Tonight I'm gonna have a special kind of challenge, the trip to Lima.
The ticket at 'Cruz del Sur' is booked, departure at 14.00 p.m., travel time 18 hours. That will be fun.
However, the news from the north of Peru are worrying. The images on the TV remind of the tsunami in 2004, terrible scenes happening before our eyes, filmed live. Somehow there is an unpleasant feeling about the forthcoming bus ride. But we will see ...
Marching music
On the tiresome staircase, which I use with particular care today (Viejo!), I can hear marching music from afar, loudspeaker announcements, applause.
Something particular must be going on there. Indeed, a large crowd has gathered in front of the cathedral. Apparently important people from politics, business and the army are assembled on a platform; dressed in tight uniforms and suits, standing in a respectful position, staring down at their citizens with a serious look in their eyes. A parade of soldiers passes by at a brisk pace, and then the first speaker takes the microphone.
El Dia de los Artesanos
It now turns very martial, one nationalistic slogan following the next.
Anyway, eventually the real purpose becomes clear. It is the day of the Artesanos, the various craftsmen from all over the country. Countless groups, dressed in their wonderful traditional costumes, pass the podium, are applauded fiercely and photographed and filmed by the hundreds (thousands?) of spectators.
The International Day of Craftsmen is celebrated every year on March 19th. It is a day when the work of each artisan is appreciated. It coincides with St. Joseph's Day celebrated in the Catholic religion. Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, was a carpenter and craftsman, so this day is celebrated as the Day of Craftsmen.
Departure, slightly delayed
After checkout at the hotel (I need to pay for a broken lamp smashed into a thousand pieces while chasing a annoying fly), I let me be driven to the Cruz de Sur terminal, where I stand in front of the counter at 13 o'clock sharp, as instructed on the ticket, and get a cold shower first.
The nice young lady, whom I find at best young after a few seconds, informs me with the friendliest look that the departure of the bus has been postponed to 18 o'clock. "Como?" It must have sounded a bit louder and angrier than normal, because the young lady flinches noticeably and stammers an apology.
Damn it! It's not her fault, but the strange precognitive feeling of this morning has been confirmed. The Huaicos, the floods, are the reason. Later, however, I'm informed that the 14 o'clock bus was combined with the 18 o'clock bus due to underbooking. That seems more plausible to me. But what the heck, and so I spend the afternoon just otherwise, cursing a bit with other people involved, drink one coffee after another, and wait and wait ...
But then it's there, the bus
The bus that finally arrives is, once again, top notch.
It has to be, because how else can you survive a twenty-hour drive. Each seat has its own display, charging stations for mobile phones, dinner, breakfast, blankets, pillows ...
The passengers, as always a cross-national mix, make themselves comfortable, but at departure point 18.00 it is already so dark that it is no longer worth looking out of the window. So I sit back, choose a movie, eat something, slowly doze off ...
Mileage: unknown
Matching Song: Lee Dorsey - Working in the Coalmine
And here the journey continues ... to Lima
