My mother always said I should have been an only child, as from an early age I've never minded my own company. I'm a little bit of a loner in fact. People are always surprised when I state this fact, because I can, when I want to, be the most social person in a room. That said I crave solitude a lot. I'm quite happy being left to my own devices for long periods of time. In fact I get a little grumpy if I don't. I think its this trait in me, is reason that I have been able to travel around the world on my own. I have realised as I have got older there are very few people I can travel with anymore, for great lengths of time. I find it easier on my own; nobody to please but myself. So when my housemate Kyle said he was coming to meet me in South America, the alarm bells rang. Kyle will be the first to admit he's not the easiest person to please. He likes the finer things in life and gets bored very easily. The thought of Kyle back packing round South America didn't compute in my brain. "This is going to be a disaster!" I thought to myself.
I flew into Lima, feeling quite unsure of myself. I was back on the road again and my head wasn't in that space after staying in Montevideo for a couple of weeks. Kyle had arranged for me to stay at his hostel. I arrived late at night to find a very hungover Kyle and that the hostel had double booked my bed and that there was no room for me. Great! Luckily Kyle knew of another hostel around the corner which I managed to get the last bed in hostel that night! We then went out for drinks and dinner. It was weird that I had been dreading Kyle coming to South America, because as soon as I started talking to him, I felt a wave of happiness spread over me. I guess after weeks spent with Nico, feeling like the outsider in Montevideo, it was nice to have someone from back home who spoke my language and was from my culture. I relaxed, was myself again and nothing was lost in translation. I suddenly realised I was actually glad to see Kyle.
After traveling half way across South America, I was feeling tired and was looking forward to a good nights sleep in my bed. This was not to happen. Apart from sleeping in a dorm with 10 other people, who kept banging their way through the dark as they returned home at different times of the night, the room had no air con, which meant the window was left open for ventilation. My bed was right next to the window and it was Saturday night and I was staying smack bang in the centre of Miraflores the party zone of Lima. It was not kind to my sleep, nor was Sunday morning either. Sunday! The lords day of rest! Not in Miraflores. My hostel is opposite a park, which can I tell you is the most looked after park I have ever seen in my God dam life. It has a million gardeners, Wi-Fi and even the a feeding area for stray cats! It also has Peru's answer to Mr Motivator start his exercise class at 7am on a Sunday! He also performs it with a full sound system and micro phone! What little sleep I was having is shattered! I look out the window to see the park covered in slightly over weight middle class, middle aged Peruvian women in tight Lycra trying to follow the movements of a small man on a stage. My head is banging and my nose is streaming as I seem to have picked up a cold on the flight here. I feel awful. I shove my head under the pillow! "What kind of Hell is this?" I think to myself. I decide to get up as sleep does not seem to be an option. With in the first 5 minutes I realise my room mates seem to have about as much personality as a dead corpse! They are not exactly friendly and most of them brag of their travels with the same places and same stories, as if they are the only people that have ever been there. "Yeah right!" I think to myself "Your on the Gringo trail stupid!" It then occurs to me I myself am back on the Gringo trail!
Gringo is a term used by Native Spanish speakers to refer to US-Americans or any other foreigners and the trail is anywhere we travel in Latin America. In Montevideo I had been as close to, as an 5'10 English blonde speaking little Spanish could be to being a local in Latin America. I had spent my time in the suburbs with locals and had little interaction with Gringos. Now I was back among the backpackers, right in the heart of the Gringo trail (Peru) and I didn't like it. "Bloody Gringos! They are so annoying! I hate them!" I think, then I realise if that is the case I must hate myself as "Your a bloody Gringo Carly!" (Actually Gringa; I'm a female)!
The day after me and Kyle decided to venture into Lima old town. This meant taking the super express which we thought was going to be an high speed train but in fact was a crap bendy bus in a sectioned off lane drove by a mad man that thought he was Micheal Schumacher, which I guess made it pass just about as express. I had wanted to see the cathedral as it held the grave of Francis Pissaro; the conquerer of Peru (Yes I'm a geek: get over it)! The cathedral was shut, so we ended up going on a tour of a monastery next door with a tour guide that was so dull, as she said the same thing as she entered every room in her same monotone voice: "The wood is brazil wood, covered in gold leaf!" I thought at one point she might kill herself with her own boredom. Sight seeing makes one hungry, so me and Kyle decided to take a lunch break. As we were on a budget Kyle recommended that we have the menu of the day or El Menu de dia as its know, as its a cheap tradition in South America, with 3 courses. We found a simple local restaurant with a menu of the day at only £3. Bargain! I started with a soup which was nothing special, but hey! It's £3! The main course was OK. In fact I think I was quite enjoying it until I noticed something sticking out of my rice. It was brown and crusty. I poked at it some more until, it started to reveal itself, and then the gut wrenching realisation of what it real was! I looked in horror as before on my plate lay a giant fried cockroach. I thought I was going to be sick on the spot. Suddenly menu of the day had lost its appeal even if it was £3. I couldn't eat a single thing for the rest of the day.
Next stop Machu Picchu!
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