Last night we didn't end up going to Lapa after all, Israel and some of the other guys at the hostel put on a churrasco, which involves lots of barbecued meat. Liz and I opted for bread rolls and ice-cream but joined in none the less.
Soon after the food the atmosphere changed into the thing that Villa Carioca does best. The guys and some of the girls that work there brought through the bongos, drums, cowbells, guitars and various other percussion instruments through to the courtyard and everyone starting playing. There were maybe twenty+ people all sat round the little tables by the kitchen all playing different musical instruments. Then Bruno started a song which everyone who could speak Portuguese seemed to understand, it seemed to involve one person making up a funny line about themselves and then everyone chanted it to the music, and it got passed round the circle so that everyone got to say something. The music progressed from that to Samba, there was a brilliantly alive old lady who put everyone to shame with her singing and dancing, and in the absence of a drum, was using a knife and fork to mark out her rhythm.
We then discovered... ten minutes before we were going to leave.. that the buses to the airport don't run as late as 2am. So, as everyone else headed out to Lapa, we caught a cab to the airport. After sitting around in disgusting fluorescent lighting at silly times in the morning, I managed to check in and Liz and I went our separate ways (Eeek!) as she headed off to follow her childhood dream from 'Journey to the River Sea' to go and explore the Amazon. 2 English guys I met at check in got stuck, as they were headed to Costa Rica and one hadn't had his yellow fever certificate done so has to stay in Rio for another ten days! Luckily our trip so far has been relatively plain sailing, (touch wood) but we have been fortunate that we haven't had any major mishaps.
I caught my flight with TACA, a Peruvian airline, and I was flying business class. Which I didn't realise until I saw my ticket. Business class is definitely the way to go, it's going to be a shock having to go home without huge spacious leather seats and blankets. I think I could get used to the life of luxury. However I'm going to have to get used to being on a student budget again when I get home as I am technically unemployed! The flight itself was lovely we flew over beautiful big mountain ranges and left the green mountainous rainforest of Brazil for the dry mountains and snow topped peaks of the Andes. (Dad you would have loved it, I got two windows with my seat and was able to watch the sun rise over the glaciers on the mountains!)
The flight arrived at 9:30 local time which is two hours behind Rio and 6 hours behind England. I blundered my way, after having 2 hours sleep, to baggage claims.. managed to find my bag, get some Peruvian sol from the bank and then left the airport. I found out about buses from the airport to Miraflores but the lady who I asked told me I couldn't get on the buses with my bag, when I saw the buses I understood. The buses here are more like colourful minibuses rather than the large buses we have at home, they've painted all different colours for different routes and have people piled into them.. however they're much cheaper than a cab. I had to get a taxi and was a little unprepared for the amount of taxi drivers who throw themselves at you as you leave the airport. After some negotiating and wandering round feeling rather dazed I managed to find an ok price and get to my hotel.
I'm staying in a nice hotel just on the outskirts of Lima in Miraflores. I can't check in till later so have done a supermarket run and a wander round the town. As you go through Lima itself it feels more like the suburbs of Rio with houses on top of each other with flat roofs and half finished walls. Also you can see the difference in faces between here and Brazil, the face shape is much more Andean than in Brazil.
Meeting the rest of the group tonight at 7 for a quick briefing, then starting early tomorrow morning with breakfast at 5am! To leave before the weekend traffic hits, we'll be taking a boat to the Ballestras Islands tomorrow. I'll try and get some photos.
No comments:
Post a Comment