Pre-Dakar

2nd January 2018

I woke up at 4am again this morning. I’m still battling the jet lag but it could always be worse.

Breakfast was a delightful fish curry and it once again kept me going for most of the day.

I was taxied to downtown Lima where I visited an art museum and the Cathedral Basilica of Lima, home to the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, who laid the first stone in 1535. The cathedral has undergone many rebuilds and renovations over the years, mostly due to earthquake damage (I had forgotten this detail before embarking on my trip); and it is truly something to behold. I was aware of my heart rate elevation as I stepped foot inside and gawked. It is truly beautiful. The wood carvings, the paintings, the detail, the sculptures, the sheer magnitude, all of it; yet after two hours I was in desperate need of an energy shift. While I am most certainly a Christian, I find any religious fanaticism uncomfortable and the presence of catacombs and skulls did a lot to unsettle me. I need to do a lot more research on the Cathedral as there is a lot I missed. I was very grateful to have had the experience and equally grateful to my lovely taxi driver who retrieved me on time, equipped with no English at all and a shamrock tattoo on his hand. I couldn’t ask… damn language barrier.

I went for a long walk this evening to watch the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean, true to form, I arrived late and celebrated it having gone down. This is a recurring theme in my life.

David and manager Peggy are due to arrive tonight so I meandered down to a little meat restaurant ten minutes walk from our hotel to wait. Here, was met by Carlos who speaks no English at all but continues to talk to me as if I understand everything he says. My vocab of ten words is exhausted within the first minute. I’m regretting not taking my friends’ advice and learning more Spanish before I left. I asked the barman to choose a beer for me with embarrassing gesticulations and pointing. He selected two craft type beers, both 6%, but they were very drinkable (slowly) and refreshingly not accompanied by a hipster beard or top knot. This trend has fortunately not found its way to the Peruvian shores.

I ordered a Salmon salad (I have no signal and there’s no wi-fi at the restaurant) and think about the challenges and tasks that lie ahead. So foreign. So terrifying. So deliciously electric. Carlos arrives with this and I wonder what the hell it was that I actually ordered:

I abandoned any ideas of a healthy dinner and got stuck into the most unidentifiable but wonderfully decadent sauce I have ever tasted. As it happened, my salad did arrive and true to my growing Peruvian experience, it was just lovely.

I raced back to the hotel to meet my team but have just received a message to say that one of Peggy’s bags has not arrived. I’ve been waiting for an hour and am frankly quite relieved. I had visions of a grumpy customs official or worse. These two have been travelling since 6am SA time this morning and its now 7am SA time the following day. Its nearly midnight for me and I’m exhausted but cannot wait to see two wonderful faces… soon.