We arrived back in Cusco around the time we would have been getting back onto the minivan at hidroelectrica and were relieved to have an afternoon relaxing and recovering. We decided we'd stay a few nights to chill and then head north to Lima on a delightful 24hour bus journey. Luckily for us we'd mastered the micro (local bus) system and were able to find the right one to get us to the bus station when we were ready to leave. The most logical option was to leave mid morning so that we would arrive mid morning the following day in Lima. I'm sure if you've read my previous post you are aware that I wouldn't recommend this route through Perú at all and instead think that Puno to Cusco then Cusco to Arequipa and along the coast is the better option. However, if you have decided to come this way you're in for a very pretty, but incredibly windy journey through the Andes. One firm recommendation I'd make is that you come prepared for the arctic, because this bus ride at times is freezing. It is also wise to have some food with you as there aren't any major stops and as it's through the Andes, there were limited vendors jumping on board. We set out at 10am and arrived in Lima at around 11 the next morning. Our company (Transporte Wari) were reliable and relatively comfortable for the price (S/60/$24.40 AUD/18.45 USD) . On arrival in Lima we decided to head to Miraflores to look for accommodation. That was our first mistake! The bus had pulled in pretty close to Old Town and Miraflores was a 6km cab ride away. We had taken the cab costing S/18 ($7.30 AUD/5.55 USD) and arrived, only to discover there was no reasonably priced accommodation to be found anywhere. Our only option seemed to be a single dorm bed for around what we had been paying for a double room in the rest of the country (including Machu Picchu). After hunting around and even resorting to the familiar comfort of a Starbucks to use their free wifi, we came to the conclusion that we should head back to Old Town. We were pointed in the direction of a bus that cost S/3 ($1.20 AUD/0.90 USD) to get there. The bus stops about 3 blocks from the main square. Old Town has a bit of a reputation for being rough but as we're not the sort to be out at night we felt perfectly safe here. We managed to find a place called Hotel Europa right across from the San Francisco Church for S/40 ($16.25 AUD/12.30 USD) for a double room. This was a far cry from the S/60 ($24.40 AUD/18.45 USD) we had been quoted in Miraflores for the cheapest place we could find. We also found a really nice looking 2 star hotel around the corner for only S/50 so it's worth looking around. The benefit of being in Old Town is it feels a lot more local and a lot less over developed. Miraflores is clearly affluent and has been very westernised, thus making it a very sanitary and expensive part of Lima. We booked onto a walking tour of Old Town the next day and it was an enjoyable way to get to know the city but we still weren't really sold on Lima. A couple of interesting things we did discover about the city were that it's the second driest capital in the world and that there is a daily show for the changing of the guard at the presidential palace which have a full brass band that play all sorts of music from classical to pop. This happens at 12.00pm and is worth checking out. The other area close to Old Town which warrants a trip if you have a spare afternoon is Lima's bustling Chinatown. As surprising as this may seem, there are some excellent chifas (South American Chinese restaurants) serving fantastic Chinese food and it has fun and buzzing vibe. The rest of our time in Lima was actually used up by us finding out how to leave. We had been informed by our guidebook that there was no formal bus station in Lima, however this is not true. The Norte bus terminal is a modern fully functional bus terminal and is conveniently connected to Lima's metro system. This is much easier to navigate than the individual bus stations for each company in central Lima and gives you an opportunity to shop around. All you need to do is catch the metro to Tomas Valle and cross the road to the station. Most buses come through this station on their way out of Lima and if you board at this point it saves you the epic boredom of sitting in Lima's unrelenting traffic. You will find that most buses have two different times that they depart from Lima, one from the companies office in the centre of town and one about 1-1.5hrs later from the terminal. Unless you have a penchant for being on long distance buses in city traffic for no real reason, I would opt for the latter! After much deliberation we decided not to stop at any of the costal towns in Perú when we left Lima, as we're not big beach people and we don't surf. This meant another long haul journey to Tumbes before crossing into Ecuador. We were quoted prices ranging from S/60 ($24.40 AUD/18.45 USD) to S/120 ($48.75AUD/36.95 USD) and in the end we went with 'Flores' with the middle ground price of S/100 ($40.65 AUD/30.80 USD). This journey is long and very much the same as the ride from Atacama to Santiago (monotonous!!) The coast of Peru and Chile is a long stretch of desert that runs along side the Andes. It made for a long and boring 24 hour trip. Tumbes is also not the greatest stop but it's functional. This is a good place to change money before heading into Ecuador and by the main square there are official money changers that give good rates. This crossing also has a bad reputation but is actually really easy and no longer the danger ridden nightmare it has previously been made out to be. We decided to take the easy way with Cifa bus but in hindsight it would not have been a