A Day Later, On the Way

8 MAY – 5:45 pm

EN ROUTE TO LIMA – FINALLY! – In six hours I step foot for the first time in Latin America. I can’t wait to see it. Months of planning and weeks of anxiety, and only now does it seem real to me. My nervousness is impeding on the warm feelings of anticipation I normally feel on a vacation, so I hope to spend the next few hours meditating on how good life is – and it is good!

A happy sight: backing away from the gate.

Initially, I was seated in the center aisle right behind the bulkhead. Across from me was a lovely Peruvian lady named Estela. She was fussing with a bottle of water, which I opened for her, and we struck up a conversation. She is returning to Peru to deposit her recently-deceased brother’s ashes in the family’s columbarium somewhere in northern Peru. I have promised to be her luggage lackey when we arrive in Lima.

There was a great piece of art at our gate in Atlanta, and I should have taken a picture of it. Oh well; I’ll describe it instead. It was a huge mural composed of business cards. Brightly colored cards were arranged on a field of white ones to form the phrase “Let each man pass his days in that endeavor in which his gift is greatest – Propertius.” The cards were fun to read and the quote was apt.

Frankly, I’m glad to be out of Atlanta. It’s hard to describe but it didn’t seem like a happy place to me. The city has an edge to it – a mood – that I find hard to grasp. I was surprised at the decrepitude of the neighborhoods I passed through on MARTA, and the decay in some parts of downtown. It also seemed highly ghettoized. Many of the shops downtown seemed prosperous, and many served the black community. There is a nice neighborhood surrounding Georgia State University, where I had delicious kofteh for lunch.

8 MAY – 7:30 pm

SOMEWHERE OVER THE CARIBBEAN – The captain has informed us that we have crossed the Tropic of Cancer – 23 degrees north of the equator. This plane ride has been magnificent. Estela had me fill out her immigration and customs declarations forms. She lives in Chicago and works for Old Navy. She is so friendly, sweet, and unprepossessing. I will give her my business card if she ever comes to Salt Lake. It is really too soon to tell from just an airplane ride, but Peruvians seem to be friendly, outgoing, and very up front. While waiting for the lavatory, the woman ahead of me in line just stared at me and smiled. Americans mustn’t do that, because initially I felt uncomfortable. However, I realized she was just saying “hi,” so I stared and smiled back.

I went to the lavatory to brush, floss, and freshen up , and while I was there another woman started to tap on the door, gently and politely, but insistently; I wonder how many Americans would sit and sulk through their discomfort, or would shout through the door?

An awesome and humbling sunset over the Caribbean.

These experiences remind me of why I travel: travel is indeed an indulgence, an escape, a fantasy. But to open one’s eyes to the grandeur, diversity, and vastness of God’s creation is ultimately what fulfills and sustains me. Tonight, the sunset over the Caribbean was majestically, terrifyingly beautiful – more sublime than any great work of art. Earlier I wrote about meditating. Through God’s grace and some beautiful cloud forms, I was given the object of my contemplation. To witness the sun dip below the horizon in a final, dazzling show of color, light, and shadow, was to pray.

9 MAY – 3:45 am

LIMA – Yes, it’s a quarter to four, but I am in Lima.

Our guardian angels: Victor, Margarita, and Rosa (who is proudly displaying a bottle of my pulm jam)

Our hosts took us to eat chicken soup at midnight. From left to right: me (looking tired and ugly), Margarita, Cathy, and Rosa. Victor took the photo after quizzing me about two of Peru's hottest topics: sports and globalization.

As we waited between my arrival at 10:30 and our departure to Cusco at 6 am the following morning, there was not a whole lot to do. Everyone else was sleeping, even the workers.

9 MAY – 6:35 AM

EN ROUTE TO CUSCO – This morning we boarded a StarPeru flight to Cusco. We broke through the Lima murk and into a spectacular sunrise over the Andes. The Cordillera made for an impressive sight – the jagged peaks cutting through rays of sunlight and casting looming shadows over mountain valleys shrouded in cloud. The mountains are stunningly huge – a much more impressive sight than flying over the Alps.

We were flying over and through the Cordillera. To give you a sense of how tall these mountains are, we were flying at over 30,000 feet when Cathy took the picture immediately above.

I met a lovely Irish woman seated next to me who purchased one Claritin pill here in peru for the cost of three such pills in the United States. She was in a battle of wills against her allergies, convinced that she needed to save the pill for something really serious. I spared her the agony and gave her a pill from my stash.

My earlier diary entry was interrupted by a quest to find coffee – the Lima Airport boasts a Dunkin’ Donuts and a Papa John’s! Globalization is a strange thing, indeed.

These layovers are awkward. Thank god for the welcoming committee. Sonia’s ex sister in law, Rosa, her friend Margarita, and Margarita’s boyfriend Victor all met me as I emerged from customs. Cathy was there too. But for this Lima contingent, this was their second night picking up a strange American at the airport. All the same, they met me like I was royalty, and I was given more hugs and kisses than I’d been given in what seems like forever. I gave Rosa a jar of my homemade plum jam, which she promptly declared as her favorite variety. Victor took us all to a restaurant that served a magnificent chicken soup, a simple broth infused with lime and served with spaghetti, a hard boiled egg, yellow potatoes, and accompanied with more lime, chili sauce, and green onions. The dish was served with an unintelligible gelatin-like dessert. After our midnight dinner, Victor drove us to the various neighborhoods of Lima. The city is busy with people working, even early in the morning. Many jobs here exist for those willing to do menial labor. There was one man who went around the airport terminal shaking out rugs all night long.

Anyway, we’re about to land in Cusco, after a beautiful morning flight. Much as I’d like to write, I would rather stare out the window.

9 MAY – 7:10 AM

EN ROUTE TO AREQUIPA – Yes, Arequipa. We were waved off from Cusco at the last minute due to visibility. We were below the ridgeline, descending into the clouds, when the engines roared, and we soared upwards. Cathy and I quickly read up on Arequipa, as we don’t know if we’ll be stuck there or not. The captain hasn’t given us an indication one way or another. Meanwhile, we feel badly for Miguel who is waiting for us at this moment at the Cusco airport. We’ll see what happens next.

\The diversion to Arequipa took the wind out of our sails, after being up all night the day before.