Lima and Miraflores

Anyone who knows me well, knows I don't enjoy long flights, much less connecting flights, but somehow yesterday's travels were pleasurable and fun! Our day began with getting up at 4:30 Saturday morning. Our flight from Dallas Love Field to Houston was uneventful; although, we did have to wait for the Continental employee to arrive to check us in at Dallas, so that was truly our only delay. Our 45-minute flight was quiet, but still, I could not sleep... too wired. We took our connection to Panama City, Panama next. This Continental flight was about four hours; with a breakfast consisting of a three-cheese omelet pita, cantaloupe/honeydew melon wedges, and a carrot-raisin muffin. A much better breakfast than I normally feed myself. We also had the wonderful opportunity of viewing "How To Train Your Dragon"... Dave has reminded me I should refrain from the sarcasm, as it is not culturally understood in Peru. Coming from Dave that is incredibly ironic, considering he's the most sarcastic man on the planet. Lucky me. We had a five-hour layover in Panama City, but fortunately, we exited into the international waiting area and did not have to clear through Customs. We dined on papas fritas along with our lunch; Dave having a club-type sandwich, and for me, baked chicken with mushrooms. Here's something a bit interesting, at least to me... with papas fritas (or French fries), they offer mayonnaise instead of ketchup. I typically eat French fries plain, anyway. After an afternoon siesta in the waiting area of our gate, Dave watching our luggage as I slept, we promptly boarded and flew to Lima via Copa Airlines. This was a three-hour flight, also uneventful if you don't count the constant kicking on the backs of our seats by two eight-year-old boys. I think their mamita was too tired to correct them, so I turned around after much exasperation and winked at the boys. They grinned and stopped. Our dinner on the plane was a choice of chicken ravioli, which is what I chose, or Shepherd's Pie. I declined the Shepherd's Pie since I make it all the time. It was served with a salad, which I avoided, a roll, a package of chocolate/vanilla cookies, which I handed to Dave, and a drink of choice. Our movie this time was a poorly done romantic comedy, starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. The one funny thing that happened on the flight was my doing, but not on purpose... Dave was falling asleep and I thought I would recline and catch a few snoozes... I press what I think is my recline button, but press Dave's instead. Have you ever seen someone almost asleep, wake up like they're on fire? Well, I have. Again, another flight, landing at said time. After filling out our Immigration/Customs forms, we exited the plane and proceeded to Immigration to be stamped; the line was horrendous, but moved in a matter of 20 minutes. We then headed to baggage claim, receiving ALL our luggage. Then, it's off to Customs - NO LINE! We entered our luggage through the security belt, retrieved them and headed to the "festival of fans"... okay, so maybe I felt like a celebrity for a brief moment. But seriously, you walk through the building to leave and there are hundreds of Peruvians surrounding you, behind gated areas with signs of names... looking like serious picketers, some with flowers, and all smiling. We found our guy with a sign reading Sr. David Nelson. He was the driver who was arranged for us by our adoption professionals. After communicating with many people in Spanish, Dave says to me, "You know you really speak more Spanish than you think." I'll try to stay confident with that in mind. The weather felt great! It was funny seeing so many people bundled up when it's only 60 degrees. For a Texan, it was a treat. We arrived at Girasoles Hotel, in Miraflores around 12:15 a.m. Our room was simple, but clean. The style is contemporary meets art-deco. After showering, I hit the bed, our double bed. When you're used to a King-size bed, a double is not reassuring, but when you're as tired as we were, it was perfect!

Our attempts at going to church this morning were futile. Our taxi driver was given poor directions, so our first attempt was arriving at a Roman Catholic church in downtown Lima. The outside of the church was peppered with nuns, in habits. I mention habits, since in the States, you rarely see the full garb; only in the movies have I seen nuns donning habits. Our second attempt, was arriving at Our Lady of Fatima. Wrong, again, Señor. We decided to view inside the church which was gorgeous, but instead of having a cross at the front, there was a huge statue of Mary; not offensive, but definitely different. We left to take a couple pictures of the ocean which was in walking distance. We then hailed a taxi to return us to the hotel where we had breakfast: scrambled eggs with potato wedges and onions, drinkable strawberry yogurt, bread, ham and cheese slices, orange juice, coffee, and fresh fruit. As I sat creating today’s blog, Dave went shopping for Kleenex. I don’t know why I’m telling you that, but I don’t want to leave out anything. We had a lunch date with our adoption professionals. Maria and Raul are a married couple who have worked together for 25 years helping families adopt children from Peru. Maria and Raul are both attorneys. Dave has read a bit of my blog, expressing that I am not giving a culinary tour of Peru, but here goes... They took us to a cafe called San Antonio. Raul and Maria had salads, while I had a small chicken empanada and a small sandwich consisting of steamed spinach, avocado, and a white cheese of some kind. Dave had a chicken tamale. For dessert, Maria insisted on treating me to a small tart, topped with strawberries. We had a wonderful time and I just adore the affection they express towards us upon meeting and departing; kisses on the cheek and warm hugs. We meet in the morning for our 15-minute appointment at SNA. Then, all four of us will fly to Arequipa in the afternoon, to be greeted by the social worker in Arequipa. After a lovely lunch, Dave and I felt like walking in the brisk weather. We walked about seven blocks and entered the beginning of the parade celebrating Peru’s independence. Their Independence Day is actually July 28th, but they celebrate for several days. After another siesta for me, Dave and I had dinner downstairs in the hotel's cafe. While sitting in the cafe, we heard fireworks, closing the parade... of course, I just had to check it out! Now, off to pack for our trip tomorrow!