Bright Sides and Space Men

I heard from the landlord today and apparently CFL and her friends (yes, plural, apparently bitch had an entire posse crashing in my fucking house) have vacated the premises.  She says that she thinks they cleaned up, as they put out some trash bags, but I've asked my darling A to please let me know if the place is completely trashed when she goes to check on the cat, so that I can mentally prepare myself before returning home.  Bet your ass I will be calling on some of my hippie friends to perform a cleansing ceremony in that apartment when I get back.

And if anything is damaged or missing, bitch is being taken to Small Claims Court.  Damn Skippy.

On the bright side, my landlord has accepted my multitudinous and profuse apologies, so hopefully this means I will not be getting evicted upon my return.  Knock wood.

So, in cheerier news, Greetings from Nasca!  I arrived this morning after a very early departure from the desert oasis of Huacachina, with two Canadian girls I met while sharing a taxi from the bus station and have been bumming around with.  We got to the Nasca airport around 10:30, and even though we had made a reservation, we still waited around for 4 hours before finally boarding a plane to see the Nasca lines.

First let me say that this ride is definitely not for anyone who gets motion sick.  The plane was tiny--seating six people, including the pilot--and there is lots of swerving and turning and flying at angles so as to get the best views of the lines.

That being said, the view itself?  Was AWESOME!  They route the flight in such a way that the lines you fly over first are the ones that are much harder to see and less impressive, but by the end they are freaking amazing.  I definitely think that the Spider is my favourite, and so I bought a pendant in the shape of it from one of the outrageously overpriced vendors at the airport who refuse to haggle.  Granted, "outrageously overpriced" in Peru is still fairly cheap by American standards, but being ripped off is still annoying, cheaply or otherwise.  However, I've decided that I must purchase something, no matter how small, in every town I visit... so overpriced Spider necklace it was.

The real question is: just how many alpaca sweaters will be in my posession by the time I leave Peru?  I already bought one on the first day in Lima, and there's still Arequipa (for which I am boarding an overnight bus in approximately 2 hours) and Cusco to go!

And then there's also alpaca hats, and gloves, and scarves, and dolls, and...

(Hey, if I can't bring an actual llama home with me, I'm going for the next best thing!)

In conclusion, for anyone considering a trip to Peru, I've got two hostel recommendations thus far:

Lima - Lex Luthor's House (Miraflores).  I was originally drawn in by the silly name, but the hostel itself is nice, has an extremely friendly cat (btw-Peruvian cats freakin love me... I've been using them to send vicarious love to my poor, neglected kitty), and a very helpful owner.  When I told him where I was headed, he gave me fliers for cheap hostels in nearly every town.  I'll be checking out his Arequipa recommendation tomorrow.  Either way, a friendly and inexpensive hostel that gives you free water!  Who could argue with that?

Huacachina - Desert Nights.  First of all, regardless of where you stay, just go to Huacachina.  It is awesome.  That being said, this is also a friendly and extremely cheap hostel.  Most of the staff speak Spanish but the owner is American and very helpful.  The hostel is also an adventure center and through them we booked a cheap trip in a dune buggy out in the desert to go sandboarding, as well as a trip to some of the local bodegas (wineries specializing in sweet wines and Pisco, a type of liquor).  She also booked our flight over the Nasca lines.  Plus the hostel is in the middle of an oasis, right by the lagoon, and has an inexpensive restaurant that is quite busy in the evenings.

Okay that's it for travel recommendations.  I'm sure there will be more to come.

And so, while I prepare for an overnight bus journey with visions of space men carved into the sides of mountains dancing in my head, I ask you: what is your most memorable travel experience?