Off to Lima and heading home.

Tags

2009, Cruz Del Sur, Flights, Lima, Peru, Travel, Trujillo

Today was the start of the long journey back to Seattle and the first leg was a nine hour stretch on the Cruz del Sur. I thought that after enjoying the lower VIP section, that I wouldn’t be able to deal with the smaller standard seats upstairs but they were still roomy and comfortable. They also recline almost fully and I was yet again, able to manage the impossible of some sleep on the bus.

After sitting on the bus for so long, I wasn’t in the mood to haggle over taxis on the exit from the terminal and was hopeful when a driver walked up smiling and asking if we’d like a ride. Something I hadn’t noticed before when leaving Lima, was the same pricing board that I’d encountered in Chiclayo. This one said 35 soles to the airport which seemed pretty steep, compared to the guide books recommendation of around 15. I’d already decided that I wouldn’t be paying more than 20 and offered this to the driver, at which point, he promptly laughed and walked off shaking his head. Another driver headed over and offered the trip for 30 but I was pretty adamant. He dropped the price to 25 and complained about the traffic, but then finally agreed after I walked off, saying I had nothing more than 20.

It took forever to cover what looked like a short distance on the map to the airport, but the route took us through some of the more interesting areas of Lima, including the district with governmental buildings and it was nice to be able to get some kind of perception of Lima, that was more positive than the first night of arrival, three weeks ago.

Now I’m at the airport and all checked in, after having to wait for the AA desk to open at 7pm. Lima airport doesn’t have much in the way of choice, to keep you entertained for longer stays before take-off, so it’s time for a few celebratory drinks before catching the first of three flights back to Seattle, starting at around midnight.

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Arrival in Lima

Tags

Lima, Perception, Peru, Pollution, Smog, Taxis, Travel

Well, no culture shocks just yet. Lima airport is pretty well organised and the immigration and baggage collection was as routine as you can get. I’d read that upon exiting the airport, there would be hordes of both legal and unregistered taxi drivers, clamouring for trade. Either 10:30pm is the quiet time, or things are changing in Peru, from the last round of guide books.

I’m still glad I took advantage of the free airport pick-up by the hotel and our driver, Jorge, was a great introduction to the friendliness and courtesy of the Peruvian people. As we passed through a couple of neighbourhoods such as San Miguel on the 30 minute drive to Miaflores, Jorge was more than happy to engage in conversation about the area, internet, and taxes. He was also a great source of knowledge about places to visit in general and I’d recommend him to anyone looking for private tours. Be prepared to bargain with him for the cost of travel however, as he does charge roughly triple the going rate. Because of his safe, courteous and informative drive the night of arrival, we booked him to take us to the bus station which cost $10 – expect to pay $3 for the trip normally. Normally I wouldn’t have paid so much but after little sleep from the last day and the convenience (and really, $10 isn’t a lot of cash) I felt I could let this one slip.

Lima itself to these lungs, seems to be choking under the car fumes and pollution that befall the city. The best piece of advice I’d read some weeks back, was to never put the expectations of the country you reside in on the country you visit. To many people, Lima at least will seem dirty, and it is, but it should never dissuade you from engaging with the people.

Peru bus bookings.

Tags

Arequipa, Bus, Cruz Del Sur, Cusco, Lima, Nazca, Online Ordering, Peru, Ticketing, Travel

Originally, I was going to pick up the transit tickets either upon arrival in Peru, or hopefully via arrangement with one of the hotels I’m staying at. As Cruz Del Sur has an online ticketing option and they also have an English translation, I opted to try and get the three tickets necessary for the transport to Puno from Lima. I’m still thinking that doing this trip in the reverse order to what is common (Lima to Cusco by bus, instead of flying to Cusco and bus back) is causing more planning difficulties online than would be normal. Of course, the concept that this should be easily available online is amusing enough to me and shows my western failings and assumptions of technology.

Anyway, after registration for the online ordering, I was able to easily order the Lima to Nazca after some issues with the credit card authentication. Without going in to too much detail, the ‘verified by visa’ code wasn’t accepted and I was then locked out of my actual account. After getting the account unlocked, I was then able to complete the seat purchase but only when using Internet Explorer – Firefox just gave me a blank page and wouldn’t process the order. Some kind of oddness about the ticket ordering came apparent over the next two days when I tried to order the next tickets and kept getting a ‘Denied’ message. I’m not entirely sure why I get denied for successive tickets but 24 hours after one purchase, I was able to make my next purchase; three days for three ticket purchases.

One area that Cruz Del Sur could be more clear about is the (even approximate) transit times for all routes. The common routes look to have a timetable, but, some of the section routes, such as Nazca to Arequipa, (which is part of the Lima to Arequipa bus) fail to post an arrival time or duration. A couple of Emails via the contact form confirmed the approximations that I had seen travelers post on-line but really, what effort would it take to include this on the booking timetable itself?

Now the ordering is complete, it should be a simple case of picking up the tickets on arrival, although with a 9pm flight in and bus departure at 7am the next morning, it will be interesting to see how smooth the collection goes and whether I can get them on arrival or the next morning.