Had to take a 22 hour bus ride from Cusco to Lima - that was hard. We arrived at 2pm in the afternoon. Our flight to Santiago Chile was not till 7am the next day. So we had the option to go straight to the airport and camp there or take a hostel for 10 hours.
Reading that the Lima airport was known for snatch and grabs of luggage when just entering or exiting the airport (even if in a cab) we decided to take a hostel. It was 38SOL with our own room, cable tv, and hot showers. It was certainly worth it as we showered away all the sweat grime and yuck from the gruelling bus ride. We hadn't had the option to shower for more than 30 hours... so was a releif.
So at 4am we headed to the airport, went to Chile to wait another 11 hours for our connecting flight to NZ Auckland. It was hard to wait so long, but we amused ourselves with cards and pretend shopping. We were able to pick up a great South American cook book and it has our favourite dishes from the places we went. So that was a bargin! The airport itself was nice enough, but it was still an airport - expensive and boring. hehe
We were glad to finally land in Auckland at 4am. We went thru customs pretty easy since we decalred everything. Out wood ornaments and camping gear. They allowed us everything - so great! All our treasures kept!
We are staying in Auckland right in the centre near the warf and organising what we will do with our time here... so lets wait and see...
