Around 10:00 on Sunday morning, Mary called and asked me if I had opened my e-mail yet. I hadn’t. So, she said that we were going to Peru!! Woooohoooo!!!! It was all in my e-mail, once I opened it. Mary was going up to be with her husband, Alan. They will return to Santiago around October 10. This is the official move to Lima for David and me. Oh my gosh, I was/am so excited. I am ready to leave the sophistication and tame ways of Santiago behind and head to the “wild west” and chaos of Lima! Not to mention, the fact that we will be settling into an apartment in Lima. Sunday and Monday were busy days making travel arrangements, packing, notifying people that we were moving, etc.
As I write this, I am sitting in the hotel room in Lima, waiting for David to return home from work. Mary and I left for the airport at 6:00 this morning. The whole trip went so smoothly….we zipped through check-in…I had four, very large duffle bags and had to pay a fee of over $200 because I was over the weight/bag limit. Hey, our lives, for the next two years, are in four bags….so, no comments from anyone!!!! Besides, the company reimburses us, so “no worries”. We zipped through security…it certainly isn’t as tight as in the states! We flew on LAN Airlines. The three hour flight to Lima was uneventful, which is fine. The landing was amazingly smooth. Going through customs, alone, as a tourist, with four large bags proved to be a little suspicious; so they x-rayed and searched one of my bags. Finally, I got through and Mary had already connected with the taxi driver. It was a great trip to Lima!
My first impressions of Lima: coming in from the airport it appeared to be a very industrial area. Traffic was heavy and had some hints of Vietnam driving…only; I wouldn’t step out in front of these drivers – unlike in Vietnam, I think these people would run over you!!! Some of the neighborhoods we passed through were pleasant. However, the best part of our arrival was the drive along the ocean. The city of Lima sits high on the hillside, overlooking the ocean. Our hotel is walking distance to the park, walkway and open air mall that overlooks the ocean. There is also a path from this area to access the beach.
Mary and I walked throughout the Miraflores area. She has been here before, so she showed me the major shopping street, beautiful park, great grocery store; as well as, the park/mall area I just described. We didn’t walk to the beach as it was pretty cool by the ocean.
The weather here is very foggy and the humidity is quite high. The temps were probably around 63 or so today. The fog is typical for this time of year and I have heard that it will stay this way…foggy, gray and overcast for the next couple of months….I think I need to invest in one of those special lamps that give the effect of sunlight, if that is the case!!
All in all, I really think I am going to love it here. The next few days, I hope to start looking for an apartment with an apartment finder. It sounds like quite an ordeal. Once I find one that I like, lawyers negotiate the terms and price. Don’t let word get out in the states about that….can you imagine what it would be like to have to deal with lawyers when you wanted to rent an apartment???