Day 1: The Day That Lasted Forever.

After 27 hours of travel, I have finally (and safely) made it from Pittsburgh International Airport to Paracas, Peru.  My time in the airport in Pittsburgh was uneventful, as I had hoped for.  Upon arriving at JFK in New York, I found out that Pittsburgh had printed an incorrect boarding pass and that I would have to wait in line at the yet-to-open LAN ticket counter, behind a line of people that I’m pretty sure were cussing in Spanish.  Luckily, I had a nine hour layover and wasn’t in much of a hurry.  I perused the endless duty free shops at the airport, managing to hold onto all of my money, minus a bottle of Tanqueray and an $8 Sam Adams Summer Ale.  When the plane was finally about to board at 11:45pm, I was dreading the thought of a seven hour flight on a chilly plane, but quickly drifted to sleep and only woke up before the most stressful part of my journey began.

My flight landed in Lima 40 minutes early, which I assumed would be plenty of time to collect my absurd amount of luggage and filter through customs.  I was told by many people that the button at customs typically turns green and rarely turns red and you usually don’t have any problems.  Not only did I see all five people in front of me get a red light, but those people giving advice weren’t carrying an odd-looking mercury vapor analyzer case among their luggage.  I was (un)lucky enough to get a red light, have all four bags scanned, and spent the first hour of my time in Peru explaining that I was lending this gawky yellow piece of equipment to a colleague to collect air samples in Huancavelica.  (Remember, the only Spanish I know well is how to ask for a bathroom, order a drink, and how to sing “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.”)

After a nice chunk of change in a refundable deposit and a very frustrating Google search with the customs lady, I was free to find my driver.  Poor guy had been at the airport since 6:30am, and I didn’t make it through customs until close to 7:45am.  Jorge was the best darn driver anyone could have asked for though.  He drove me from Lima to Paracas, a four hour drive along the coast, and pointed out endless places of interest.  Lima is an interesting, and rather scary, place – houses are dilapidated, people are roaming the streets without looking for cars first, and no one can drive like a normal person (North Carolina is going to look like a driver’s ed class compared to today).  The coast in Lima is amazing – there is a lot of construction to make beaches by removing the pebbles and replacing it with sand and make it a more park-like atmosphere.  It sort of reminded me of the areas I visited in La Jolla in California in March, but closer to the water.  There was a gray cloud over the entire city and it reminded me very much of February in Pittsburgh.

Further along the drive, I watched broken house after broken house roll by my window as Jorge explained to me that these were areas that were affected by the 7.8 earthquake that hit in 2007.  What remained of the houses looked like if the wind blew the wrong way they would just crumble.  People were still living in and near them.  Laundry was hung on lines on the roofs.  Stray dogs poked in the trash for scraps of food.  People gathered in the streets around food carts, bundled up to shield them from the chilly breeze and drizzling rain.  I don’t know why it always takes a foreign country to remind me how truly blessed I am in life.

I also learned that a majority of the drive looked like massive deserts (think: Middle East sand dunes) because there were only seven rivers along the coast.  The areas around those rivers were abundant in agriculture: oranges, tangerines, avocados, maize, asparagus, and a lot of other things that Jorge mentioned and I can’t spell but I plan to find and try before I leave.  The small produce stands along the roads screamed my name, but I was much too tired to barter in Spanish.

After four hours with Jorge as a wonderful guide to eastern Peru, I made it to the Doubletree in Paracas.  I expected a standard hotel, considering the surrounding area we drove through was much like the other neighborhoods we had seen along the way.  Boy, was I wrong.  As soon as the bellhop led me out of the lobby towards my room, I knew I was in for a treat.  There’s a giant pool that all of the rooms face, with a pool bar on one side.  And if you’re lucky enough (like me) you have an ocean front view.  My bedroom and patio both face the ocean, where there’s a slight breeze, warmth from the sun, and the perfect view of sailboats, pelicans, and mountains in the distance.  Paracas is truly a gorgeous little town on the coast of Peru, and is an ideal destination for some relaxation.

I've already taken a bunch of pictures, which I'll post on Facebook.  Nick and Susan should be here in a few hours and tomorrow I think we’re making the trek to Huancavelica.  Hotel Presidente, here I come!