Turbo Liberation

Arriving at the Lima airport (very nice flight on an Airbus 319) I haggled a cab down from 40 Soles to 25 Soles (10USD) to take me to DHL. On the way there he tells me that today is a national holiday and they will be closed. This, in addition to the fact that DHL was across the road from the airport did not put me in the best spirit. After calling him a thief he offered to take me anywhere I wanted to go for another 15 Soles. I asked him if he understood what I had just said, about him being a crook and all. Being in the middle of an industrial zone I decided to have him take me to Miraflores. This is a suburb of Cusco reputed to ‘not be in Peru’.

Once I got settled in at a nice hostel in Miraflores I set off exploring. Everyone was right, the convertible Lexus’s, Land Rover Disco’s and Limo’s made me feel like I was in Cary. And then there was Vivandas. It’s a Whole Foods, only with nicer produce (in addition to the SA fruits) and it’s 24hrs. Not Peru.

The electric fences around every house and private guards with Uzzi’s on every corner affirmed that these people were uncomfortable with their wealth in a country dominated by poverty.

The beaches are stunning. Comprised of stones about fist size, the receding waves make a magnificent sound. I spent several hours just sitting and listening.

Then I stumbled across LarcoMar. A very upscale mall, complete with a Starsucks. I took in a movie.

The next morning, I arrived at DHL at 8:30 and waited for over an hour for Milton Velasquez. I don’t think his employee manual translated the “express” in DHL Express. I was then told I needed to go and plead my case with Customs (window 14 he tells me). At the customs house I started the standard goose hunt. Window 14 only does packages over 50 kilos, you need window 7 I was told. No, you need window 4, actually, you need Jorge Torres in window 2. Jorge didn’t let me finish telling him about how I’m on honeymoon and my wife is in Cusco before he sprang to action. He called over an assistant to pull my paper. Run run he said. He called DHL and told them to release the package to me within the hour. He begged my pardon and yelled to a DHL employee in the customs area to have him take me in the DHL van back to the DHL building. By this time he was speaking such fast Spanish I didn’t catch most of it but before I knew it I was back at DHL. Milton dragged himself down to meet me, obviously post verbal lashing by the guy in a suit behind him. This guy apologized profusely for the hold up and sent me out the door with the brand new turbo. There was supposed to be 150USD import duty but no one said anything about it. I sprinted around the first corner.

I walk across the street to the airport and had missed the last plane to Cusco by 10 minutes. Drats, another night in Lima with no Kim. The next flight was at 4am. OUCH. I booked a seat on it and headed back to Miraflores. My plan was to watch a late movie and head back to the airport and practice my juggling until 4.

As luck would have it, Spiderman 3 opened at midnight. I could occupy my entire evening strolling the wonderful parks of Miraflores and watching movies! Not to spoil it for my readers, but the guy next to me in Spiderman slept with his head on my shoulder through most of it.

A cab got me back to the airport just in time to check in and get on the flight. I had been very careful with seat selection so that I could see the wonderful Andes from the other side of the plane. Walking onto the runway in the dark made me realize this was all for naught.

Flying back over the countryside we had driven a month ago was like Cliff Notes. The desert leading into green valleys leading into snow covered peaks. Wonderful!

I’m writing this parked on the main square of Chuquito next to the police station. There are 2 marching bands consisting of two drummers and 10-15 guys playing pan pipes dueling it out! Pan pipes!! These aren’t the guys you see in tourist restaurants, playing ABBA for Europeans and North Americans. These are guys in jeans, with backpacks on, and maybe a beer in their hand, stomping around in the square with their neighbours and friends, rocking out on their pan pipes. This is fantastic.

Or, it would be, if after two hours they’d played more than one song, over and over and over…!