Next Stop Lima

We arrived in Lima 4 hours early. All the baggage was there and we were through immigration and customs quickly. They have a "roll-the-dice" mechanism for deciding who gets inspected by customs. You push a button and it randomly causes a red or green light to come on. If red then you get the fifth degree but if green then you pass on without inspection. For any of you coming this way - good luck!

Looking around the airport we didn't see our friend, Beto (short for Alberto). I sat down with my PC, turned it on and found a wireless network, set up a VPN connection to New York and then used my Skype account to call the house in Lima and find out where he was - outside the airport building apparently, waiting for us. I also called the kids so we were headed for Beto's home with no worries.

The next day we visited "La Punta". It is a rather exclusive part of Callao, the town where Olga was born. La Punta separates the ocean from a bay and on the bay side there is both a rowing and a yacht club as well as a big naval school.


Callao, by the rowing club


Spending money in Peru is easy. $1.00 is around s/ 3.1 (soles). What is nice is that for many things what we pay for something in dollars, the Peruvians pay in soles but the same number. So many things (restaurants, for example) are about 1/3 their cost in the US. One hour of internet access costs s/ 1.0 (1 sol) or about 35 cents. I bought a used cell phone with an original-equipment battery charger for s/ 50.0 ($16.00). It works fine but I need a lot of practice. This reduction in many costs is important to us because we are planning to live on half-salary this year and it seems like it will be possible to do so and live well at the same time.

Last night we visited friends we knew when we lived in Brazil in 1979 - Jean and Edgar Vera. Edgar is a math prof in San Marcos - the oldest university in the Americas. They are very gentle people, especially with each other. Jean has a nephew whose name is Sandro Leon. Jean told me you can see him on U-Tube. He is very nice and I am sure very talented. Check him out. He sings and plays Peruvian/Brazilian soft-rock fusion acoustically.

Sandro Leon

Peruvians eat their main meal of the day at lunch time. Last night we went out with Jean and Edgar to a near-by cafe and had a slice of swiss-chard pie and wine and tea for us all. You find very nice restaurants in the most unexpected places.