Tuesday, May 19, 2015
I look out of the small window into the darkness of the airport. The time was midnight and the plane was still sitting at JFK airport plugged into the terminal. I’m on my way to Peru to finally see the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. The Lost City of the Incas has been on my bucket list for almost fifty years, but I was too tired to be excited. In eight hours, I would be in the capital city of Lima.
Jeff joined me for this adventure but when the car service to take us to the airport was twenty minutes late, he looked as if he was having second thoughts.
Our driver to the airport, Roberto, was a pleasant young man who coincidentally was Peruvian. He apologized for being late and gave us a thorough introduction to his country during our ride to JFK. We learned about Peruvian food, especially cuy, the Spanish word for guinea pig, and other tasty dishes. Roberto also recommended ceviche, raw fish marinated in lime juice.
I told Roberto we had planned to arrive a day before our tour group to see the sights on our own. He said we should stay in the Miraflores neighborhood of our hotel because downtown Lima could be dangerous for tourists. At the airport, Roberto wished us well and assured us we would enjoy our visit. He gave us his email in case we had any questions or problems. He said he had cousins who “spoke English and were nice people to help us if we got into any trouble.”
Fortunately, Jeff fell asleep after we boarded and didn’t notice that the plane was still on the ground an hour after it was supposed to take off. Undaunted and filled with curiosity and anticipation, I tried to sleep on the long bumpy flight to South America and cuy country.
Sunrise in South America:
