First day in Lima....

Sunday, 9am in Lima: Wow! What a huge city! Arrived here this morning at 12:15am from Arequipa and had problems connecting with my Uber driver - we couldn't find each other, not surprisingly considering the size of the airport. To make things easy for the drivers I always walk away from the airport to a less congested area such as a public road before requesting a ride, but last night the app kept placing me at the terminal building for some reason, so that's where the driver would have been looking for me. When I arrived at the airport a taxi company with a booth there quoted 60 soles for the trip to my hostel, which I declined, knowing Uber would be half that. But after failing to make the connection with my Uber driver I ended up negotiating a fare of 35 soles for the trip in a taxi. After half an hour of fast driving in the cab to my hostel - https://www.poolparadiselima.com/ - I was feeling guilty about driving the price down to 35 soles and paid 40 soles, what he'd asked for.
The hostel is better than any other places I've stayed in Peru - the shower is actually hot with good flow. That's worth 10 soles on its own - the breakfast is included in the rate of 40 soles per night (worth about another 10 soles) and there's a lovely outdoor al fresco dining area, pool, bar and some kind of entertainment every night (movie night tonight). I've extended my stay here until Wednesday and may add more nights yet. I'm the oldest person here by far, of course - but lots of interesting young people from all over the world staying here to talk to, which makes it enjoyable. It's an overcast day here this morning (Sunday) but mild - maybe 17 degrees? I'm noticing the fact that I'm back at sea level and able to breathe easily after the effort to get enough oxygen in Cusco - everything was an effort there, even just strolling.
Later, 12:30pm - I saw a notice in the foyer advertising a free walking tour, but not on Sundays, so I did my own and what a contrast to the rest of the cities in Peru this one is (at least in the suburb of Miraflores, where I'm staying for the next few days or longer). Affluent, sophisticated, beautiful parks and gardens with fountains, nice homes with manicured lawns and gardens and upmarket European cars in the drive, tree lined streets. Feels very safe here. I walked along a tree lined boulevard into the CBD where all the international franchises are represented ( including of course, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Dominos, Dunkin' Donuts, the big banks, auto makers, fashion houses and so on). The central square was full of people enjoying their Sunday morning (and lots of tarot card readers). I bought a soft freeze cone at Pop Eye's, a franchise I've not seen before anywhere. The 3D cinemas didn't look like they were showing any English language movies, just releases of the current ones but in Spanish language. And most noticeable - no dogs running wild on the streets tearing rubbish bags open in search of scraps like every other city I've been in so far.
It's very relaxing here sitting around the pool area writing this and I could see myself staying here for some time at this price. Nice Latin American music playing in the background adds to the ambiance. Other guests doing much the same as myself, on their tablets or mobiles and just chilling in the sun, some smoking that same strange smelling herb I encountered in Vicuña. :)
Evening, 7pm: After an afternoon of lying back on a lounger in the sun next to the pool listening to the Bee Gees through my headphones and enjoying a coldie I saw another guest with a great looking pizza and asked her if she got it here. No, from Dominos, which is dangerously close, I discovered. I walked there in five minutes and ordered the best pizza ever - pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, double cheese - and they know how to make a good pizza (tomato paste on the base). I've researched Huaraz and think I'll go there mid week - there's a nice looking Airbnb there and I have a voucher to use from my bad experience in Arequipa. It looks like a nice place - 8 hours by bus from here. Maybe spend 3 or 4 days there then decide where next. I'll do the Lima city tour by bus tomorrow just to get the lay of the land. There's a high speed bus service on dedicated lanes close to here which I want to investigate as well - it looks like a light rail rapid transport system, but on buses. Stations along a set route to get on and off, just like a subway system.
Time to go - the movie's about to start in a few minutes. A comedy, in English, I think. Ciao.

This is why I needed a translator - a tour guide in Machpicchu.