Peru (2019)
Inhalt/Content
Actually, we wanted to visit South Korea. How on earth did we end up in Peru?
For years there was either no time or money to travel. Well, six months with a job and we suddenly had both: Sufficient money and three weeks’ vacation. My longtime best friend Jieun is Korean and flies to South Korea almost every spring. She has already suggested several times to come along. So why not put the suggestion into practice? In contrast to us, Jieun is still a student and as such, her exams thwarted the bill and Korea was cancelled. So there we were with 3 weeks of approved vacation and an unsatisfied travel fever. “No problem” was my reaction, “we’ll just go somewhere else.” Kevin, whose road trip to Poland the year before was the first vacation in a long time, was not quite so enthusiastic. To make matters worse, I was of the opinion that if you have 3 weeks in a row, you should fly as far away as possible. Kevin started a last desperate attempt to slow me down by giving me a condition: “No matter where we travel, at least one of us must speak the language.” I gladly accepted the challenge. After all, Spanish was one of my favourite subjects at school. By doing so, Kevin indirectly ensured that the trip would take us to South America. It took a while before we could finally agree on a country: It goes to Peru…
The flight should already be the first endurance test. Kevin had never been on an airplane before and now he was supposed to fly halfway around the globe. Our journey began on February 24, 2018. The day before we brought Iva to Kevin’s mother in Greiz. Finally, we were sitting in the ICE to Frankfurt. Our flight should leave one day later, but since it was already early in the morning we had to arrive one day earlier and stay in an overpriced airport hotel. Such an airport is already a special place, especially if it is the Frankfurt airport. In the middle of the many shops and restaurants you meet people from all over the world. There is a general atmosphere of departure. Some are looking forward to an upcoming trip, others are sad to have to say goodbye to their loved ones. To pass the time a little bit we went to the visitors’ terrace. It was almost ironic that from there we saw the very plane that was supposed to take us to Korea. And then the next morning it was finally time. Our journey to Peru started…
Madrid
Our journey from Frankfurt to Lima should take 18 hours. Since there was no direct flight, we first went to Madrid. For me it was pure nostalgia to be back in Madrid, even if only at the airport. My parents had gifted me an unforgettable language trip to Madrid as preparation for the Abitur. And how was Kevin doing on his first flight? I must say that I was very proud of him because he did a great job. I think you can clearly see our anticipation in the photos.
Lima
Finally in Peru. We landed in Lima late in the evening with a considerable delay. The flight went without big problems. Only once Kevin had allowed himself a small slip-up. Since we flew with Iberia, mainly Spanish was spoken on the plane. We had been on the road for a couple of hours when a flight attendant walked through the aisle and asked who else would like a drink. Visibly tired, Kevin reflexively replied, “Nein, danke.” The flight attendant just grinned and replied, “In Peru kein Deutsch.” The look on Kevin’s face made it clear that he knew at that moment what to expect in Peru. But it was too late to back out now. And so we were sitting in the taxi from the airport to Miraflores, which should not only be one of the best areas in Lima, but also where our AirBnB was. Admittedly, when you think of South America, there are not only positive associations. Poverty, drugs, crime… So it was all the more pleasing to see how beautiful and above all how clean Lima is. Honestly, we were only in “better” areas. And yet, when I think about how much we were warned about Lima in particular, I have to say that at no time did we feel uncomfortable or insecure in any way. In Miraflores, we went down to the sea and walked through the beautiful parks along the promenade. Later, we took the bus to the city centre and visited the main square, the Plaza de Armas, which cannot be missed in any city with Spanish architecture, and also the catacombs of the Basilica St. Francis.
