A sun shines in Lima...

Talor: Why do all the planes arrive at the same time? After an uneventful four-hour flight, landed into Lima Airport at 11:00pm and raced to Immigration, hoping to go through quickly. Got there and saw a gazillion people on line... argh! Took us over an hour to get our stamps then went to get our bags, and for some unexplainable reason, the bags from our flight hadn't even come out yet... doube argh! Took us another 45 minutes before we went out to the main terminal where there was sheer chaos as the airport was packed with people at close to 1:00 in the morning. We had made a reservation at the Hostal Iquique to avoid walking around Lima at midnight looking for a hotel. We arranged for transport with the hotel and felt relieved to spot our driver who was holding up a sign with our names on it.

With only three days left on our trip, we decided to relax and spend it in Lima despite not liking it much the last go-around. There were only two things I was hoping for... a bit of sunshine and a nice comfortable place to settle into for the duration. Got lucky with the first as we saw the sun peeking through the fog around 10am the following morning, but not so lucky with the second. In three days, we moved three times... argh again!

Hostal Iquique looked nice when we checked it out online, but was disappointingly small in person. It would have been totally doable if it weren't for the surly staff. During breakfast the next morning, there was ridiculously only one table available for all the guests and after one quick coffee, they were pushing us to leave so the other guests can have their breakfast before we even started eating ours. This was the first time we were faced with out-and-out rudeness in Peru, but I refused to go anywhere until I was ready. So had another cup of coffee while I got dirty looks from the staff and they set up more tables for the other guests. Why didn't they do that before? Afterwards, we packed our bags and left without a thank-you, and headed to the ultra-touristy neighborhood of Miraflores, with upscale hotels, big casinos, fancy shops and expensive restaurants. Though not exactly our style, it is one of the few safe neighborhoods in Lima. Went to the Hostal El Patio and checked into the only room they had available, a double with a teeny-tiny kitchenette. At $50/night, it was the most we'd spent on housing on our entire trip! Ironic that it was in Peru, one of the cheapest countries in South America. Though the room wasn't all that, the common areas were absolutely lovely, and they had a 16-year old dog who, when not napping in the sun, liked to kiss. Unfortunately, they were completely booked up the next day and didn't have a room for us so we were forced to move again... more arghs!

Now we are at our third and final resting place, the Hotel Maria Luisa, where we have a Junior Suite with a mini-kitchenette. There is no common space, but no matter, the two rooms are large and comfortable, so much so that we got takeout pizza and ate it while watching tv... in bed!

On Friday, we finally met Adrian and Jodi, a couple of fellow travelers who we “met” online and had been corresponding with. They were on a similar path as us, but we somehow never managed to meet. They invited us to a party at their friend's house where we spent a fun night drinking rum, dancing and exchanging travel tales.

The rest of the time was all about chilling out and getting ready to go home... well, not home exactly since we'll be homeless for awhile, but just the familiar. Not looking forward to the cold or the culture shock, but can't wait to see the family and friends I've missed for almost a year! Can't believe it's been that long!

Erik: I couldn't believe how rude the staff were at Iquique, and Talor had to restrain me from making some sort of a scene. We'd only had a few hours sleep since we'd gotten in so late, and all I really wanted was a long, relaxing morning of sipping coffee and making plans. What we had was just the opposite. El Patio was very nice, if very expensive, but we still had our slush fund trip savings, and we'd vowed to stop worrying about budgets until we got home (which was the best decision we'd made in a long time.) Moving so often was annoying, but we really had little else we wished to do. I guess we were already in going-home mode and just weren't interested in museums or walking tours. Perhaps we were a bit burned out as well?

It was really funny/strange/exciting to finally meet Adrian and Jodi. Adrian had found our blog online ages back – in Guatemala I believe, and contacted me as we seemed to be following the same path, though Talor and I were a couple of weeks ahead of them. We nearly met up in Granada, Nicaragua, until the heat and strikes drove us off to the corns, so we missed them. How odd that after 11 months of traveling so near each other, that it worked out without any effort to finally meet up 2 days before we went home! The party was fun, and it was great swapping travel stories with them. Turns out we'd both been in the same plaza in Cancun on the same night – perhaps 100 yards apart – way back at the beginning of the trip. I hope we'll keep in touch and that we can meet again soon.

So now, as I write this, we're sitting in our room with 12 hours until our midnight flight back to the states. I'm excited and anxious at the same time. Oddly, I don't feel as if the trip is really ending, and I guess it's not, as we'll still be living out of our packs in cramped quarters in NYC, as our apartment is still sublet for some time. So trip continues, albeit it in much more familiar territory. I hear it's snowing up a storm there now, and here I am in shorts and sandals! It's bound to be a bit of a harsh homecoming...especially as we've no home.
Our final set of photos of photos from this trip. (Bet y'all are relieved!):

Lima (2), Peru