General Info

[Barjasmine]

I'm off to buy linguaphone "spanish edittiton" to try to learn the lingo. It can't be as hard to learn as Thai but then again I was in my twenty's when I learnt that. Now I'm an old bastard in my forty's.

I've never been to SA, but I've allways wanted to go.

Is the language the same in all the South American countries?

Which country would you say is the best to visit?

BTW, I am British and live in the UK.

[Surfer]

In Miraflores (touristy part of Lima) you CAN get by with no Spanish. But up or downcountry in Peru, away from the tourist hordes (who mostly go to Cuzco & Machu Picchu), and anywhere in Colombia save Cartagena and San Andres, you will be severely challenged without a Spanish speaker in your party. Not as challenged as in remote parts of Japan or Asia, but you will DEFINITELY be at HIGH risk of getting ripped off and will not be able to enjoy much of what the place has to offer.

Jaimito's point about the need to BEWARE the chicas who speak English well is a good one. ANY chica that speaks English even semi- fluently is to avoided IMHO. IF you speak Spanish, the LESS English the chica speaks the better. There is an unmistakable correlation between English proficiency and gringo BF, hard core ho, money grubber etc.

I suggest Barjasmine try Cartagena (or Costa Rica as a MUCH lesser alternative). Maybe the DR too. Better yet, I suggest he learn a little Spanish.

[Lima Busy]

I would like to go hunting in South America, but can not speak the language. My question is for you in the know people is: Can you have a good time there without some spanish?

All your information gratefully accepted in advance chaps,

Thanks

Barjasmine,
A good time can be had anywhere without speaking the language. Generally the people in any country would appreciate it when someone at least makes the effort. The true GFE experience can be had with only a small effort on your part. Alot of girls in Lima speak some english but are embarrased to use it until they know you better. The typical American attitude (the whole world should speak english) does not go over well down here. You will have alot better time even if you only learn pronunciation of the alphabet. Many spanish words are spelled the same as english, only the pronunciation is different. Find these words learn how to pronunce correctly and learn how to weave them into your conversation. Even SA girls understand and speak a little "Spanglish". You will have a hell of alot of laughs and alot more action!

LB

[Jaimito Cartero]

I would like to go hunting in South America, but can not speak the language. My question is for you in the know people is: Can you have a good time there without some spanish?

All your information gratefully accepted in advance chaps,

Thanks

When I first went to Latin America in the 80's, I only knew 10 or so words. I'd recommend looking through the forums, there are some spanish phrases listed in some forums. You can also buy a $5 book that gives you all the travel related, numbers and such too. You need to at least make an effort. They'll appreciate it.

I generally am more cautious with chicas who speak English. That often means they're a bit spoiled, or will try and milk you!

[Barjasmine]

I would like to go hunting in South America, but can not speak the language. My question is for you in the know people is: Can you have a good time there without some spanish?

All your information gratefully accepted in advance chaps,

Thanks

[Lima Busy]

I am interested in a couple of items. 1. I will be in Lima for the month of January..I hear it dosen't rain but that there is no sun, is that true?

I am looking to stay the first couple of nights in a hotel and use the days to scour Miraflores for an apartment or house for the month to rent. Any comments.

Loumann,
No it is not true. In January you will not even see a cloud. Dec-Mar are sunny everyday. If your requirements and budjet are flexible should be no problem. You can look at el comercio's online ads now, to get some idea. Also use expatperu.com.

LB

[Loumann]

I am interested in a couple of items. 1. I will be in Lima for the month of January..I hear it dosen't rain but that there is no sun, is that true?

I am looking to stay the first couple of nights in a hotel and use the days to scour Miraflores for an apartment or house for the month to rent. Any comments.

[Jaimito Cartero]

Since I bought my forthcoming LAN Biz Class ticket a couple of months ago, I've been getting their promotional emails. I just got one that lists what looks like good pricing from Miami and LA.

Miami-Lima $389+
LAX-Lima $479+
LAX-Lima $999+ Biz Class

Taxes add $60 or $70 dollars to the above fares. They also send out some discount certs as well. I think I have a 15% of cert which can make a nice difference on a higher priced ticket.

[Lima Busy]

I am in the process of getting some root canal work down here in Lima when I realized alot of mongers could pay for all or most of there vacation if they came down here for dental work!
I will give you the cost comparison but U.S. prices vary from city to city.
Peru USA
root canal $100 $550-860
porcealen crown $150 $580-860

They do amazing work down but are a little slower. My root canal took four trips. Only draw back is if you need nitrous oxide, it is probably more difficult
to find and a tad more expensive. If anybody is interested give me a holler and I can give you my dentist's info.

LB

[Lima Busy]

September 5, 2005
Explorer Says Lost Peru City Is Plundered
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:27 p.m. ET

LIMA, Peru (AP) -- An American explorer says an ancient, pre-Incan
metropolis discovered by his father in Peru's remote cloud forest on an
earlier expedition has been plundered by tomb robbers.

Sean Savoy, 32, urged the government to take steps to protect the city,
which he estimated housed 20,000 people and had hundreds of circular stone
buildings in the 7th century.

''It is time for the government to take note. Something has to be done.
These places are in danger of destruction,'' he said.

Savoy, just back from leading a 23-day expedition to the site, described it
as a massive metropolitan complex spread along a river valley high in Peru's
rain forest on the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes.

The expedition to the Gran Saposoa ruins, located 335 miles north of Lima,
included more than 50 people, counting government archaeologists,
architects, a stonemason, an expert on Andean art, armed police and 30 mule
drivers.

