Lima

So, here I am, in the capital of Peru! And I have to say, for a city of 8 million it's actually quite nice. I've managed to visit some of the main tourist attractions (i.e. buildings and museums), but most of the time I've just been walking around, familiarising myself with place and getting the feel of it. It's the best way to experience a city - spend hours getting lost. I could give you a rundown of all the places I've been to, but that would just be boring, right? Most of them involve the fascinating history of Peru's ancient civilisations. There's so much more to it than just the Incas.

Arriving in Lima hasn't been as much of a culture shock as I expected. That will probably come once I get out to the more remote towns and villages. Peruvians are incredibly friendly people, but slightly reserved. They acknowledge the fact that we're gringos but make no obvious remarks about it. Cat and my combined attempt at speaking Spanish is just about getting us by, but we're doubling our vocabulary by the day. Just wait and see...we'll come back fluent! It's definitely a bonus that we can read the language. It makes it much easier to pick up phrases and expressions.

The hostel I'm staying at is in a very touristy, Americanised area, so there ain't much to see here. It's not far from the historical city centre though - only a 15 minute bus ride. Traffic in Lima is absolute chaos (as in cars narrowly missing each other), but the buses are surpisingly efficient! There seems to be a start and an endpoint to the route, but in between the buses pick up anyone who flags them down. The real highlight of the trip so far has been the hospitality of the hostel owner/manager, Francis. He's made it incredibly easy to settle in. There's a really good social vibe here and he introduces everyone to everyone. It's brilliant chatting to other travellers and hearing their stories. They give the best advice on where to go and what to visit. A lot of people are going in the opposite direction though: starting off in Brazil/Argentina and ending up in Peru. Francis loves his food. And his Pisco! It's basically grape brandy, and a good drink to get the party started. It seems like every other day he just buys a few bottles and everyone in the hostel gets together and has a few drinks. I can highly recommend the place (Albergue Miraflores House) if you're thinking about visiting Lima.

Drum roll please...

As most of you know, I’m heading to South America for 4 months over the summer. So, it is with great pleasure that I introduce Pizarro’s Sword, my online journal for the trip! This is where you’ll find all the stories from my escapade to the other side of the world. However, I won't be traveling solo. My partner in crime (and adventure) will be the lovely Catherine Hill (known affectionately to most of you as Cat) and together we’ll be seeing as much of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina as time allows. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be able to post regularly (every 2-3 days) throughout the trip, giving you updates on all the latest craziness. And, with a bit of luck, I should be able to upload photos onto the blog as well to give you an idea of what places look like.

Start: Lima, Peru (April 26^th).
End: Buenos Aires, Argentina (August 30^th).
Time: 18 weeks.

That about sums up the itinerary. Seriously, we have no definitive route; instead we’re going to play it by ear and see where we end up. With some help from our guidebooks of course. No doubt we’ll get stuck in some places longer than others (hopefully for good reasons), but that's the beauty of traveling. Our path will probably resemble some deformed, reverse letter ‘J’: the journey starts off in Peru, after which we head east into Bolivia. Then, after gradually making our way south through the thin strip of a country that is Chile, we’ll go back up north via Argentina. It might look a little something like this (click on the map for a larger image):

Or it might not. The first port of call will be the bustling capital of Peru, Lima. A week there should be more than enough to see all the sights. Then, the plan is to venture into the depths of the Peruvian Andes and get lost on a mountain somewhere. And after that? Who knows. The only other thing I can tell you with certainty is that we’ll be doing a month’s conservation work at an animal sanctuary in the Bolivian Jungle sometime in June. The organisation is called Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi, and they house and rehabilitate a number of wild animals in two protected parks between Cochobamba and Santa Cruz. Fortunately, there is internet access in one of the villages so I’ll be able to document the experience online! Watch this space.

In case you’re wondering, the name of this site was inspired by the Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish Conquistador who was responsible for the downfall of the Inca Empire and who also founded Lima. Read up about him here. At the moment I’m trying to get my head around the recent political history of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, but it’s proving to be a bit of a challenge. The number of changes that have occurred in the last century is insane! A far cry from the supposedly stable governments that exist in Western European countries. It should be interesting hearing what locals have to say about the current political situation, given that last year a new president was elected in both Chile and Bolivia. At present, Peru is in the midst of their Presidential elections, with a second round taking place on May 7.

You’ll find a whole bunch of random (and not-so-random) links to your right. Actually, most of them have nothing to do with traveling whatsoever, but I thought I’d give everyone a taster anyway of the sites and blogs I spend most of my time reading. It’s especially worthwhile for all you (independent) music-lovers out there. Check them out, you may like what you see/hear/read.

Last but not least, feel free to comment on anything I write. It would be good to hear from everyone! It might actually be easier keeping in touch that way, seeing as I’ll be checking my blog more regularly than my emails. However, for those of you desperate to get in touch via email, you can reach me at jobderoij@hotmail.com.

You’ll hear back from me very soon. Until then, adios amigos!