Nevado Firura Glacier, Peru
This Project is supported by a generous grant from the
Dan and Betty Churchill Exploration Fund
June 15, 2005 to July 14, 2005
15th – 16th June Orono to Lima, Peru
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Louis writes: We departed Orono just after 5:00AM to carpool down to Portland. Arriving in Portland at 7:15AM, we took the Concord Trailways bus to Boston. We arrived in Boston at 9:40AM where we were dropped off conveniently in front of the American Airlines terminal. After tagging our luggage and waiting in a long line we finally got on the plane and set off for Lima, the capital and largest city of Peru. With a population of 8 million, it has over one-quarter of Peru’s inhabitants. In addition, Lima is extremely large in area, at 2,672 km2 it is the second largest city in the world located in a desert, after Cairo.
Gordon writes: We arrived in Lima this evening (15th June) having received stern warnings to watch for pickpockets and conmen and minus most of our checked baggage. Outside, a huge crowd lays siege to the arrivals hall in the hope that, by grabbing your arm and gesturing towards fliers/taxis/cigarettes, they will earn your business. Even more exhilarating than the initial reception, however, was the 30 minute taxi ride through the smog to reach our hostel, Home Peru. The traffic in Lima is heavy and fast, composed entirely of tiny yellow taxis, called Ticos, and packed smoky buses. And you even have the option of buying pirated DVDs and Sponge Bob paraphernalia from salesmen wandering the roads whilst stopped at traffic lights!
My first impressions of Lima are not entirely complementary. It feels like I’m in a vast sprawl of concrete, under a gloomy grey sky so filled with smog it makes breathing a chore. We’re also sharing our hostel with the backpacker from hell, and his harmonica… On the upside, the food is quite spectacular and we have accomplished a lot during our first full day in Lima (16th June). We made the trip up to the Instituto Nacional de Geografia to purchase aerial photos of our study area, bought our bus tickets, and were reunited with our baggage. The bus we’re catching tonight is the overnight to Arequipa, the last staging post before we get up to Nevado Firura, and the bus ride will take 13 hours in all.
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