Woman at the counter (in Spanish): Can I see your ticket for leaving Peru?
Me: Huh...What? No, I´m planning to take the bus from Peru to Boliva.
Her: Well, you need a ticket exiting the country. I can´t let you on the plane without one.
Me: But, I´m not planning to fly out of Peru and haven´t booked my bus ticket yet. However, I have bought a valid ticket to get onto this plane.
Her: Nothing I can do Sir.
At this point the flight is boarding in about 35 minutes... After a bit more back and forth, I eventually manage to blag my way at least onto the flight to Bogota, which gives me another 4 hours to figure out my options.
Meantime, I´d also organized with a friend (Thanks Juanita!!) to have a new cell phone (long story...) delivered to me at the airport by cab. Another thing to sort out when I land.... Things are getting tense for this gringo!
After checking all possible routes with a travel agent in Bogota, I eventually settle on a (hugely expensive) ticket that takes me from the south of Peru to Brazil. Meanwhile hoping I can cancel it later... even though the travel agent tells me it´s not refundable. At this stage, I´ve stopped believing anything until I hear 3 times confirmed by 3 different sources...
With my ticket sorted, I now have another 40 minutes to coordinate where to rendez vous with the cabbie for picking up my cell phone (without being able to use my own of course...).
Ninety minutes later, I am on the plane to Lima, new cell phone in hand, feeling pretty chuffed if somewhat frazzled...
Once safely arrived in Lima airport, I head to the first ATM to pick up some local money (nuevos soles), only to have the ATM machine eat up my card... This day needs to end...
Downtown Lima
PANORAMIC VIDEO HERE
Yeah, those are pigeons
Inca Kola, the local soft drink of choice...
Newspapers, or tabloids at least, are alive and well in Peru
The 12 steps to hand-washing...
