When we left the camping ground at De Lachay this morning we had no intention of stopping in Lima; in fact we had spent most of the previous evening planning to get up early to try and miss the worst of Lima's notorious traffic.

But after an oil change, getting the Tiger washed, it seemed like worth taking on the traffic and navigational challenge and seeing if we could find the Hitch Hiker's hostel, a place we have heard and read about from other travelers with vehicles.

The drive into Lima was a continuation of the strange mix of a sand desert right next to the ocean, and a thick sea mist that made everything grey. The buildings and dwellings along the road side seemed incredibly poor and unlike their mountain brethren did not seem to have the option of growing their own food. To drive home how hard life is for these people the man that changed our oil charged U$3.30 (not including the oil of course) and the two men who washed the Tiger also only wanted $3.30 total.

The drive through northern Lima was not much of an improvement in terms of the apparent level of poverty. Mile after mile of dingy car washing places, gas stations, and food stalls. Eventually, after some navigational challenges, we got into Isidro, the business district, and then Miraflores a more up market tourist area and also where the hostel was.

We got lost a few times during the Lima saga since the GPS did not know about all the closed or one way streets, nor did it know about the street demonstration we came upon.