Our friend, Babs arrives at 9:30 a.m. to take us to the airport. She and Andy tape a big plastic bag that will serve as a window on the wrecked car. Who knows, it may just rain in the next 3-1/2 weeks. We say our good-byes to her and Austin and the U. S. of A. It's Julia's very first international flight. We have a quick trip to Atlanta and then another 6-hour flight to Lima. They serve us decent food and she notices that those who drink alcohol get it for free. "No thanks," she thinks. There is a movie on the plane that we don't watch. Little naps. Some reading.

We arrive in Lima right on schedule at 10:30 p.m., in the same time zone as home. And we exit the plane down a ladder going right onto the tarmac! We make our way into the airport and follow the signs to Immigration where we wait in line to have our passports stamped. Off to baggage claim we go. Peruvians are a pushy lot and Julia tries her best to hold our spot at the carousel. Later on in the trip (mostly in dealings in airplanes and airports) we hear her say right out loud, "I can do pushy." In the Lima airport they have carts for your bags readily available at no charge, a very nice touch. This doesn't quite make up for the fact that there is smoking allowed inside airports (thank goodness not on airplanes), but what can anyone do? And there is still that pesky "what one should expect inside public restrooms?" question that gets answered on several occasions over the course of this trip. The first trip to the potty is after we finally collect our bags. An hour has passed since we arrived, and there is the ladies restroom nearby. Where is the toilet paper? There isn't even a place where toilet paper ought to be hanging. Hmmm. Interesting. Julia is about to give up on this idea when she discovers that there is a t .p. dispenser hanging on the wall out by the sink. This doesn't seem like good Feng Shui to her, she rolls herself off a wad and continues with the original plan. Hmmm. (I hope this subject interests you, it will be told in various forms throughout the story.)

Off we go to Customs. We hand in a form that says, "No, we're not bringing anything in," and walk on through. Some people are having their bags searched, but not us. A crowded swarm of people are waiting just outside the Customs area. Some have signs. Some are shouting out names. We hear "ANDY!," and there is our guide, Huw, and a "Lad" with a Manu Expeditions sign. (Huw calls all of the "helper people" Lads.) How did they recognize us? Later we realized that they had probably been standing there for an hour hollering "ANDY!" every few people or so. We are led to a van outside and ride a short distance to the Hotel Manhattan, where just after midnight we check in and are told that we will get a wake-up call at 3 a.m. Breakfast will be ready at 3:30, and we're leaving for the airport again at 4. Oh goody, thinks Julia. A nice, long nap. Rules for traveling in Peru #1: Always carry toilet paper. #2: Have some bottled water handy to brush teeth with. Don't use what comes out of the faucet. We forget both of these rules this first day. The room is very cold and we sure could use an extra blanket. It's noisy outside and we don't sleep much. But we're here.