LIMA AIRPORT, PERU

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After months of should I and shouldn't I's when I knew all along I should have - I decided to quit work from the hotel industry to experience an early retirement (well for at least a year) get out there and see the world. Next on my list - Peru. In fact Peru/South America has been on my hit list for years and since I was located in Mexico, it was inevitable I would make my way south. So here I am - in Lima Airport at the brilliant Starbucks cafe - where one can find wi-fi free of charge for us 'posh backpackers with laptops'... I've never seen so many backpackers in one airport - its really surreal and no doubt I'll see them hiking in the mountains too...

MY MISSION: of learning to speak Spanish has officially begun, so have been trying out the lingo...if I don't understand I tell them in Spanish and if I still don't understand they eventually speak English...no No NO!!! So when they talk to me in English I pretend I still don't understand.....hope you understand that! As my lovely Texan family would say 'A Long Road to Ho!!' It's going to be intense.....Already noticed the Spanish accent here is VERY different from the Mexican and the people - well they have so many different faces some look Chinese, others look European, even English...so not sure what a 'Peruvian' is supposed to look like.

It was end of an era giving up my FM3 (visa for Mexico) they took it off me in Mexico City and I had to write in it 'I confirm I have definately left the country and no longer need this FM3 - boooo!!! So when it came to completing my forms for 'residence address' - i had to think twice about it because I didn't have one - in limbo!!! Felt a little lost of a split second.

The flight was interesting - we had a passenger who was under arrest - no one knows why but it took 5 big strong men and 3 airport officials to surround him before letting all the passengers off the aeroplane. I was blessed with having sat next to a very LOUD American girl - ugh....thank goodness for the IPOD. Unfortunately couldn't see the mountains outside my window because it was dark - booo!! so am hoping for a sight of the mountains when I reach Cusco as it will be sunrise. Anyway I have 4 hours till my next flight....

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