Into Peru July 19th/2011

Waking up in Lima was a shock. On the plane my nostrils cleared up right away after the humid Panamian heat of the previous six months, which was very refreshing. Even at the Lima airport the weather was a novelty. Damp, misty and cool was different and different was ok. Waking up though was a different thing as we both relucantly cocked one eye open each challenging each other to be first to get out from the covers. This was the chilliest since last November in Toronto the previous year. And guess what? No central heating! It seems this is the way things are done here just throw another blanket on, dress warmly, wear a scarf,and suck it up. And if it gets really cold well you might get one of those toy radiant electric heaters that may or may not take the chill off the air but certainly isn´t going to heat the room. After a ooh,ooh aw,aw shower and speedy towel down it was into clothes and off for breakfast.I did notice the coco leaves by the tea pot with some interest(reputedly the cure for altitude) sickness but caffine won out over curiosty. We spent the next few hours finding a bank machine and poking around getting the lay of the land in Miaflores the which is one of the suburbs of Lima sittting on the ocean. We also found the South American Explorers club paid for a membership and began to realize that our clothes just were not going to cut it in the cool and damp weather which was only going to get colder as we headed up into the mountains. So the search was on for outdoor stores and thinsulate type clothing.