Friday 14th May, 2010

My first day in Peru!

I got up around 8.30am and went downstairs for breakfast, scrambled eggs and ham with warm homemade bread. A coffee that would wake up sleeping beauty and an orange juice that would make Edwin Collins happy.

After breakfast I came back to my room, checked and sent a few messages and headed out for my first look at Arequipa. I left the hotel and walked towards the main road, the streets are clean but are a wash with cracks and missing slabs, your up there own ass heath and safety officer would went there knickers round here. The cars, taxi's and vans communicate by beeping horns at each other and the drivers and people shout to each other as go by. To say I feel like a tourist would be an understating, but with my shoulders back and my head held high I didn't feel to intimerdated by it all.

Turning onto the main road I was faced with a enormous snow capped volcano and although miles away (around 25miles to the top from where I was standing) it's extremely imposing and keeps a watchful eye over the city of Arequipa. I walked up the road with the volcano directly in front of my me, my thought was to get to the bottom of it ideally.

Because Arequipa is so high a short walk leaves you out of breath, I stopped at a shop, not like the one you get at the end of your road in the UK, but a dusty dark one that accomodates the locals not the traveller, but all the same with a smile or two and some basic one word Spanish I came out with a cornetto that I think was about 12 months out of date and a bottle of water that although hadn't had it's seal broke tasted like it came out of the comfort Inn's bathroom at room 422 in Dudley. The cornetto was pretty rank as well, the wafer was that chewy it was if I was chewing a wet plaster that had been scooped up from the bottom of a childrens paddling pool... tasty eh..

I carried on walking up the long road towards the volcano, small shops spradically pop out either side of you almost when you're on top of them, women and men work along with roadside going about there everyday business. One women was gutting fish, men sweep the streets and many sit in the shade talking a rest from the midday sun.

As I reached the top of the road, a dead end that lead to a sheer drop meaning I could no more, a front of me was a shanty town, make shift houses made up of metals, woods and stones. No two windows were the same, all odd shapes and sizes that wold have been salvaged and made the most of. Dogs ran around, more than likely strays but some just kicked out for the day whilst there owners were out working. I sat on a rock and took out my spanish phrase book, A4 pages of Spanish to english translation and started to work my way through what was my first lesson of the day! the dogs were barking and small groups of people sat on the floor in the shade from the sun. Down to my right was a group of men, maybe 6. I could hear them shouting at each other and to the passers by but didn't think too much of them. After a few minutes I heard a whack, looked to my right and one of them had been punched and had hit the ground. I think I stared for about 5 seconds in there direction before I thought it best I look back at my papers and give the impression that, it wasn't my business, I'm just going about my business like they were theres. The guy that had presumably whacked the other walked away casually, the other just stood around as if nothing had happened.

My spanish papers are pretty easy, Sientate - sit down, Levantate, stand up, Escucha, listen! I'm getting ther with it, the daunting thing is actually putting it into practice. It's one thing memorising the words and phrases, but when you attempt them in public you get a familiar Spanish response that throws you out a you end looking slightly puzzled and go back to broken one word english.

I stayed on the rock learning my Spanish for a couple of hours. Dogs run around barking at each other and hanging out in little packs, they run up to each other, bark a bit more, then run away. There don't cross there boundaries as such, I watched the same group of dogs do this 2 or 3 times today. A pack of 2 run up barking to a pack of 3 on the other side of the road. Neither pack will go that extra step and cross the line, that I've seen yet anyway.

I walked back down the road eventually as had started to feel a bit peckish. I walked passed a couple of, what I would call rooms with just a few small tables in side. I'd gone passed a couple before I went into one of them, Puedo Sientate por favor? (can i sit down please?) Si was the reply, the lady spoke to me in spanish, I have no idea what she said. No entieno, I don't understand. I gesticulated that I was wanted to eat and sat down. I didn't get asked what I wanted but in maybe a minute I had a cold flat glass of coke put in front of me and a bowl of soup. it's lucky I'm not a fussy eater so I whacked it down with no questions asked, it had veg, potatoes and chicken in it, very tasty. Just before I'd finished the soup the lady put another dish in front of me, a piece of steak, rice and salad. The steak certainly wasn't rib eye judging by the bits of bone I had to take out of my mouth as I ate it but it was good food and I certainly didn't complain. My bill was 3.45 sols, when you think 20sols is around £4 it's pretty dam cheap. I paid for my meal and carried on my journey back to the La Gruta Hotel where I'm staying.

It was a good day. I'm now in my hotel room, typing this up. It's 4pm here and around 10pm in the UK. Now I've got to get ready, head off in a cab to meet the GVI team and I've been told were off out for the evening, drinks and meal. The guy who picked me up from the airport yesterday said to come and meet us and that it was likely I wouldn't remember much about friday night on the Saturday morning therefore I'm thinking I might just fit in after all... fingers crossed ;0)

Catch you soon folks - hasta luego xx