Seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time - Day Eight

This morning didn't start off too well - I got up at 4am for my 430am airport shuttle which was 20 minutes late mainly because the french man who was also on the shuttle had slept in.  The driver kept having to stop and look at his map getting out of the city and then we went some back roads so he could pick up one of his work colleagues, we then went to two other backstreets on the outskirts of Santiago to pick up more work colleagues - I was outraged as you could imagine!  If it hadn't been for the french guy I would have felt quite intimidated if I had had to do that airport journey myself.  The driver also drove really fast and then would brake to go over the speed bumps.  A stupid stupid journey that should have taken 25 mins and took an hour and 20 mins and it was a late pick up so I had to scramble in to check in for my flight.  I hate when I have to travel like that.  Just as we were about to arrive at the airport the driver made another detour which just about finished me off - I so wish I could speak spanish or at least swear in spanish!  the detour was so that me and the french guy could pay our shuttle fares.  I told the guy taking payment that there was no way I was paying for the horror of a journey I had just had - i don't think he had a clue what I was saying but he just took one look at my face (yup the death stare) and he ripped up the receipt.  The french guy paid though, he didn't seem the argumentative type.

So anyway I got my flight and I am now in Lima.  I nearly had another taxi experience though at Lima airport as I have been given a personal security number for all of my pick ups in Peru and I have been told if the driver cannot quote the number I must not get in the car as its likely I am being kidnapped!  Could you imagine - poor kidnappers would send me back after a few hours!! So I get to arrivals and I see my driver immediately with a board with my name on it but he has x2 passengers which was a bit odd as I am definitely travelling on my own so I asked him for my personal security number and he said he didn't speak english and pointed to the board and said this is you yes?  and I said yes but I wasn't going anywhere until he quoted my personal security number - so he called his boss who put me onto someone who speaks english who said he does know my security number but because he can't speak english he doesn't know how to say it in english and that she would text it to him - after 5 mins the text came through and I confirmed my number and off we went.  So no kidnapping today!

I am staying in the Tenerife of Lima - its called Miraflores and is a big resort geared for tourists - huge hotels and a shopping centre with restaurants overlooking the sea - Miraflores is quite high up which is probably a good thing as all of the roads have Tsunami warning signs point up to Miraflores on them.

I had a nice afternoon watching the surfers out in the Pacific Ocean - my first time ever to see it and at 12:12pm I had a minute of meditating to the waves (today is 12th day of 12th month and the 12th year).  Quite a special moment.

The view of the sea and the telephone mast hill - thats all thats on the mound in the distance and a statue of Christ.

I am supposed to be on my 2 day fast before my Ayahuasca Ceremony on Friday - which means no Pork (thats easy!), no eggs (I can live without eggs), no spicy food (mmm its getting difficult now), no salt or pepper (i can't live without salt or pepper) and no alcohol (oh f*ck!)  

I wonder if the no alcohol applies to Peruvian beer?!  oh well I had two but thats me now until saturday - can't wait tills saturday night to have a curry and some beer! 

So tomorrow I fly from Lima to Puerto Maldonado and then we drive for 20km to Tambopata River Port and get on a boat for 2 and a half hours up the river into the thick of the Amazon Jungle - I have my sick bands so hopefully won't be chucking my guts up.  I am staying at the Refugio Amazonas Lodge which sounds great although there are only bamboo canes and curtains separating the 32 bedrooms so might get interesting in the night!  Here is the link to where I will be staying http://www.perunature.com/refugio-amazonas.html

I won't have internet or phone signal there so won't come back on line until I land in Cusco on 16th dec but I will do my blog each day and upload them all once I get to Cusco.

Of course by then I will have had my spiritual rebirth and a bit of hallucinogenic madness.  if you want to know more about the Ayahuasca then here is the link to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayahuasca

suzxxx