Waiting in Lima

Lima, Peru

What would a trip be without some small problems to add some flavor?

Like I wrote in my last post, I left for Lima in Peru. My flight was leaving around 6 AM, so I left home around 1:30. The beauty of that is the roads are not busy at this time of the night. And what about all those construction sites on the road around Montreal... Way better to drive by them by night.

The flight to Miami went very well. Got there a little before 10 AM. Asked myself if it would be better to leave the airport to stay busy for the five hours I had to wait. I decided not to go out.

That's where the problem was. I needed to worry about the fact my flight disappeared from the departure board to figure out my flight was delayed for four more hours. Tadam! Thanks Taca Airlines.

But don't worry for me. In exchange, they gave me a voucher for a free meal... as long as it doesn't cost more than 12 $, which is the price of a bottle of water and a smile in a regular airport. I could only spend that money in McDonald's, a pizza restaurant or a grilled chicken one. At least there was one "healthy" choice.

Other problem. The price of the bill went up to an outstanding amount of... 12,06 $. Yes, you guessed it right, I had to pay the six cents. After all, five hours (well, it got delayed again) of waiting is well worth a big 12 $ when you paid more than a 1000 $ for your flight.

So I had to cancel my evening with my friend Diego, a real Peruvian, who would have met me in Lima if I had gotten there at a decent time. I also had to call my hostel to make sure they would know I would be late and for the shuttle to wait for me at the airport.

A movie and some frustrations later, we could board the plane. Original arrival time : 8:45 PM. Actual arrival time, after passport control : 3 AM.

Yes, the shuttle was still waiting. Poor driver. And everything points out his parking ticket was past due.

Karma, o karma, I finally got my own room in the hostel. Thinking of those who were sleeping in the other rooms, the woman at the desk gave me my own room. I've got your number now Karma!

The first stories about Lima will come soon. Only observation : the roads are in pretty bad shape. And for those who think they can't plan the road work well in Canada, think again. Half of the streets are blocked in Lima because of construction. Hard to navigate... When one compares himself...