We got up early, around 6:00 a.m., got ready, got our stuff packed up, went downstairs and dropped our luggage off at the front desk for safe keeping while we went to the dining room for some breakfast. It was buffet style again but this time the main course was small pancakes and chicken strips. I had fruit, some small pancakes, pineapple juice and decided on no bread today because of the pancakes. We ate and chatted about random things. When we got done, we went into the lobby, used the restroom and waited for our driver at 7:30 a.m.
While we waited for him to arrive, we sat on the comfy couches in the lobby looking at our phones while we have WiFi, so I did some Instagramming, Amy used her oxishot and our driver was late. He finally arrived around 7:40 a.m. but we should have plenty of time to get to the Juliaca Airport, about an hour away.
The drive was pretty uneventful except that we got to see what the area looked like in the daylight since the last time we went through here it was dark. The highway had several speed bumps on it which was unusual for a highway. We noticed it the other night and maybe it's normal for highways in South America to reduce speeds and prevent accidents? Anyway, we got closer to Juliaca and the place was just as busy as it was the night before and just as scary looking. I would not want to be lost in this city, especially with a language barrier. There was so much traffic that our driver bumped into one of the tuk tuks just before we got to the airport. Apparently, it wasn't a big deal because everyone carried on.
We arrived at the small airport with plenty of time to spare. He helped us take our luggage out, he was given and tip and we wheeled our suitcases up to the front doors. We got inside and looked for our domestic LATAM ticket/luggage area but didn't want to stand in the line so we went to the kiosk and printed our boarding passes and luggage tags. We ended up having to wait in the line but it wasn't as long as when we first arrived to drop off our luggage and to show our passports.
We walked to security, went through it easily, I didn't have to take anything out of my bag (which was nice because it's a pain in the butt), gathered our stuff, found each other since we went through different lines and walked to our gate. This airport was pretty small, just like the Cusco one, so there were only two gates and minimal places to sit unless you got there first. We had about an hour before take off so we used the restrooms and ten sat for about a half hour until it was time to board. There was no public WiFi so that made sitting there pretty boring. I sat in a seat behind Mom, Amy and Rhonda and we chatted about the rest of the day's activities and tomorrow's long crazy day of traveling.
Our plane started to board and we had to walk to the plan on the tarmac. I haven't done this since Ben and I went to Boise in the winter of 2019. We got to our seats and had to sit with a kid, probably a teenager, who was on his phone the entire time. Mom was in the middle seat and I was in the aisle. Rhonda and Amy were in a similar seat pattern nearby. The plane ride was about two hours to Lima.
I spent most of the time on the plane writing in my journal and trying to keep up on it. I was several days behind but I was getting there. I tried to make a lot of mental notes, written notes and took some pictures so I would remember what we did and saw. A little bit of my time was spent with my eyes closed.
We made our descent into Lima and it was overcast from the marine layer just as it was when we arrived over a week ago. We waited to get off because they do it orderly. Three rows in front, three rows in back and so on. It was our turn, so we grabbed our stuff and exited the plane. We walked through the airport and down the escalator to get our luggage from the carousel. We had to wait a few minutes while we gathered all four of our suitcases. We walked out of the airport and saw our driver holding up the Peru For Less sign with the Larson x4 on it. We walked our luggage to the van and we drove us to Miraflores, a section of Lima, south of the airport in Callao.
He took us along the Circuito de Playas de la Costa Verde, the freeway along the Pacific Ocean. It reminded me of the coastline of California. This area of Lima was very modern, full of hotels, restaurants and fast food, clothes outlets and other random businesses sprinkled around the district. We all looked out the window wondering if our hotel was going to have an ocean view. Haha, yeah right!
He turned and drove up the hill away from the ocean and. We drove down a main road and noticed all the restaurants and which one our hotel will recommend once dinner time hit. We made a few more turns and stopped in front of our last hotel of our trip, Tierra Viva Miraflores Centro. We checked in and saw behind us were the people from Florida on our Lake Titicaca boat trip were also staying here. We were given rooms 405 and 406.
We settled into our rooms and relaxed before our dreaded Covid tests in the lobby in about an hour and a half. I spent time on my computer and posted some pictures on Instagram. I also had some time to write in my journal since I was behind a few days. Amy and Rhonda knocked on our door around 2:45 p.m. and said, it was time. I was not thrilled. This is why I got vaccinated so I didn't have to have something shoved up my nose but we had to, because it was a requirement, so we could return to the US. This is probably what we're going to have to do now until Covid is better under control.
We sat down in the lobby and I was nervous. Not that I had Covid, but I was still nervous about the swab that was going to be shoved up my nose. Ughhhh. The medical tech showed up and he was a few minutes late, which added to the anxiety. He set up his equipment and asked us who was going first? Rhonda said she would go first so she could get it over with. She was all squirmy and Amy asked if she could hold her hand so she wouldn't hit the guy. Rhonda said yes and Amy grabbed her hand. I didn't want to watch so I looked away. It was quick, Rhonda was done and he asked for her passport and processed her stuff. He added that her results would be done in about fifteen minutes or so.