Savoy, son of famed 78-year-old explorer Gene Savoy, who has discovered more
than 40 lost cities in Peru since the 1960s, said in an interview with The
Associated Press Saturday that the city is much bigger than his father had
calculated. He estimated the metropolitan area covers more than 80 square
miles.

The elder Savoy discovered it in 1999, naming it Gran Saposoa, and concluded
it was one of the cities of the Chachapoyas kingdom.

Spanish chronicles from the 16th century tell of a network of seven
Chachapoyas cities strung like a necklace along the heights of the high
jungle of northern Peru.

Savoy described the Chachapoyas as tall, fierce warriors who were defeated
in the late 15th century by Inca ruler Tupac Yupanqui just decades before
the Spanish conquest of Peru.

This year's trip marked the fifth time the site has been explored since the
Savoys first trekked over a wind-swept, 14,500-foot-high Andean pass and
hacked their way down into the overgrown mountainous jungle to discover it.

Sean Savoy said members of this year's expedition were stunned to find that
a sculptured stone head at the most important set of ruins had been ripped
from its place in a stone wall. But they were in for an even more unpleasant
surprise.

''We encountered a site, previously unknown to us, but obviously to others,
where over 50 cliffside tombs were destroyed. Not just sacked and looted,
the tombs themselves destroyed. Torn apart with picks and axes,'' he said.

He said the latest expedition discovered a sixth citadel, located at 12,000
feet with a 64-foot-wide avenue. He said the six interconnected districts
discovered during five expeditions contain hundreds of circular stone
buildings.

''I had no idea of the scale of the ruins. The scale was humongous,
mind-boggling,'' said Patrick Manning, an Irish architect who took part in
the expedition. ''There are hundreds of buildings.''

He said he understands how hard it is for a poor nation like Peru to protect
its many pre-Columbian ruins.

''The big problem is the lack of funding,'' Manning said.

The Savoys live most of the year in Reno, Nev., where Gene Savoy directs the
Andean Explorers Foundation. After his last trip to Gran Saposoa en 2001,
the elder Savoy has dedicated his time to writing a book about his last 15
years of exploration, his son said. He has already authored three books on
his expeditions.

The elder Savoy is credited with finding three of Peru's most important
ruins: Vilcabamba, the last refuge of the Incas; Gran Pajaten, a citadel
city atop a jungle-shrouded peak; and Gran Vilaya, a complex of more than
20,000 stone buildings.

Much of his work has focused on the Chachapoyas, whose empire extended along
a 135-mile stretch of the Andes' fogbound eastern slopes. He has now found
six of the seven fabled Chachapoyas cities.

''The exploration must continue. My father will be back,'' the younger Savoy
said. ''We have to find the last city.''

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press

[Perry Mason #1]

Peru Shining Path Guerrilla Gets 30 Years

Fri Sep 2,10:59 PM ET

A Shining Path guerrilla was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a 2002 car bombing that killed 10 people outside the U.S. Embassy, three days ahead of a visit by President Bush, officials said Friday.

Wilbert Elqui Meza was convicted late Thursday night, court spokesman Edilberto Valenzuela told The Associated Press.

The car bomb exploded March 20, 2002, in an outdoor shopping plaza across from the fortress-like U.S. Embassy in Lima. In additon to the deaths, 30 people were wounded. Bush went ahead with his visit to Peru despite the bombing.

Meza was the only one of eight defendants convicted of carrying out the attack, Valenzuela said, although two women received 20-year sentences and a third women was handed a 25-year sentence for belonging to the Shining Path, Maoist-oriented rebel group. Four others were acquitted of all charges, Valenzuela added.

In 1980, the Shining Path launched a campaign of car bombings, sabotage and assassinations to overthrow the government and install a communist state. The fighting took nearly 70,000 lives, although the violence dropped off significantly following the arrest of key leaders in 1992.

[madrugada]

It probably has been mentioned before: one of the first things you should do after arriving in Lima is go to a TIM store and get yourself a prepaid SIM card for your cellphone. That gives you the opportunity to make and receive calls at local cellphone rates, and you can even check your voicemail for free! Ask for a "tarjeta prepago con linea", as a "targeta prepago" will only get you a recharge card for loading up your account with fresh money, but it is not a SIM card itself. I bought me such a prepaid SIM card for 50 soles and found it quite useful for connecting with the local girls. I also asked for such a card at a Telefonica store but they didn´t have it, apparently TIM was the only operator offering this kind of card.

Madrugada

[Screwed Up]

Yes, only Lan and aerocondor fly on Tacna.

Another low-cost Peruvian airline is http://www.magentaair.com
I used them to fly back from Iquitos to Lima for about $63. I think Lan asked $85 for the same route.

Other airlines in Peru are LC Busre, Tans Peru, Star Peru and Taca.

[Lima Busy]

Just wanted to say thanks for the WSJ article. I am looking for a low cost carrier who flies in country as I would never get on one of these busses.

I am planning to go to Tacna/Arica in July and LanPeru wants $247.00

I am have requested a rate from Condor Air, they run the flights over the Nazca lines and will see. Meanwhile if someone can find a website for Wayru Air, let me know!
Lima Busy

[ChicagoBoy23]

If you are platinum (50,000 miles/year) on American Airlines you will get treated very well by LAN.

-You can check in at Business class line
-They always give you free pass to LAN lounge (free food and internet access)
-They upgrade you to business class from coach a lot. I went from JFK to LIMA 6 times last year (12 legs) and was upgraded 1/2 of the time. Whenever coach is full they look for Platinums to upgrade. Plus planes are all new.

Unfortunately I have moved to Washington DC and am stuck on AA via Miami arriving at 4 am with no free upgrades.