. Anyway I decided to use the bus services today for the first time. I simply had to walk to the main road and wave down one of the many companies that ply the route. The cost was 1.20 Soles and it took 10 minutes. There was a 3.30pm kick off but I was in by 2.30pm. The stand ticket cost 11 Soles.
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Lima – Peru – Moment of tension as Allianz Lima play Bolognesi. The game ended 5-1 to Lima. They scored 3 times within the first 20 minutes. In Peru, as everywhere else in South America, people from every walk of life have a great passion for football, but the acute lack of facilities has all too often held the national side back. (08-06-2003)
Saw 4 of the all female (as seen on the TG4 travel programme presented by Hector) on the streets today.
“With a no-nonsense expression, she ignores a bribe and hands the driver a ticket — part of a women-driven revolution of honesty taking place on Lima’s streets. The government hopes to use Peruvians’ perception that women are more honest than men to clean up the image of a police force so corrupt that many officers overlook traffic infractions for bribes as small as a dollar, about the cost of a candy bar.
Male officers are known to pull cars over en masse before holidays to extort money.More than 1,000 cops were kicked off the police force as a whole for corruption in 1995 alone. Dozens more were arrested for kidnapping, armed robbery and other crimes”.
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Lima – Peru – Palace of Justice (08-06-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Lima – Peru – Coppers (08-06-2003)
Got back to my hostel at 6.30pm. Left my hotel with bags at 7.20pm. Took about 10 minutes in a taxi (5 Soles) to get to the “Cruz Del Sur” bus station. Only its buses leave from this terminal. Checked my bags in and boarded. It was a nice semi-cama. We left on 8.00pm on he dot and was served Chicken Dinner with desert on board (with drink and desert). At 9.30pm there was a game of BINGO, no kidding. At 10.00pm, the movie came on. This was a great bus as all curtains were closed, lights off and we were on a great smooth road. It was like been on an airplane and better still, there was no one beside me so I could stretch out over two seats. Even better again, there were NO stops on this trip. All their services are direct. We even had a button to press to call the bus steward. The movie was in English (and yes, I could even hear it) with Spanish subtitles. It was the rather good Minority Report which is not not long out on video (2002). Anyway after drifting in and out of sleep (cant blame the bus this time), we arrived in Chiclayo around 7.20am.