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Hola chicos!
Numero Uno, my Spanish sucks... I am getting a good grasp of the main words and phrases I need to use and can understand large chunks of conversation (demonstrated when Mat left me with all the bags, on the side of the road, to look for a hostel, and a local spent 10 mins giving me advice on where to stay, how much to pay and directions.) The problem remains however, that no bloody b***** understands me! AND, more infuriatingly, when Mat intervenes (which he does a LOT) and repeats what I've said, they all say "ah" and carry on blithering together. BOO. It seems to be my accent that's the problem! (Unhelpful Welsh lilt!)
Anyway, Thought I would give you an update from the sensational side of my holiday... we survived an earthquake 4 days ago! Picture the scene if you will... I was lying on the floor next to the pool, listening to Pearl Jam (check out 'Come Back' by them, it's beautiful) and I thought a bloody motorbike had raced in, the ground literally growled and shook beneath me. Naturally, I unplugged myself, Mat was shouting, 'COME ON' and waving his arms in exasperation at me, water was sloshing out of either side of pool, we had to follow all the staff to the street incase of aftershocks. Loco.
No damage done where we were, epicentre a few hours away, but locals were crying as Huacachina is an oasis and they all live in different places and were fearful for their families. Rubble still abounds in loads of the coastal places from the 2007 earthquake. It is really weird, we visited Paracas national park 3 days ago and it is stunning but the whole edge of the beach is just rubble and all the houses are falling down with no roofs. It is so poor here they just haven't been able to finish the repairs, this enabled us to have an understanding of why they might well be frightened.
On the Paracas front, we got a speed boat out to the islands and were greeted my rocks FULL of Penguins, Pelicans, Sealions, seals and other awesome birds. It was just amazing, sun on our skins and all these beautiful animals. They seemed to be sunbathing too, tilting their heads upwards. I greatly appreciated the fact I didn't get pooed on, as apparantly this is very common, they even sell the poo as some sort of fuel, there's that much of it, but it didn't smell!
After that we moved onto Canete to find a Halloween party, (we've decided to stop in all the little coastal towns on the way to Lima to surf and read, over the next 2 or 3 weeks) and found a cheap hostel. Super cheap, 6 pounds for a private room with bathroom!
We went out for tea and to sit in the square where a band were playing traditional music, we soaked up the spirit, it was lovely, loads of small children dressed up with their parents, people dancing (a man got me up and I cringed my way through some poor salsa but still loved it) and went to a lovely bar where I showed myself up by knocking over the metal bin while trying to swing my legs over the arm of a chair and proceeding to do the awkward, 'I'm stuck in this comfy sofa' move.
We are now at Cerro Azul, on the advice of the hostel owner from Pisco, and it's pure bliss! Mat finally got to eat Ceviche, fish cooked in lemon juice and served with onion salad, and I have had a go at sand sculptures (a Llama and a Turtle so far), plus our beachside room is only 4 pounds and 30p a night and has TV with an English films channel! We are very happy holiday makers here.
I need to go and sunbathe or pinch myself!
Much love,
xxxx
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