O hi, Asia!

Adios, Rupert and BlackCat of Pasadena. I hardly knew ye!

Musical driver seats. My rental car situation landed me in an interesting scenario: Car was due back at BUR (Bob Hope Airport) at 3pm, but my flight to LIM wasn’t leaving until 7am, 16 hours later. I hadn’t decided on Peru when I booked my rental car and didn’t foresee that the 7am flight would be the best. Also, the rental place couldn’t extend me a day because I’d booked online. Simply “turning it in late” would have cost some – probably exorbitant – amount no one was able specify.

All clothed with no place to be. I made the 3-hour drive from Tara’s in Yucca Valley to BUR to swap my 2-week rental for a 1-day one. (Note: I much, much prefer the Nissan Altima to the far-inferior Chevy Cruze. Blegh! Don’t really like Chevy-anything.) After some leisurely shopping at the best secondhand store in the world, I found myself at 6pm with about 12 hours to kill. Whom did I call? (See, it’s “whom” because it’s the direct object.) Kyle of Valencia!

Valencia Twins Part II! Kirk was already at his new base in Washington (state) so I was one twin short of the pair. We got dinner at Lima Limon, a Peruvian restaurant Kyle’s dad recommended. Kyle’s the “intellectual”, less-flirtatious one and let me tell you, he’s considerably harder to deal with when his brother’s not around! At one point, we were seriously debating whether I’d get kidnapped in Peru (wth?!) I, of course, maintained that I would NOT be getting kidnapped.

Nap-time! Other than some rocky conversation, dinner was excellente. When we got back to Kyle’s, his parents suggested I “nap” there before my early-morning flight. (Don’t mind if I do…) After having my expectations exceeded watching Perks Of Being A Wallflower with Kyle, I napped for a few hours and quietly slipped out around 4:30am.

Here I am at BUR, Bob Hope Airport in Burbank at 6am after my “nap”:

Seatmate. Ever meet someone who went out of their way to convey how “laid back” they were? That guy was “Eli” on my trans-equatorial flight. (I just made that term up. Hey, I crossed the equator, so why not? And no, the toilet water doesn’t spin in the opposite direction. That idiocy is passed on by people who don’t know anything.)

Intent on being laid-back. I first heard Eli on his phone, “…that’s not very cool. You’d think someone who lives in Maui would be more laid back.” Later, I casually asked if he was travelling on a timeline or open-ended (like me, but I didn’t say “like me”.) He said, “No timeline. I’ll figure it out as I go along.” I could tell he expected me to react as if traveling like that is unheard-of or seems impossible. I asked if he was staying in Lima and all forcefully-casual he replied, “Don’t know! I’ll figure it out when I get there.” Ok, Indiana Jones. But we’re arriving at 10:30pm and probably won’t be through customs before midnight. I’m sure your fly-by-the-pants demeanor isn’t an act at all. [*eyeroll]

Bienvenidos a Perú! Fiona’s husband was waiting for me amid all the taxi drivers clamoring for me to pick them. (Just like in Vietnam.) We darted off in his SUV and had almost an hour drive to get some firsthand scoop on Lima and Peru. (Next post!)

I love their house! I promised to not post any “identifying photos” or name our neighborhood, but here’s part of the backyard. The neighborhood’s gated and manned, plus there’s a wall around the property. There’s a small pool in the yard and I’ve got my own bedroom + bathroom and their housekeeper (empleada) cooks lunch and dinner every weekday. (And I thought Rob’s place in Singapore was nice!)

People often ask how long I’m staying here and I want to say, “Forever!”