** PERU - IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF VON DANIKEN **
This is the 11 Dec 2004 Edition of
this page.
CHAPTER NINE
LIMA AGAIN & THE WAY HOME
1st July 2001 (Sunday)
I only awakened once during the night ('twas really a GOOD night's sleep!) - and that was at 5.25am for the
toilet. Later, I heard a triple knock on the adjacent door at about 6.45am..
After both these occasions, I got back to bed - and, finally, started getting up at 7.05am.
TODAY is a 'free day' for leisure. I started by using the wash-basin, the toilet, the bidet but NOT the
JACUZZI!! (This was a GIANT circular one inside my own toilet!)
I finished dressing and REPACKED the "PISAC Market puchase" with the slippers and pyjamas in my hand-
baggage. Now I'm ready for breakfast at 8am! I got a 'pretty full stomach' after a mixed tropical breakfast (also
some Continental!) when I returned to Room 233 afterwards!
Now to relax in ccomfort. NB This room has NO NATURAL LIGHT ... but from a small area through the
curtains and windows, light entered THAT area through a further (higher) area in this vertical canyon!!
My area has two seats and a small table. Room 233 appears to be the very large room (for me alone!) at the end
of business and executive suites on this floor. Its lack of natural light and atmosphere is UNNATURAL - so I tried
to find 'normality' by a 'user-unfriendly TV system'.
Eventually, with one 'control system', I managed to find some American (USA!) programmes which were understandable.
One American station from New Jersey dealt with weather reports and forecasts - and then I surfed these channels for
quite a while and continued until 9.30am !!
Soon, there was the SAD NEWS of the death (the previous day) of the great CHET ATKINS at the age of 77 years.
He'd had cancer problems - and I received this news at 9.38am and watched more various USA TV until 9.55am..
I found my way out of the hotel into EL OLIVAR PARK and also to the supermarket where I spent 2.70sols on
refreshments. An 'urgent toilet need' meant finding my hotel again, but several trees, different 'lifts' etc meant I got
lost in the 'conference rooms area' - causing me to explete with un-conference-like language!! I only JUST made
the toilet (in my own room) 'in time'!!
This Hotel is ludicrously user-hostile for finding one's way. However, I managed to get back to my own room, with
the TV and food again, by 11.40am..Republicans and Democrats were individually interviewed on a range of topics.
Breathing, today, was the easiest indoors with the COOL setting and a MEDIUM FAN - and fortunately I could
concentrate on the TV (mostly CNN!). OUTDOORS, it was 'too close and humid' as well as being overcast!!
Also, from Northern Ireland, came news of TRIMBLE'S resignation!!
The room-cleaner rang the bell and came to do work at 12.37hrs - while I still kept the CNN TV on. I also carried on
with my own paperwork, and she left at about 12.54hrs, having done EVERYTHING!
I ate my food and watched further TV until 13.47hrs - and, in the mid-afternoon, walked slowly to SAN ISIDRO, and
went to my favourite Supermarket there (despite the fact that there were still no individual ice-creams!) I, thus, bought
a cake , and on returning to my room later, watched the GRAND PRIX from 17.00-18.00 on some foreign channel (but
I could understand it OK!!)
I decided to get an 'early night'! However, I was awakened at about 19.20hrs by a woman wanting to give me CHOCOLATE
(just like the previous night!). Being a 'diabetic', I had to say "NO" -and explained to her why! So she took my
"Do not disturb" card and hung it on the outside of the door!
I had new awakenings between 12.15am and 1.30am TOMORROW (from the powerful motors of adjacent JACUZZIs).
2 July 2001 (Monday)
I next woke up at 5.40am, SWELTERING, so turned all the OFF controls to COOL and LOW FAN!! I, then,
thought, - since RODOLFO (or someone!) collects me at 16.00hrs from the foyer, "what time can I use the room
until??" [The small-print inside the room says "checkout is 12noon"]
I needed to phone or visit the 'front desk' to confirm, or advise, if it could be later. On returning to bed by 5.55am, I
contemplated the PERUVIAN edits to my website for a while - and then cat-napped before getting up at 7.15am..
I was shaved and almost ready to go down to breakfast (I must remember to get a Route map!) by 7.35am - so I
went!!!
After a filling,satisfying breakfast - I got back into Room233 and toiletted, washed my dentures (with mineral
water from SanAntonio!) and gradually packed items for leaving in my case - ready for the check-out at noon
at the front-desk!
Other items, including the food and my PISAC MARKET (breakable!!) souvenir, will go with me until 4pm, when my
transport arrives. I, then, perused CNN TV channels in my room. I got the paperwork in my pockets to keep me
going until the Ashley Hotel (in Paddington) - which is a nine-hour trip via AMSTERDAM!
There was incessant hammering, scraping and LOUD noises above my room - which made 'thinking' and 'TV concentration'
almost impossible. That lasted from 8.30am until 9.20am! Having packed my case (which will not be needed until
Paddington!), I then had it put with the 'front desk' for safe-keeping until my transport arrives at 4pm by Rodolfo.
I browsed the streets and a park in the morning and afternoon - and read some American magazines in our foyer.
I bought more 'eats' and refreshments from the supermarket, before taking my case to 'storage' at 3.45pm ready
for Rodolfo's 15mile-'VAN run' to the airport . I stood in the queue and got my AMSTERDAM and LONDON
boarding cards, showing my passport and tickets (but having mislaid the 'white form' which had their 'stamp' on
since my arrival!). I, therefore, wrote another one out (this costing another $40 on top of the airport tax of $25!!)
It seemed expensive to get OUT of this place!
I then got the KLM 742 to Amsterdam at 20.10hrs, sitting next to a Dutch guy from Brussels from our stop in
ARUBA. The Aruba flight (in an MD11 craft) was 1764miles, whilst the Amsterdam 'leg' was 4898 miles - during
which time my stomach and 'internal plumbing' had problems!
3 July 2001 (Tuesday)
After a 1hr45mins wait at Amsterdam, I caught the HEATHROW flight of just 300 miles. After 'baggage retreival'
and customs in Heathrow, I caught the Heathrow EXPRESS (train) to take me the 18 miles to London. I had my
return ticket for that bought earlier! In London, I found it hotter than in PERU, surprisingly, especially back in the
ASHLEY Hotel, where I needed the cooling from the 'fan', got from reception!
4 July 2001 (Wednesday)
That fan enabled me to get a good night's, tolerable, sleep - mitigating the effect of the high London temperature.
I then got an unrushed breakfast (that's better!), paid the £36.50 fee for B&B, and headed homewards
for MALVERN.
Due to a 'Circle Line' blockage, this entailed two 'District Line' trains first to Earls Court and then to VICTORIA.
Then, having walked to Victoria Coach Station, the NATIONAL EXPRESS coaches took me on the double-leg,
first on the 119 miles to BIRMINGHAM - followed by the 36 miles to MALVERN LINK.
From the 'Link', I got the local bus number 42 to take me the final 4miles to home.
===============================
On summarising the mileages for the whole journey when I got back home, it turned out that:
Coach/Bus total = 375 miles
Train total = 461 miles
Aircraft total = 15,149 miles
Car/van total = 755miles
Boats = 10 miles
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GRAND TOTAL = 16,750 miles
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