Right, we have finally found a computer with USB and reasonable Internet connection. But lets start from the beginning. The flight itself (even though we spend nearly the whole weekend on a plane) went smooth and after our passage through the terrifying industrial zones of Lima we arrived into the town centre, checking in a hotel less than a kilometre (that's roughly half a mile, tea sippers :P ) from the main square and government buildings. The high density of police and military forces all over the central part of the city made us feel safe, so we haggled a price in a hotel reception to something we thought a reasonable price for a room ($30) and then we fell into a deep coma in our so longed-for beds.

In the afternoon we decided to have a look on the outside world and we left the soothing comfort of our beds. Our "sight-seeing" tour started with most known places and then we started wandering aimlessly, always ending up in places extremely interesting for a photographer, but swarming with locals knocking with their finger on the head and murmuring "Loco" under their breath while pointing to cameras dangling on my shoulders. The last drop was a policeman, telling us in a clear sign language what's awaiting us if we carry on going forward (an index finger slowly slicing the neck). That made us turn around and head for the safety of the city centre. As it seems, there might be some truth in the stories of robbed and kidnapped tourist that you can find all over the Internet. So we decided that the best course of action will be to leave the stinking town behind us and head into the country.

First impressions are therefore a bit frustrating. We did see some nice squares, museums and churches, but that's all just polished beauty for tourists and the grubby beauties of Peru remain denied to us. This morning we got up early and went to sort out some essentials like a purchase of a good tourist guide (don't ask me how but we left our one in London) and maps. Afterwards, to our great surprise, we found Starbucks with free Wi-Fi, so we sat down and made plans for our next few days over a nice hot coffee....
So, on 10th September Jan has got a date with Rossio (our Bolivian link) on the shore of Titicaca Lake, so we've got about a week and a half to get there. After our early lunatic plans to go north and then turn back down, heading south-east, we checked the map and the scale (!!!) and changed our plan very quickly. :) Peru is about 1 285 215 square km (about 16 times Czech Republic) and I'm afraid that our highways compare to local roads like child's abacus with a Commodore 64. So back to Earth and off we are looking for a plan that we can follow. After and intellectual debate and subsequent check in the travel agency and the bus terminal we decided, that our route will follow the Pan American Highway due south into the town of Pisco and then over the Andes to the town of Ayacucho. Afterwards we'll be heading for the Peruvian attraction numero uno - Cusco (a hub for Machu Picchu) and then through Puno towards Lake Titicaca and our final Peruvian/first Bolivian destination = Copacabana.

Few observations: I never realised that I am a giant! OK, only compared to local population, but still it is awesome to feel like Michael Jordan amongst a horde of midgets. :) Another amazing phenomenon is Peruvian fetish with fried chicken and fries (fried). Dunno if it's a part of their culture or if it's just an influence of the US plague, but i think we'll find that out once we move out of the town. What really isn't a random thing is a bright yellow slop with a funny name Inca Kola, tasting dangerously close to our childhood treat chewing gum Pedro. Also on every step you can see the "trademark" of every metropolis of a third world country, that is dust, stink, smog, cars serving it's third life spam (unfortunately their horns are in the best possible state and the drivers don't hesitate to demonstrate it) and some more stink and dust. Another interesting feature are the nutrition advisers. It's people easily mistaken with beggars that are in possession of one thing, scales. Passer-by can step onto the scale and for 50 cents the advisor will tell him that over-eating is not healthy and that he gained a little weight since yesterday.. o:) For a Czech person there is surprisingly high number of Bata stores. Correct me if I'm wrong, but 6 branches in one street is way more than you can find anywhere in Czech, isn't it?

Also, we found that Peruvian Internet coverage isnt't the thickest and that we can expect a good connection on only three places in the whole country, so I'm not so sure, how will it look with this blog.... :(((

- translated by Mort.