Lima, Peru
The flight to Lima was without any problems at all...
In fact it´s nice to be back ´home´!
That´s how it felt anyway, like we were coming back home again. Seems silly really, to think that when we return to a place, it´s liké we´re going back home....
But this is our base..and this is not the last time we return here either!
We felt like we knew it all when we arrived this evening...because we landed, headed confidently and knowingly out to the luggage disposal area, collected our baggage..and bypassed the Green Taxi´s knowing that there was no way we were going to pay 40 soles for a taxi when we could pay 20! We learnt that one last time!
Taxi´s drivers in airports don´t seem to want to bother with people that don´t have that label written on their foreheads ¨I´m new here!¨ so we headed out to the street, away from the airport, and had plenty of drivers wanting to offer us their services...when we heard a driver say 25 we said, ´ce´and he pushed our trolley towards his car and we were off!
No trying to sell us anything, no conversation, just driving. IT was peaceful ... and he took the coastal road back to our hotel in Miraflores as well, which was even nicer.
We tipped him and watched his great big grin..and got into our comfortable room and now that´s where we are..here in Lima...and home again!
It did seem to be a generous couple of days. With Jose yesterday, Percy today (totalling a tip of about US$5 each per day) and then the taxi driver!
We decided we needed to calm down...realising we still have another 3 months before we come home is a bit of a reality check in the budget department!
Dinner at our ´fav´ restaurant (yummy pickled onion) took the brunt of our renewed decision to do the ´peruvian thing´ and that is....not to tip! Not Hugely anyway!
We´ve been doing the North American thing..and tipping from 15 - 20% because it´s just so cheap to eat out...on average we´ve been spending about 30 soles and that´s for the two of us. (about $10!) Custom tip according to the Lonely PLanet Guide, here is 8% - 10% for tourists. Tonight we tipped 5%!
But we found out locals dont bother to tip in restaurants. They say that it is not customary at all. And we found out on our tour. The guides all said in Peru, they do not tip!
Anyway, here we are..back home...just for a couple of days.
Next stop. Galagagas.
But before we do that..i´m going to spend a bit of time writing up the TREK blog.
Oh where, oh where, do i start....
I guess in the beginning!
