Chiclayo, Peru

Monday, September 22st, 2008

Day 85 on The Big Trip. “Peru!”

Not too much to say about today. We got up early. We left Ecuador. We made it to Peru! We were on buses for more than 12 hours today.

Highlights of the day:

1. I crossed the border illegally, but not on purpose. I was not given my receipt for the immigration form upon entering Ecuador in Quito. That’s why I was given “heck” when trying to leave Ecuador. They tried to charge me $10 for filling out the same form – that would have been free two weeks ago – and the receipt – that wasn’t my fault for not receiving. Thankfully, Alisa is a master pouter. She pouted away, telling the immigration officer sympathy facts like, “But this is his first trip, look how empty his passport is,” and “He never loses anything, he couldn’t have lost it,” and “Ten dollars is so much!” Finally, the Por favor, señor’s must have gotten to him, because he broke the rules and let me pass illegally by giving me some receipt that belonged to who-knows-whom!

2. Making it to Peru. It doesn’t matter that the majority of Peru that we’ve seen today was from behind glazed windows; we’ve been there. We saw pink flowers and multiple-act play’s layers of hills, each a different solid shade of blue shifting beyond the fields. Peru’s coast contains a dazzling amount of sand that stretches to the horizon from the highway. I’m glad the bus didn’t break down there. And now, upon entering Piura and catching yet another bus (this one 3 hours rather than 8 hours) to Chiclayo, the difference between Ecuador and Peru thus far seems to be summarized as “engaging”. There are cars, taxis, and motorized rickshaws buzzing everywhere, a totally different currency, and thus far a seemingly approachable population!

3. Having something to eat in a restaurant. After munching on bread pieces and having water all day, eating at Restaurant El ROMAno was nice, even though everything I got was salty and fried and left me sprinting back to the hostel for more water!