Written September 29, 2005
Day 1
Once again, my plane from Miami to Lima wasn't delayed; it just took off thirty minutes late. The flight was very smooth, and I actually got an hour or two of sleep. I went to the customs line with my expensive return ticket in hand. I seemed to remember reading that there is no charge for Americans if they only stay in Peru for thirty days or less, yet when I bought the ticket, I wasn't thinking straight. The girl who sold me the ticket made if for the end of December, a full three months from now. I was trying to think up a story to tell the customs guy to get out of paying anything, like I would only be in Peru for a month, then go somewhere else for two months, then return to Lima and fly back home. After all of the "required" preparation of buying a $1300 return ticket and thinking up lies to tell the authorities, the conversation went exactly like this:
Him - "Tourist?"
Me - "Yes."
That's it. No other questions about what I was up to. Stupid airline. After that, I just had to pick up my backpack and go through another line to see if my baggage would get searched. The fool-proof system consisted of pressing a button, after which, either a red or green light appeared. Luckily, the light turned green and I was free to go. No being stuck in a jail cell with Hector yet.
I made it to my nice looking place, an old colonial mansion called "Home Peru." If I feel like I'm awake enough, I'd like to check out central Lima today, but we'll see. I still have to get that ticket canceled, andthe office is supposedly just a few minutes from here. Oh yeah, for those of you wondering how bad the jet lag is, considering the time difference of 0 hours, I'd say it's not bad at all.
I'm glad you made it safe and sound. I was just thinking that you had probably arrived and settled in by now, so I thought I'd check to see if you had updated anything. Sure enough, you did. Have fun tonight!!!
Brewers 2
Reds 0
bottum of the 7th
Currently at .500
Hi Dan! So there you are!! I'm glad your plane didn't crash... I don't remember if we even discussed the posiblility but I'm sure kevin must have mentioned it: ) anyways glad you made it there. I hope everything is just great. The mexicans I work with assure me that money goes ever further in peru than it does in mexico so you should be able to backpack like a sultan.
Right then. Later!
Mike
Wow..truly amazing. i hope someday I can do an adventure like you. Until then, I'm already enjoying living it through you!
Andrea, I'm still pulling for the Crew, even though I'm on another continent. It's been way too long since they've been decent.
Mike, you are correct. I just ate dinner with 2 Brits at a really nice place. For $5, I got a huge meal cooked just for us, and I even had a good Peruvian beer. That's probably one of the most expensive places here.
Nic, I'm trying to make it a good one. So far, so good, anyway!
Dan I'm glad you made it and I hope you are treated like a king you deserve it...
I hope you have fun i'll keep reading along so i know where you are..
Peace
JOLENE
Congradulations Dan, you're on your way!! I can just imagine how much more you paid for that hot dog in Chicago then you did for that full mean in Peru. Sounds like you've made some friends already... that's a good thing.
BTW... I'm updating the whiteboard outside your old office with the current status of "Dan's excellent adventure". I keeping a tally of "last known location", "current destination", and "places travelled to". So when you leave Lima try to post where you are headed "if you know" and I'll update it.
La suerte pertenece a usted, goza del viaje.
Hi Dan!
Boy that ticket must have hurt! I hope you can refund it. Your room already looks like it does at home. Enjoy the food and bring home some good recipes. Keep us posted.
Love,
Mom
P.S. Brewers won.
Glad to hear that you made it. The hostel looks to be pretty fancy... maybe I can convince Katie to go now ;) Have good time checking out Lima. You will have to let us know if you see any chinchillas! Though you probably won't meet any of Cuco's cousins until you reach the mountains.
You will have to try some anticuchos (barbecued pieces of meat, chicken or fish on a skewer) for me... it sounds pretty tasty.
Hasta Luego,
Urrv
Hey Dan!
We are glad to see that you made it safely! Have a fun time and we just wanted to say the web site is really cool, we'll keep checking to see what a good time you are having. Take care,
P.s How long do you expect to be gone?
I've been telling people that I'll be gone for a year, but really that's just a guess. I'll stay away as long as it takes to see the continent, or until I get sick of it.