Carol's Travels

This was a free day where we could explore Lima on our own. After breakfast we walked two blocks to the Inca Market. Handmade items like baby alpaca sweaters, woven tote bags and wallets, jewelry, paintings, and leather items were among the many items sold. The market stalls and shops were just opening for business when we arrived. We bought a zipped and hooded navy baby alpaca sweater with an alpaca design for Divi.

Next, we started searching in the Miraflores district for a restaurant to eat lunch. There were numerous choices including McDonald’s and Subway. No way were we going to eat American food here. A few blocks from the hotel we found a restaurant that had authentic Peruvian food. We sat outside, ordered drinks and lunch, and did some people-watching. We were served food that not only looked delectable, but tasted gourmet as well: perfectly grilled salmon, mashed potatoes and mixed steamed vegetables of julienne-cut carrots, red peppers, and onions; small tomatoes, broccoli florets, and asparagus. I enjoyed a fresh-squeezed lime drink that went perfectly with the meal. The price was only about $21 for the two of us.

Earlier we had signed up at the hotel to take a city bus and walking tour of Lima at 2:30. Five of us who are in our OAT tour group went together, and we were joined by a few other tourists. We were driven to the best spots that tourists go in the city. The highlight for me was at the end of the walking tour when we walked through an old cathedral and down into the catacombs underneath. We saw displays of over approximately 2500 people’s bones. All the femurs were placed together as well as the other types of bones and, of course, the skulls. Our guide, Luis, was very knowledgable. It was overcast today, so the pictures look kind of flat to me. No photos were allowed in the San Francisco Cathedral, so I didn’t get any skull pictures 🙁 http://www.peruthisweek.com/travel-lima-day-trip-catacombs-of-san-francisco-30340

Supper was a granola bar and cashews in our room. Then we got ready for an early morning flight tomorrow to Cuzco.

Massive doors of the cathedral

. Birds swarming

Kevin arrived just before 8:00A.M., right on time, to take us to San Jose International Airport. We loaded our bags into the van, and off we went!
We had not been able to check in online; but when we walked up to the American Airlines desk, we were fortunate to be first in line 🙂 The friendly agent gave us our boarding passes and checked our bags all the way through to Lima, Peru. When we got into the TSA line, I found out that my boarding pass had TSA PRECHK printed on top. Paul’s didn’t 🙁
I took advantage of it. I didn’t have to remove my shoes or take the quart bag of liquids out of my pack. I walked through the old type of x-ray instead of the new full-body one. I was done very quickly, then I had to wait for Paul. When we got to the gate, Paul discovered that his boarding pass for the flight from Los Angeles to Lima on LAN Airlines was incorrect. The agent assured him that he had been ticketed for the correct flight, and said that he would have to get a new boarding pass at the LAN desk in Lima.

While we were waiting to board the flight to L.A.; Anne, her two darling boys, and her husband were about to go on an adventure of their own to Costa Rica. It was quite a coincidence to see someone who also sings in the choir at Skyland Church!

Our plane was first in line to take off for the forty-five minute flight. On our approach to LAX, we were surprised by severe turbulence that rocked our plane from side to side briefly. Later when we heard our captain talking to another passenger on the airport shuttle, he said that we had been caught by turbulence caused by an Asiana jumbo jet that the controller hadn’t known was there. We were allowed to land before that plane!

In Lima we got the boarding pass changed. We again had to go through security. This time, however, there were no shortcuts. It was the longest security line I have ever been in. There was no way to even see the front of the winding line from the back! We made it in time to the gate, though, and time to eat the ham sandwiches I had packed.

As I write this, I just finished watching a movie called WINTER’S TALE. I had seen previews of it in the theaters several times, but never got to see it. I loved this mesmerizing, mystical story. The flight is eight hours from L.A. to Lima. Checking the map, I see we have about 3 1/2 more hours to go until we land in Lima.

I decided to watch The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Ben Stiller. That was an excellent movie too. The scenes in Greenland and Iceland brought back memories of my trip there with Fern.

Upon arrival in Lima, a lot of us passengers had to wait quite a while to get our luggage. We were relieved when it finally came. Franco, a friendly translator was waiting for us, and we were driven to our the Carmel Hotel in the Miraflores section of Lima. It felt good to finally fall into bed and go to sleep.

Cha-Cha-Cha is excited to go on another adventure!  She has stowed away in my backpack on every trip since she was created by Axtell Expressions in 2008.  She has been reminiscing about the many friendly people she has met all over the world.

Hiking in Patagonia

Our guide, Luis, watching Cha-Cha-Cha interact with children at a highland school in the Galapagos

Children conversing with Cha-Cha-Cha at a school in Patagonia

Children at a school in Africa

Cha-Cha-Cha meeting children at the orphanage in Cambodia that Emile helps sponsorCha-Cha-Cha was sleeping when Carol was wowed by the size of a giant tortoise in the Galapagos!