Last call for passengers Clark and Clark travelling to lima, peru

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Long journey. 24hrs from wake up to head-down. Landed in Newark, new jersey at 12:30 EST at gate C125.
It appears that USA is no longer a "free" country after all, as we had to pay our $14 EST immigration charge before leaving uk. And after a very warm send off by the airline staff and much thanks and gratitude for flying their airline, we joined the queue marked "aliens".

We checked out at passport control, collected bags, cleared customs..........turned left after the double doors...........re-checked the bags, queued for security scanning........had to practically get dressed again, queue for passport control, and run to..................gate C125 where a rather familiar air raft was waiting to run a service to lima, Peru. The staff questioned why we were running late............and I nearly...........but Denise restrained me. We took our seats in row 26, just 1 row in front of where we had just sat for 8 hours previously.

All this to go nowhere, and do you know all I wanted to do in our 2 hour transfer window at Newark........? Take the time to catch up with the world and enjoy a cup of my favourite brew from starbucks...... madness.......!


7hrs and 40mins later and we touch down in Peru. It's dark (maybe this is the area of the country I've heard about since being a little boy..........."darkest Peru".......????).........and the airport is busy with loads of inbound flights coming in from USA.

The usual taxi ride-cum-formula 1 style race track ride, follows as we head out to our hotel in the Coastal enclave of miroflores, on the edge of the city.

Prices are really cheap, much cheaper than Chile, Arg, or Brazil, the roads are as disorderly as can be, and the randomness and familiar frantic energy of this continent welcomes us back.........it all feels just like we're doing this for the first time - again.

Lots of people, no shirts on, playing what looks like chequers or draughts, outside shanty-style lateshopper stores, as we work our way through the city. Horns honking, madness at every intersection, and the habitual lane-swapping at alarming frequencies soon pass away as we pull up at what looks like a closed down travel agents in a rather shabby off-broadway type street in miroflores.........."your hotel seniora.......that will be US$20"..................we pray that he just has to be joking.

Catch you later

J + D

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