PERU ROCKS! October, 2008

Had a great drive into the airport in Boston - sent out the last of my text messages & handed over my phone & my keys to my parents for safe keeping.  Got there 3 hours early and had no problem checking my luggage and carry-on in, but had a little difficulty clearing security as I haven't left from the re-done DELTA terminal lately and didn't realize they had expanded underground to connect to another whole building where the additional gates were hiding.  Sundays mean longer lines as fewer security people are working but the same number of flights go out, but no worries!  I rounded the corner & finally got to the gate furthest from the lounge (which is usually where my flights take off from) just as they started calling my section.  Seems the plane was late getting in from Atlanta and they'd had a 15 min delay - so, I was really right on time!

Or as I came to call it once I landed in Lima: PERUVIAN TIME!

I've never connected thru Atlanta before. Atlanta airport is very BIG!  And very long when you don't know exactly where you're going or how long its going to take you to get to your next gate.  It's also frustrating when you see that you have to go thru security again but you don't know if your bags are checked all the way thru or not!  Aside from that though, it was an easy walk to my gate and I was totally surprised to find Shannon Woolsey in the departure lounge!  I saw her LHS logo on her pants and introduced myself.  We talked about how nervous we were to be going on such a physically challenging trek.  She showed me her blisters & I showed her my extra pairs of gloves!!  We talked about the language barrier and all the new things we'd be encountering on the way to Machu Picchu. 

Flight was quiet and we were off the plane in no time.  Lima Airport is famous for its pirate taxis so we were encouraged to have our hotels send a car for us and as I came out of the arrival hall I was thrilled to see my name on a sign held by the hotel's taxi driver!  I was also very happy to see Shannon W AND Shannon Foley waiting for me, too!  It was a great WELCOME TO PERU moment!  I was surprised by the drive thru LIMA from the airport to the tourist areas.  The city is very spread out.  The buildings aren't more than 5 storeys high at the most and usually more like 2-3 with big neon signs out front.  We drive by casinos and liquor stores and it reminds me of my last trip to Atlantic City.  There are a lot of american stores and restaurants on the main drive and lots of bars and discos still open, even though it's after midnight on a Sunday night!  I haven't seen the downtown area yet, or the historic central squares, but I like the palm trees and lush vegitation around the houses. 

The CASA SAN MARTIN is a family-run boutique hotel in the tourist-friendly Miraflores District of Lima and came highly recommended by the local travel agent working with the LHS group.  I had a very good night's sleep on the comfortable bed and an awesome shower in the large bathroom - though I did have some translation problems when trying to get towels!  But it was very entertaining doing charades with the front desk staff!  How towels translated into soap I still don't know!  My first meal of ham & cheese omlette with coffee was excellent and I spent the day exploring the local shops, making my way to the beach/ocean/cliffs and famous LARCOmar Center.  The local Town Hall & Park were beautiful and I decided to eat at 2 fastfood staples that night:  McDONALDS for a burger & fries and BEMBOS for a crepe with caramel topping and ice cream for dessert.  I had a little trouble getting 'no onions' translated in McDONALDS but they served my 'pancake' at BEMBOS without any trouble.

I like watching the local news programs to find out about the cities I'm in and LIMA has a good variety of news and entertainment channels.  Some of the channels show american shows with spanish subtitles so I'm brushing up on my spanish that way!  The President of Peru was on the news opening a new power plant in the Arequipa region.  They reported the 4.0 earthquake I'd felt at 7:45 on the 11pm news, too.  And then they talked about the demonstrations on Tuesday morning that were being held all over the country to protest the economic difficulties facing the working class with the increase of gas prices and food prices.  Some bus drivers were refusing to drive passengers to the airport and people were having to walk the last part and the police were out keeping an eye on things but not taking other actions at that point.