May 18, 2015 Morning

Chorillos, near Lima – Scott and I arrived in Lima last night at nearly midnight. The time zone here is the same as at home so there was no jet lag, even though we briefly entertained EST in Atlanta where we changed planes.

In Minneapolis Scott had his jar of peanut butter confiscated by the TSA, but my peanut butter sandwich passed security muster. Maybe it was the raisins. It was huge so I shared it with Scott as we waited for our flight out of Minneapolis. The gate we were at was de rigueur, filled with booths sporting I-pads with internet access. While we were gobbling the gourmet goobers (with raisins!), Scott gave me a crash course in smart phonedom, a realm Karen and I are preparing to enter (howling to high heaven) shortly after my return.  We had barely finished the sandwich when the airline announced that a passenger with extreme allergies to peanuts was flying with us. Nobody was to bring any  peanuts whatsoever onto the plane. Even airborne odors would trigger the reaction. We resolved not to burp.

Otherwise travel was blessedly uneventful: lots of sitting, a plethora of movies of all stripes. (I watched “Jupiter Ascending,” a really bad movie that Rowan (hi, Rowan!) and I will have an opportunity to analyze vis a vis late twentieth century feministinfluences. Sailed through baggage claim and customs and then there was Pablo’s friendly face waiting for us. Pablo was my tour manager in Mexico and he is a total pleasure to be with. On this occasion he was accompanied by Jorge, our ride and, conveniently, the dueno of the apartment we’re staying at. Traffic in Lima on a Sunday night was worlds away from anything we experienced in Mexico City, and Jorge’s driving was a model of circumspect caution. At one stoplight we were briefly entertained by an adolescent fire juggler. He must have been cursing the light traffic. But it was just fine with us.

Our apartment is charming, located down a gated street and cheek to jowl with other apartments, palms and stucco walls. It turns out the street is populated by the families of military and police officers. Concerns any of you had about crime in our neighborhood should be allayed.

 

Inside our apartment, one cannot help but notice the picture, a rendering of Machu Picchu:

 Except that it is hanging sideways, like this:

(can you see why? Find out next blog!) 

Plus I was struck by the sofa arrangement. 

We had couches like this for years. I never liked them, and was finally able to talk Karen into passing them on just last fall, whilst we continue our marital negotiations on the settee setup we will replace them with. And now I find they are following me around the world.