Life wasn’t all bliss in Lima. I had a lovely final morning – hunting for ‘conqueror’ Francisco Pizarro’s statue (it’s been relegated to a lonely park corner) and later examining his now empty coffin in the cathedral. I went to the bullring too and the adjacent bullfighting museum, because although the sport is bloody and… [Read more…]
December 22, 2010
I love cities. I bloody, bloody love them. I arrived in Lima at 8am. It was a gloriously sunny day. My hostel – Hotel Espana – was one of the most charming places I’ve ever stayed. It was three storeys of curiosities, packed with huge pre-Raphaelite paintings and faux Roman classical sculpture, culminating in a… [Read more…]
December 19, 2010
“I’m sorry. I marry an old man for money, but, it’s better I marry a young man?” I slowly repeated my schoolgirl Spanish as I craned forward and stared intently at the cards fanned across the pavement. “No. Listen one more time,” Julio replied impatiently. “You marry an old man. But he doesn’t function in… [Read more…]
December 16, 2010
You should never judge a book by its cover. But you should always judge a country by its customs. Some of you may remember that when I arrived in Bogota – ready to transfer to Cartagena for my ‘two week’ Colombian holiday – the immigration official wanted my height as well as my telephone number… [Read more…]
December 7, 2010
Okay, I’ll admit it. I spend most of my morning wondering where to eat lunch. I was on the bus when I made a firm decision. It was a sunny day. I had cash in my pocket. I felt like a treat. I decided to dine at Crepes and Waffles. My phone rang. Unknown number.… [Read more…]
December 7, 2010
I scrabbled through my bottom drawer. I scattered my passport, several tickets, my cuddly giant tortoise and three ear plugs onto the floor and, eventually, I found what I wanted. I returned to the living room and triumphantly threw three battered bars of chocolate onto our dining room table. Caroline, my French-Colombian housemate and Andres,… [Read more…]
December 22, 2010
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