Today's been a bit of a non-event, really. I wanted to do the walking tour of the Bohemian sector leaving from a park close to here at 3:30pm but couldn't see the tour guide or anyone else that looked like they might be doing the same tour so just walked back to the hostel via the laundry that was supposed to have my clothes washed, dried and packed by 4pm (but I still had to wait 10 minutes after getting there at 4:30pm). While I was in Kennedy Park waiting to meet up with the walking group I was approached by a woman about 50 years old who claimed she'd been robbed on her way to the airport by the taxi driver two days earlier and needed money to get to the South African embassy in Quito, Equador. I found her story a bit hard to believe and after a few questions to which she had answers I declined to help. I couldn't believe that if it was genuine she couldn't get help by phoning the embassy with her story - I'm sure they'd be able to do something for one of their citizens. I was then approached by a young mother with a baby wanting money for something but I couldn't interpret what - she led me to a pharmacy where she spoke to the counter staff in Spanish who then asked me for 87 soles. As no-one in the pharmacy could speak English I wasn't able to find out what the 87 soles was for so again I had to decline. It's hard to know if the beggars are genuine or scammers but 87 soles is about NZD40.00. I was beginning to wish I'd stayed at the hostel for the afternoon.
Tonight is a big night here in Lima and the hostel has set up a big screen to watch the game between Scotland and Peru. I may watch it. I found the Cruz del Sur coach terminal in a neighbouring suburb this morning and booked my trip to Huaraz for Thursday morning. departing 9:30am. The girl doing the booking pulled all the available services up on the screen and I indicated the 9:30am service but noticed she booked me on the 9:30pm service - not sure if it was deliberate or a mistake but I've struck a lot of that kind of thing here in Peru - you ask for a meat filled empanada and they try to switch it to a cheese filled one - no doubt because the cheese filled ones are cheaper.
Nothing else to blog about today - there may be more tomorrow, I hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment