Adventures in Lima

I arrived in Lima at 9:30 AM.  Eliseo Pulache was waiting for me at the exit.  Pulache is the computer guru at UMB.  He is one of the most wonderful people I have ever met.  He took a 8 ½ hour bus from Trujillo overnight just to meet me and show me around Lima.  After he dropped me back off at the airport 12 hours later, he headed back to the bus station for another red eye bus ride back to Trujillo (he lives in Trujillo, but stays in Chiclayo 4 days a week to work at the school).  He took me all over Lima.  We saw museums, and sat on top of a tour bus that gave us a 2 ½ hour tour of the city.  I joked that he took a 8 ½ hour bus ride, just to get on a bus with me for 2 ½ hours before turning around and taking another 8 ½ hour bus ride back home.  He said it was an honor to be with me.  He wanted to pay for everything – dinner, a locker fee for my luggage, ice cream, taxis, museums, the tour bus, etc.  I managed to pay for one of two meals, but that was it.  It was hard to let him treat me like that because I don’t think he has much money. 

We caught a taxi and had the driver take us to an LDS church.  We caught the last hour of church.  It was great. Then we caught a taxi into the main part of Lima.  The taxi driver charged us more because I was an American despite Pulache's efforts to negotiate.

I’m currently typing this while waiting in a forever-long line to check in at the airport (online check-in is not working).  I just got an email that my 12:10 AM flight has been delayed to 2:50 AM.  That will effect my exchange flight in Atlanta.  My red-eye flight just got longer. 

Here is a little slide show to music of highlights from my trip.

Lima

There were some nicer homes in Lima.  They are surrounded by a fence, and have electric wires on top of the walls.  

Miraflores

Pulache at Miraflores

Miraflores trail

Miraflores

Lima houses

This is where the President of Peru lives

Guards at Peru's White House

16th Century Cathedral

Lima streets

Took a bus tour

Soccer Stadium

View from on top of the bus

On the bus with Pulache

Lima

June 3, 2013

24 hours later and I’m still in Lima, about to head back to the airport and give it another try.  I spent the night in the airport, waiting in line after line while our flight was cancelled and I was given a new itinerary and a voucher for a hotel and meals at the Sheraton.  It felt good to get a few hours of sleep at the hotel.  Now back to the airport.  I am told the flight is overbooked, so I’m still crossing my fingers.

Delta put me up in this hotel where I got three hours of sleep

The hotel had a shuttle that took us to Miraflores.  This couple from Logan was in the same boat.  I enjoyed being with them.

The Thatchers, waiting in one of many lines at the airport

By 5AM Monday morning, tempers where flaring.  People were yelling.  It was getting ugly...and this was just the beginning.

Courthouse - across the street from the Sheraton Hotel

At Miraflores

Who would have thought in Peru.  After a sleepless night in the airport, Delta put us up for a few hours in a 5 star hotel. 

June 4, 2013

On the plane – headed home, finally.  I’m very tired, and desperately need some clean clothes.  I’ll head straight to work so I can teach my Tuesday evening class.

June 5, 2013

Made it to BYU in time to teach my class.  Then got home and saw that Jill had been busy painting and decorating our room.  What a great surprise.

Made it back in time to teach my class.

Jill had been very busy painting and redecorating our room while I was gone.

Good think this box said "Fragile" all over it.  

Inside the box: a couple of Peruvian ovens for our engineering professors who earned a $300,000 grant from the Peru govt. to create a better over for the people of Peru.