Life on this planet: Planning for Peru/Bolivia and the Perils of July

Now that I had booked my air tickets to Peru, now comes the difficult process of planning for my trip, a trip to a foreign country whose first language is not English. And of course for this Virgo, ridden with anxiety. It's not the first time I had planned for such a trip to a foreign (non-English) country, I have visited Mexico twice. However it wasn't long before I noticed differences between Mexico and Peru. It is relatively simple to visit the ancient Mayan sites in Mexico, there is usually a bus to the site, and there is a certain bus company in Mexico that is geared towards tourists and is relatively safe. Otherwise you just book a tour to the site.

In Peru however, there is also a tourist orientated bus company and feedbacks indicated it is also relatively safe, however, they operate somewhat differently. Instead of just booking a ticket to one site, they operate on a "hop on and hop off" basis, you purchase a ticket for a particular route from one to several days, and during the ticket you can "hop off" and "hop on" any buses of the same company as often as one likes. So say you visit a city and you want to stay for a while in the city, you hop off the bus, stay for say a night or longer, then hop on another bus of the same company on the same ticket. The bus doesn't alwayss top at the various sites but through the bus company you can book side tours to the sites or where ever else that takes your fancy.

However, getting to some of the ancient sites are often more complicated..... and more expensive!! For example, to get to the famous Machu Picchu site, you first catch a train to near the site, but the train station is out of town from the main city near Machu Picchu, the city of Cusco, so one would need to catch a taxi which is fraught with perils. Catching a taxi in Mexico is reasonably safe, but Peru is a different thing. Taxis often don't run their meters and they charge you just whatever they like, often a lot for those of us who looks like tourists!! Then once you get to Machu Picchu, you either take a bus or embark on a 90 minute hike up the mountain to the site. And you have to book the ticket in advance, you can't just purchase it at the entrance like you can with Mexican sites. There is a limit of how many can visit the site each day, so one must book in advance.

Tours to the sites in Peru are often more expensive than in Mexico. Indeed a lot of things in Peru are more expensive than in Mexico. As it would turn out, I will also be spending some time in the nearby country Bolivia. The sacred lake, Lake Titicaca straddles the border between Peru and Bolivia, and it turns out the best base of operation for tours of Lake Titicaca is the city of La Paz in Bolivia. Things in Bolivia are somewhat cheaper but still more expensive than Mexico. However compared to Perth, both countries are still much cheaper. Most places on this planet are cheaper than in Perth.

Another major difference is the currency exchange rates. Even our 3rd world currency that is the Australian dollar still enjoys a 14:1 exchange rate with the Mexican Peso which was why everything in Mexico seemed dirt cheap for us. However for the Peru currency known as the Sol, which means Sun, the exchange rate is only 2:1, that is one Australian dollar yields only just a little over 2 Sols. This would explain why things in Peru are relatively expensive. The Bolivian currency rate is somewhat better, being 5:1.

With such things in mind, I began the complicated task of planning for my Peru/Bolivia trip. I land and depart from the city of Lima on the coast, and will take the tour of the Nazca Lines from there. This tour is particularly expensive as it involves a light plane flight over these Nazca Lines, you can see it only from the air, which begs the question - how did the ancients manage to make these formations?? The most popular alternative theory is that ETs were involved, what I tend to believe. There is a weight limit for participants of this tour due to being in a light aircraft, and it turned out I am just below the weight limit. Those above the weight limit of 90 kgs are required either to pay extra to compensate for taking less passengers, or are refused access to the flight - depending on the particular tour operator on the particular day. So easier if I just stick to my diet, exercise regime and my walks so to make sure I remain under the weight limit.

Outside of Lima, I be spending approximately equal times in La Paz and Cusco, both high in the mountains, higher than any point in Australia. Indeed Lake Titicaca is said to be the highest lake on Earth. So it might be hard to get used to being so high up for an extended period of time. Am thinking of keeping a supply of altitude sickness pills on hand though I like to think I am pretty fit and healthy.

More on Peru/Bolivia to come.......

Meanwhile back at the ranch...... my car. Being mindful of the imminence of Mercury's retrograde and the dreaded "The Three Weeks", I recently had my car booked in to replace the fanbelts and to check the brakes. My feelings are always correct, in fact turned out to be more correct than I thought. I kept on saying that the car needed new brakes. And when they checked the brakes, indeed this was so. I needed the entire setup to be replaced, not just the drums nor the pads, but EVERYTHING of the brakes. So indeed I do now literally have NEW brakes.

Then the issue of the cracked gasket heads in the engine. This mechanic gave a somewhat different diagnosis and a far cheaper quote for rectifying the problem. Still expensive but cheaper than the quote from the previous mechanic a few years ago. In fact the heads are simply just leaking, evidentally the nature of the beasties for this particular type of engine. So most likely needs for the head to be just "re-machined", hence the much cheaper quote. But will still be expensive, mostly due to the labour, and the car will need to be in the shop for two days - so to pick a two-day period devoid of dance sessions or other sessions. I will have it done, but it won't be until after Mercury's retrograde and the dreaded "The Three Weeks". Overall the car is in much better shape than I expected. And when this issue is dealt with, I have a few more years left in the engine. Indeed the mechanic joked that the engine would last longer than the rest of the car. This is a 15 yo car we're talking about.

July promises to be very intense and indeed chaotic. The cursed month of Tammuz begins this Wednesday, after an intense New Moon and Solar Eclipse on Tuesday. Ironically the solar eclipse will be visible from South America including Peru and Bolivia. Mercury's retrograde begins on July 7 and lasts for the remainder of July. Chaos and catastrophes always happens during Mercury's retrograde due to my chart showing a retrograde Mercury conjunct with the Sun. Then the dreaded "The Three Weeks", the Jewish period of mourning between the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, when catastrophes often befalls the Jews (and those who lived past lives as Jews), begins on July 21 and lasts until August 11.

As for the catastrophe that is football...... my tipping has improved but only marginally, still not enough to salvage a dire situation..... and as for the Magpies, well this does not bear talking about. At least they're still in 2nd spot but on the same number of wins as those bloody Weevils in 3rd spot, the Maggies ahead only on percentage. My Weevils voodoo dolls most seriously not working!!!!

Now for a laugh.........

My laptop......