Peru Evaluation 139.3

Peru

Likes: Lomo Saltado (steak, gravy, red pepper and chips all mixed together), sand boarding, seeing a real live sloth, the arrival of Christmas songs and decorations, Cusco coffee company (a grassroots Starbucks but better!), feeling like a giant when standing next to most people (my legs have never seemed so long!), drummer\taxi drivers trying to get Xss to discuss 70´s British rock music, 3 course meals for 2.20, JF Kennedy park in Lima teeming with nice cats, the food in general- brilliant.

Dislikes: Even though the traffic is crazy it hasn't made them any better drivers, little kids (as young as 3) working on the streets selling chewing gum until very late, panpipe music (even playing Guns n Roses on them doesn't make it any better so stop trying), looking like an idolised western clothes model, Peruvians only knowing English when it helps them to beg better, so much grey dust in parts near the coast you cant understand how anyone can live there, everyone looks the same (its true), altitude sickness.

Sunrises missed from sleeping: 23, and 1 i saw in the Amazon (and it was crap anyway)

Places visited: Lima, Huacachina, Arequipa, Puno, Cusco, Iquitos

Number of times i wanted to come home: 1 - being in one places for a long time gets boring. London is awesome.

Favourite Hostel: Hotel El Huacachinero, in the sandy oasis of Huacachina. Nice sunny swimming pool to relax around, an easy going few days!

Mowgali achievements: catching and eating my own Piranha, getting water from a tree trunk, holding a sloth (which was passed to me), Xss disciplining the monkeys who wouldn't share, getting juice from a tree, finding a tarantula, climbing a thousand year old tree (it must have received worse over its life), dancing with some ´Indians´whilst wearing face paint.

Favourite Memory: When Victor (one of our guides) stepped out of the dense forest holding a baby sloth at arms length as we had given up looking for one (and hope) and were standing chatting near a banana tree. We then photographed said sloth a lot, put it down to see if it would walk (it didn't) and then watched it try to attack us in slow motion repeatedly, how they survive is beyond me! or: Doing cartwheels and ´street dance´moves on the top of an isolated sand dune at sunset in Huacachina.

Worst day: Iquitos after the jungle, just waiting to go to USA in sweaty heat with nothing to do.

Favourite new food\drink: Ceviche! raw fish with lime, chili and parsley and a bit of sweet potato, cold. Oh its divine.

Best\worst noise: Christmas songs in Ripley's department store. Christmas is here, and luckily for us they have very few ones translated into Spanish.

Best\worst smell: The bark of the cumaceba tree smells lovely.

Best Norwich Victory: Norwich 4 Ipswich 1! a hatrick by Grant Holt!

Weirdest country fact: Everyone looks the same. The first day we arrived we managed to spot our taxi driver from the previous day over 14 times. People don't seem to try and distinguish themselves here any either. Where is the creativity and personal style?

Number of pictures taken of me holding a Lamb in a hat: 6!

Number of times lambs in hats became a subject of conversation: 74

Number of times lambs in hats conversations were attempted to be changed by Xss: 70

Number of words in Spanish that sound like you are speaking Portuguese with a lisp: All of them.

Number of Portuguese words that Spanish speakers admit to understanding: 0

Number of posters using western slim white models: 7 million and 43.

Number of posters or adverts with shorter stockier more Peruvian models: 1

New thing learned: When everything is always changing around you, it highlights what things are important. Funnily enough i didn't know i liked Starbucks as much as i do, or that I'm interested in running a hotel\hostel of my own (watch this space), or that Xss´s family is so important to me (i cant wait for them to come see us in Thailand), or what good, dependable friends i have in True and Tx, (Miss you both) or that i like themed restaurants and hotels, and things are always better when a canine companion comes along. I also realise that i love our tea culture and now that Xss drinks coffee, i am excited that we might be able to just sit and have hot drinks together in our house and just talk. I love that.

UNCP score: 139.3