6th February 2010 - Headlines 6 (from Lima) Hola to all of you! Welcome to our first news from Peru this year!
Journey over...
We arrived saftely in, albeit a little late and with a mild irritation at customs.
We had two lovely flights with great flight attendants who were chatty and friendly. We made our connection in Atlanta with no trouble at all despite being a bit concerned about the three hours we had to do it in. In fact although we got on our second plane on time, there was a minor fault and we had to sit on the plane for an hour and a half while they fixed it.
We met a friend of Paul's from Southampton on our first flight. They hadn't seen each other in years so were able to catch up during the flight and we had a laugh and a joke going through security in the USA so that made things more pleasant!!!
We arrived in Lima an hour late and then we had trouble with customs who tried to make us pay tax in order to bring our third donated laptop into the country - they grossly overvalued it so we said we would leave it with them rather than pay the fee but they didn't like the idea of us leaving it with them..... hmmmm so Paul chatted to about 8 officials over a period of an hour and a half in order to reach a compromise while Rachel sat on a pile of luggage wondering where her husband had got to! We eventually paid $20 dollars and made it out of the airport.
First Impressions
As Rachel's head hit the pillow when we arrived at stupid o' clock tuesday morning, she re-remembered PERUVIAN CHICKENS... groan! We had forgotten about the constant noise in Peruvian life - even at night.
It is lovely to be warm again... if a little too warm, but Lima isn't as hot as it could be so that is great.
We have both felt quite nostalgic here, taking in the noises and the smells and the sights as we go about the city in taxis and buses. Remembering little characteristics of the Peruvian people - we are pleased to be back!!! Did you expect us to say that???????????????
Paul's re-introduction to Peruvian buses (small ones) saw him squeezed onto a seat opposite a Peruvian where their legs had to interlock slightly leaving the other man highly concerned for the whereabouts of Paul's knee (especially every time the driver braked - which is a lot!) and highly amused a neighbouring passenger as she looked onto the scene....!
Documents for visas
Rachel spent 5.5 hours on Wednesday taxiing around Lima trying to start the ball rolling with her documents in order to gain a work visa with the University in Huancayo - and achieved virtually nothing for all that time - apart from sore feet and getting very hot & sticky. She repeated the experience again on Friday and was a little more successful but can't do anything more until she receives a stamp on her ID card on Wednesday.
SO.....
Visit to Chincha
... we are heading down to Chincha this morning (Saturday) for a few days to visit folk down there and see the new houses... we return tuesday night to Lima.
Finally...
We continue with visa documentation the second half of next week.
For those of you who pray please pray for this process to go smoother than it has started. Please also pray for our health and safety as we travel to chincha and back. many of you will know that living down there we fell ill on a regular basis and we wish to avoid that during this short trip.
Lots of love to everyone and many thanks for your support and interest. More news coming soon....
28th January 2010 - Headlines 5 (from the UK) Not long now before we fly! Welcome to all the new-comers who have signed up to receive our news from Peru. Welcome back everyone who was following our news before too! Return Weather! Prayer Needs Thanks everyone for all your support and encouragement. We'll be in touch when we get there. |