problem to do this crossing independently. To get to the Cifa station you walk along Avenida Simon Bolivar until you see the Jose Alfredo Mendoza Olavarria Hospital and it's on the opposite side of the road. Don't get a taxi it's not necessary no matter what they tell you. The bus cost us S/21 ($8.50 AUD/6.45 USD) and there were a few buses leaving in the morning. The bus stops at the very modern and simple shared border and you stand in one line to exit Peru and then move to the next queue to enter Ecuador before getting back on the bus and heading to the border town in Ecuador. Here you change to connect with other cities. Overall, we absolutely loved southern Perú. Past Lima we found there was less to do for our sort of traveller as it was a lot of adventuring or beaches so we did skip over a lot of it. We had been told to be careful of buses in Perú however we found them to be reliable and comfortable despite taking the cheapest options almost every time. The food is also as excellent as they say it is so try as much of it as you can. Just a quick note about Perú though, as some of the information above may now not be accurate. A week after we left (March 17th 2017) there was some major flooding from Lima all the way up to Tumbes. As I've already mentioned Lima is one of the driest cities in the world and this meant it was not equipped with drainage systems to deal with the water when the river that surrounds Lima burst its banks. The roads heading along the coast were also damaged and flooded. Due to this, the route north we took is not currently functioning. A friend of ours was in Lima during the floods and had to fly to Tumbes and others we met were having to redirect the way they were planning on entering Perú based on current conditions. The roads should return to normal and Lima will also recover but it is something to be aware of as Perú is a developing nation and this may take time. The only thing I can say is have patience and a sense of humour and you'll be just fine. Budget Time $$$What it Actually Cost: 23 days = $1,364.73 (AUD) Transport: $415.61 (this total includes a train journey from Machu Picchu that was significantly out of our budget but was a very kind last minute gift from our travel guardian angel ;-)) Entertainment: $308.21 Accomodation: $262.30 Food: $241.90 Drinks: $58.21 Miscellaneous: $50.92 Souvenirs: $27.19 This worked out at an average daily budget of $29.65 AUD per person per day. We came into Perú from Bolivia and two things I was expecting to be significantly more expensive in this location were transport and accomodation. In reality, this was not the case, in fact, in most cases, accomodation was actually significantly cheaper, of a better standard and easier to find. We could have paid a lot more than we did for transport as the range for most journeys is pretty wide, but something we did learn about Peruvian bus travel is that it doesn't really matter how much you pay, you get what arrives on the day. With the exception of a few companies like Cruz del Sur and Oltursa (which are always of a high standard but also always come with a high price tag), it's a game of chance. There has been a big deal made about the safety of Peruvian long distance bus travel, but honestly, we saw no evidence of unsafe looking vehicles and never had a problem on any of the journeys we took. Meals in Perú come in a similar set menu fashion to those of Bolivia. Breakfast, lunch and dinner can all be acquired at any number of small local family 'restaurants' and each meal comes with the addition of some form of extra whether it is bread and a juice/coffee with your breakfast or soup and a small dessert with lunch and dinner. On average these set us back anything between S/5-8 ($2-3.25AUD/1.50-2.50USD) and almost always felt like very good value for money! One thing that will undeniably stretch your budget in some way in Perú will be Machu Picchu. I checked every possible method of getting to and from there and all combinations of visiting, from all-inclusive packages to total independence. All of my research turned up one rather disappointing answer, Machu Picchu is expensive. That being said, it is totally worth it and is a must-do when you are visiting Perú. One of those worth-while budget breakers I have talked about in the past. Perú was another country where we managed to come in a little under our expected budget but I don't believe this would have been possible had we not been travelling in quiet season. We were there in February when the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is closed for maintenance and the impact of this is a huge decline in the number of tourists all over Perú. Obviously, if you intend to do the Inca Trail this is not the time to visit, however, if that's not really your thing this is the perfect time to come!! There are great deals to be had all over the country for everything from accomodation to excursions and even transport. LGBT: Perú is a relatively conservative country however neither Dani or I had any problems. The people are friendly and appeared pretty accepting. As of January this year discrimination towards people based on sexuality or gender has been made illegal and they now recognise that violence towards a person based on either sexuality or gender is a hate crime. This being said there is a higher level of conservatism in Perú than surrounding countries and LGBT Peruvians still face difficulties living openly as laws designed to protect "public morals" are often used against those who identify as LGBT. This being said a bill to legalise marriage equality was put forward for debate in February.
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