Subject: The capital city...
Date: Sun, November 29, 2009 10:45:14 PM
Buenos noches,
I woke up this morning at 7:30am -- late by this trip's standards! Last night I had called for a cab at 8am to take me to the airport, and ONCE AGAIN, there was a flight mini-adventure.
I was scheduled on the 10:30am flight from Cusco-Lima. The cab ride was 10 minutes (and 7 soles, not 50 or 250). I checked in for my flight and went to my gate. Once again, I had to check in my roller bag -- only 1 carryon bag is allowed. When I got to the gate (about 8:30 or so) there was another flight boarding for Lima and the agent walked around the gate area asking everyone still sitting if they'd like to get onto this flight since there were lot of seats open. When she came up to me, I asked what will happen with my checked-in bag, and she said I'd have to wait in Lima for the bag to arrive on the 10:30 flight. NO WAY! I said I'd rather fly with my bag and wait here in Cusco. She wouldn't take no for an answer -- she took my boarding pass and the bag claim check and radio'd to her buddy on the ground to go look for my bag and put it on this plane. Once that was confirmed, she assured me the bag would arrive with me to Lima and gave me my seat on this 9:00am flight! NOW WHY DOESN'T THAT KIND OF SERVICE HAPPEN IN AMERICA?!
I got on board and started walking to my seat -- 25K. This is the middle seat in the last row of the plane (most likely with no recline). When I got there, the guy in the window seat told me "I'm sorry to bother you sir but would you mind switching seats with my wife - she's in 10C." Seat 10C is the aisle seat on an exit row! This was great! I didn't mind at all and said "you're very welcome" the guy's wife as she went back to 25K and I took 10C.
The flight arrived in Lima on time, and my bag came with the plane. NOW WHY DOESN'T THAT KIND OF DELIVERY HAPPEN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD AFTER A LAST-MINUTE CHANGE?! Anywhere else, the bag would never have made it on this plane! It would be on the 10:30 flight, or worse -- sitting on the tarmac for 24 hours before someone finally figured out it's not supposed to be left there!
Well, I now had the whole day in Lima... I went to a luggage locker and put my roller bag inside, and took the cab to downtown -- Plaza de Armas (same name as in Cusco). This is Lima's "central square" and like Cusco, has a park and water fountain in the middle surrounded by a cathedral and shops all around. Unlike Cusco, this one also has the President's mansion and I happened to see the changing of the guard there. Nothing interesting about that.
The cathedral was nice -- I went inside. But the rest of the afternoon was spent lingering in a restaurant with free wifi and then walking around the central area.
I got tired pretty quickly, and took another cab back to the airport (fare from airport-city = 45 soles. From city-airport = 20 soles, bargained down from 30 but I'm sure I could've gone lower). That's one thing about the cabs here -- none of them have meters. You're supposed to bargain the price before you get in. That's true in Lima as well as Cusco, although if I go to Cusco again I'm never again paying 250 soles for 3 cab rides that would've cost me 30-40!
Since about 5pm or so I've been at the airport, walking up and down the terminal until American's checkin counters opened, and now sitting inside the lounge waiting for my flight to Miami at 12:30am. All the pictures are already uploaded on the website, and in a few minutes I'll have this email up too! (provided I don't lose my internet connection again)
http://www.callmewanderer.com/southamer/peru09/index.html
Check tomorrow evening too, since I'll (likely) have some more pictures posted from the flights to Miami and San Francisco... But that's all from this trip... Until December 18 from NEW ZEALAND.....
Ciao,
-me
The first picture is in Cusco, all the others are in Lima
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| Nov 28 | Contents | Nov 30 |