There can have been few occasions previously in my life where I have been so completely and utterly out of my own depth.
I do not know, nor might I ever discover what precisely went wrong with my pre-arranged meet with Jose. It had all seemed so simple; get met at the airport, driven to a hostel, and then the next day ride across with Jose in his car to Arequipa. What could go wrong?
The last time I managed to speak to Jose on the phone, a conversation part-broken English and shattered-Spanish, he was already in Arequipa and truth be told I am not sure he was even in Lima the last couple of days.
From our last conversation, and the use of a friendly intermediary, I gathered that Jose had wanted me to take a taxi from the airport to a Hostel and there he would meet me the next morning.
As this conversation took place at 2am I decided against taking an unfamiliar vehicle across the strange city and opted instead to take what sleep I could on the floor of the airport where access to internet and coffee were in limitless supply.
I took a taxi round about 6:30 and made it to the Hostel an hour later. I asked to wait for my friend in the lobby but when Jose hadn’t appeared by 8:30 I decided to give him a call.
I’m not sure where everything went wrong, and I am prepared to accept that perhaps I should have confirmed plans at an earlier time, but when things are done through two or three intermediaries this can be a little difficult.
Jose, as already mentioned, was in Arequipa and given the cities distance from Lima I can only assume he was also there last night, so I am not sure what was meant to happen at 8 in the morning. Perhaps that was when I was meant to ring him?
Again through the kindness of strangers and mine and Jose’s less then perfect foreign language skills I understood the plan to be to get a ticket and to take a night bus to Arequipa in the evening.
I say “I understood the plan to be” to allow some flexibility for, already I have understood the plan to be that I would be met at the airport, and understood the plan to be that I would be picked up at the hostel. So you will forgive my reservations.
Despite these tribulations I am feeling good. I managed to sneak about four hours broken sleep in my room and these small snatches seem to sustain me. However I am sure that when I am in a suitable location I will crash and probably sleep for about four or five days.
I’m writing this from my room now, having just had some food in a nearby café, and waiting for 5pm when one of the guys from the hotel will take me to catch my bus. He has already been a great help, taking me to buy the ticket, exchange money (at a rate far superior to the airport exchange rate) and taken me to the café where I have just eaten. I am very fortunate that I have come into contact with the right people as I would certainly not be taking things so lightly if I had to rely on my own limited means.
However as I said I am in good spirits, nothing has gone terribly wrong yet and the bus (providing I catch the right one) will bring me into Arequipa tomorrow morning. What can go wrong from here?
I do not know, nor might I ever discover what precisely went wrong with my pre-arranged meet with Jose. It had all seemed so simple; get met at the airport, driven to a hostel, and then the next day ride across with Jose in his car to Arequipa. What could go wrong?
The last time I managed to speak to Jose on the phone, a conversation part-broken English and shattered-Spanish, he was already in Arequipa and truth be told I am not sure he was even in Lima the last couple of days.
From our last conversation, and the use of a friendly intermediary, I gathered that Jose had wanted me to take a taxi from the airport to a Hostel and there he would meet me the next morning.
As this conversation took place at 2am I decided against taking an unfamiliar vehicle across the strange city and opted instead to take what sleep I could on the floor of the airport where access to internet and coffee were in limitless supply.
I took a taxi round about 6:30 and made it to the Hostel an hour later. I asked to wait for my friend in the lobby but when Jose hadn’t appeared by 8:30 I decided to give him a call.
I’m not sure where everything went wrong, and I am prepared to accept that perhaps I should have confirmed plans at an earlier time, but when things are done through two or three intermediaries this can be a little difficult.
Jose, as already mentioned, was in Arequipa and given the cities distance from Lima I can only assume he was also there last night, so I am not sure what was meant to happen at 8 in the morning. Perhaps that was when I was meant to ring him?
Again through the kindness of strangers and mine and Jose’s less then perfect foreign language skills I understood the plan to be to get a ticket and to take a night bus to Arequipa in the evening.
I say “I understood the plan to be” to allow some flexibility for, already I have understood the plan to be that I would be met at the airport, and understood the plan to be that I would be picked up at the hostel. So you will forgive my reservations.
Despite these tribulations I am feeling good. I managed to sneak about four hours broken sleep in my room and these small snatches seem to sustain me. However I am sure that when I am in a suitable location I will crash and probably sleep for about four or five days.
I’m writing this from my room now, having just had some food in a nearby café, and waiting for 5pm when one of the guys from the hotel will take me to catch my bus. He has already been a great help, taking me to buy the ticket, exchange money (at a rate far superior to the airport exchange rate) and taken me to the café where I have just eaten. I am very fortunate that I have come into contact with the right people as I would certainly not be taking things so lightly if I had to rely on my own limited means.
However as I said I am in good spirits, nothing has gone terribly wrong yet and the bus (providing I catch the right one) will bring me into Arequipa tomorrow morning. What can go wrong from here?
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