La hoja de la coca no es una droga

Well, this is it, Lima and out. We`ve come from 51` South - further south than anywhere in Africa or Australia/New Zealand, all the way up to 9`South. Didn`t quite make it to the equator, but there`s always next time.

Lima, in case you needed a description, is a big ugly city of 8m people where you have to take taxis everywhere. Its covered in a grey coastal fog, you can`t see the sun.

Overall, I`ve found Peru very touristy. Cusco is the most touristy place we`ve been. Arequipa was nice but nothing exceptional. Hurraz was exceptional, I could have stayed several more weeks there (go to the Way Inn`s mountain lodge and play high altitude volleyball over an eat as much as you like bbq). Huacacina (Ica) was superb, and Nazca was OK (intriguing), Pisco was dire (but nice islands). Travelling in Peru doesn`t have the edge that travelling in Bolivia did, so many people always springing up to provide a "service" for you, some honest, some not.

Peru seems to have conquered all of the problems Bolivia faced, the politics seems stable now that Fujimori is staying in Japan "for a very, very long time". His right hand man was famously caught on national tv bribing opposition members. The economy is growing, the Shining Path movement silent for 10 years, coca leaf production doesn`t seem to overshadow the gdp - good signs.
(The title of this post is "the coca leaf is not a drug" - slogans emblazzoned everywhere in Bolivia, as they fight the US eradication of the coca plant, as they exist on the nutritious, fast growing, mountain loving plant. Nowhere to be seen in Peru).

Anyway, on to America, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal and India. We`re quite close to halfway through, doesn`t feel like it yet.