Marian Johns' Journal of the Desert
Explorers trip to Peru in 2002
Images by John Page unless otherwise noted
Day 29, October 2,
Wednesday
Lima to LAX
Oct. 2, Wednesday – Up at 3:00 a.m. and off to the airport in Victor’s van at 3:30. We were told to be there three hours early. There was a $25 airport tax, but we knew about that and were prepared to pay it. By 4:30, we were checked in, and then had to wait until 7:00 for our flight. A three hour early check-in was hardly needed. To pass the time, I wandered around the airport shops and found that the nicest (and most expensive) souvenirs of the whole trip can be bought here. Wish I was rich! There were some very nice replicas of pre-Columbian pottery, jewelry, and beautiful, colorful sweaters. My only purchase was a Peruvian cookbook. Sadly, it doesn’t have a recipe for asparagus soup. Guess I will have to experiment when I get home and see if I can make something comparable.
On the flight to Miami, a Peruvian girl, Katherine Valle, sat next to me. She is going to Long Island to visit friends, leaving her husband and toddler daughter at home. Grandma is taking care of the little one while she’s gone. She spoke enough English to carry on a conversation, so, of course, I had to tell her about our unpleasant ordeal of the day before. She was disturbed by my account because such incidents give visitors – and prospective visitors - a bad impression of Peru.
Our lay-over in Miami was boring – with nothing to do for three hours. While waiting, I called Neal; it was good to hear his voice. He’ll be there at LAX to pick me up. Our flight to Los Angeles left about 15 minutes late, but we still managed to arrive 15 minutes early. I was sure glad to see Neal waiting for me. Got my luggage, said good-bye to Reda and John, dragged the luggage to the truck (wheels on the new bag are worthless as suspected), and drove home. I drove because Neal doesn’t see well at night.