Then Mom went next and it was pretty uneventful. You could tell she didn't want to do it but she had to. Hers was very quick and I still looked away. He got her passport and processed her swab. Next, was my turn and I had so much anxiety my legs were bouncing. I actually had to sit on my hands or I probably would have pushed the swab away. Amy asked to take my picture. I didn't care and neither did the med tech. It seemed like it took forever for the tech to do what he needed to do when it was your turn. I was so done after the first few seconds of the swab being up there. I tried so hard to pretend it wasn't happening but it was. He was finally done and I was so relieved it was over. I hope I never have to do it again. It depends on the public though. The longer people refuse to get vaccinated and wear a mask around groups of people, the longer this is going to stick around. Those people are actively taking away their own freedom. I gave him my passport and he went and processed my swab.
Amy decided to go last and we got a photo of her and she looked uncomfortable as well. She is the only one out of all of us who has had Covid (she had it last winter with her husband) and she said it was horrible and still feels the adverse affects from it at times, especially walking around a town above 10,000 feet in elevation.
After he was done, he asked for her passport so he could process her swab. We sat there after blowing our noses and wiping our watery eyes to find out our final results. After about fifteen minutes, he told us all we were negative and he would email Mom the results so we could print them at the hotel tonight for tomorrow's flight back home. We thanked him and he continued onto his next appointment.
Since we were all ready to go to dinner, Amy and Rhonda ask the hotel front desk staff if they would recommend a place to eat. They grabbed a Miraflores map and circled a few places on the map of some decent places. We set off to find a place called Tanta. We followed the main road, Jose Larco, looking at all the places along the way.
We stopped for a few minutes so Amy could use the ATM for some more Sols. We got to the end of the road and had to have help finding this restaurant. Our map wasn't very clear. The night gentleman at the hotel told us it was located in the mall complex across the street. We thanked him and headed across the busy street.
We walked down the stairs and saw the restaurant we were looking for. We walked inside and were taken to a table with a view of the Pacific Ocean and given and English menu. We browsed the menu and there were so many choice to pick from. We all knew what kind of drinks we wanted so he came back after a few minutes and took our drink orders. I got a Coke Zero, Amy got an Inka Kola, Mom got a water and Rhonda got a Pisco Sour. I couldn't decide between a sandwich that sounded good or a Caesar salad. I decided to be good and do the salad and Amy said, good for you. I figured I should be good since this country favors a lot of carbs such as potatoes, rice and breads and that's what I've been having lately.
Our server came by again and took our food orders. Mom got the burger and fries, Rhonda got the soup, Amy got the beef, potatoes and veggies and I got the salad. We chatted about our trip while we waited for our food. Our food came and it was pretty tasty. I was surprised that my salad came with chicken because it didn't state that on the menu. I was glad it did because now I could get my protein for the day.
Everyone also enjoyed their meals as well and decided to get a brownie to share. Amy decided she would play for it if we'd help her eat it. When it arrived, Mom was very turned off by it because it reminded her of a cheesecake instead of a brownie. She refused to try it so we made fun of her. After a while, she did give in and tried a small piece of the non cheese cake looking bottom part of the brownie.
I kept telling her that I can't take her anywhere and that she should try new things while we are in another country. She kept saying, this is not a brownie! We just made fun of her harder. We paid for our food. I paid for Mom's as well so I could break my S/100, since we had to use up our Sols before we went home the next day. We thanked our server and decided that we should start heading back towards our hotel before it got too dark. We took a few pictures of the Pacific Ocean and the shoreline before we left the mall.
We got back onto the main road, we got here on, and looked for a store because I wanted some snacks. I never found a place like that but we did find a clothes store and we went inside to browse. Amy and Rhonda bout some stuff and Mom got a couple of things because they were having a clearance sale. We continued down the road and found another store, this time it was a souvenir shop I needed to get a couple more things. We all ended up getting some stuff and I bought a couple postcards and keychains since I didn't have a lot of Sols left. I had to borrow a few Sols from Mom. We thanked the shop owner and were now on our way to the hotel.
We found the cross street we needed and crossed the main road, made a left and there was our hotel. The front desk staff welcomed us back. We asked if we could have our breakfast early tomorrow and they said they would have a small "to go" bag ready for us. We thanked them and went up to our rooms. I got cleaned up, packed my stuff in my suitcase a little better than it was, did some internetting, charged my phone, watch and headphones and went to bed just before 10 p.m. Tomorrow was going to be a very long day.
Next Adventure: Peru: Traveling from Lima to Florida to Seattle: A Very Long Travel Day (Day 12)
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