Going to Peru!

We left for Dallas on a Tuesday. When I booked our flights it was just easier to fly from Dallas than anywhere else. Especially since we had family down there to stay with. Troy hurried to get caught up enough at work and I tried to get all the cucumbers pickled before we left. We drove to my Uncle Gary and Aunt Thelma's house. They were gracious enough to take us out to dinner, stay up talking with us, let us stay the night, and allow us to leave our car in their driveway the whole time we were gone. It's good to have family like that! And Uncle Gary was up playing Amazing Grace on his guitar at about 3:30 in the morning and was ready to take us to the airport at about 4:00 for our early morning flight! Even though we left Dallas early, we had to fly to Fort Lauderdale and we didn't arrive in Lima, Peru until 10:00 at night.

I had arranged to be picked up by a shuttle from the hotel where we were staying in Lima. I told them when our flight should arrive and they said there would be someone there holding a sign with our name on it. By the time we got through immigration and everything I wondered if they would still be there waiting for us. I wish I had a camera ready when we got outside the airport, because it was absolutely crazy with hundreds of people holding up signs and calling out to airport passengers. It kind of makes you feel like a celebrity. I found our guy in that mess! He took us to the hotel and Kalyn got to begin her job as translator for us, because from this point on nobody spoke English. And she got to experience the craziness that is driving in huge South American cities.

We got a good night's sleep at the Airport Manhattan Inn (which was not near the airport) and it had a very charming little courtyard. We got caught up on emails and facebook and even went out and walked around a little to see what this part of the city looked like before we had to take a shuttle to the bus station.

 This is our hotel, and the huge cactus growing just outside.

This is some cactus grafitti art (shame on you, Pedro) down the block. I am enamored with the cacti, we don't have much around Kansas.

Troy and Kalyn posing in front of someone's house. Nice yard!

I read in my Lonely Planet guide (which I did not receive in the mail until after we returned from Peru) that Lima is second in dryness, as a world capitol city, only to Cairo.

We went to the bus station to catch a bus to Cusco. I had read that it was good to take the bus because it can help you to acclimate to the altitude at a slower rate than flying. The bus should take 20 hours. Plus, I was excited to see the countryside.

Our bus ride took 23 hours. There was a flat tire along the way, and road construction that brought everything to complete halt for an hour and a half just outside of Cusco. The seats were very comfortable, they reclined back so we could sleep. We were fed (chicken, potatoes and rice....both meals. Except ham sandwiches and cookies for breakfast.) and there was tv and movies that played during the daylight hours (in Spanish). And I did see very interesting countryside. We drove along the coast, which had some pretty looking beaches but also looked like very poor communities. We saw every kind of fruit and vegetables growing. In some cases the crops seemed to grow right up to the shoreline. We drove by Nazca, but of course no view of the lines. And those parts of the ride were good.

The bad part was, we got a little dehydrated during that time, because we didn't drink enough water. It was very difficult to sleep no matter how comfy the seats are, because we were on a bus that rocked back and forth as it drove fast over pretty steep and treacherous mountain passes. There was a bathroom on the bus.....but....you know. It was very difficult to get there with all the rocking and difficult to use once you got there. Kalyn got to feeling pretty lousy and Troy didn't sleep. Once we got to Cusco we were happy to get checked into our hotel, drink some coca tea to try to stave off the altitude sickness, and vow NOT to ride the bus back to Lima at the end of our trip. I left those plans open for that reason and it was a good thing.

All the buildings in Cusco have red tiled roofs. And everyone hangs out their clothes. This was the view outside our hotel room.

We would explore the city a little, eat some traditional food, and meet up with the Smith girls, who went down to Peru about a week before us, before we left on our tour. But I will write about that tomorrow.