We woke up relatively late the
following morning and found sunshine and rabbits in the courtyard. J2
decided to be brave and come outside for part of the day, and we walked around
in the almost but not quite warm weather looking at Scenery and Architecture
and visiting the Quirikancha and Museo de los Incas. We learned a lot of
history, exactly all of which I have already forgotten. In fact, I’ve
forgotten nearly all of this day, as the physical and emotional weight of hike
settled into my body and mind. All I know for sure is that my butt hurt
one heck of a lot. I couldn’t sit down properly and walking turned into a
strange uncomfortable shuffling as the swelling only increased.
By evening J2 was done, so she went
to bed and the three of us fell asleep on some chicken at a chicken restaurant
where I did not avail myself of the complimentary salad bar and contemplated
the wilted spinach on my chicken sandwich before determining it probably was
not properly cooked and ceased to eat anything.
J1 and M had one more day, but
Jessica and I set our alarms for 5 a.m. and at 6a.m. a taxi
arrived to take us to the airport. We got our tickets and checked in just
fine, and as we waited for our flight to Lima we saw two of our friends from
our time living in the Lima airport, including the Turkish tour guide from
Miami. The other, the student at UNC, was trying to get from Peru to
Costa Rica, and was told she couldn’t go without a Yellow Fever shot. She
was also told that she would need to get this shot at the airport in Lima or
cancel her trip. I did not feel confident about the idea of getting shots
from needles in an airport in Peru, and was pleased that I was not the one
facing this choice. To make matters worse, our flight to Lima was getting
further and further delayed, and the odds of her having the time to get the
shot AND make her flight to Costa Rica were near zero by the time we boarded.
**IMPORTANT SIDENOTE: This girl was
on line with us to board the plane. I admit we weren’t paying a whole lot
of attention to her once she got in line, but I DID see her get in the line
several people ahead. However, upon discussion with J1 back in the US,
Julia swears that the girl was also on HER flight to Lima the following
day. MYSTERY!!!!**
The delay wasn’t good for
anyone. Our own flight out of Lima was becoming more of a hope than a
certainty. I had 20 soles in my pocket I had saved specifically to use in
the Britt chocolate store in Lima and I realized with a sinking heart that
while there was a vague possibility I might still make the plane, I’d never
make it through a chocolate store AND on the plane.
The flight itself was more or less
fine other than the fact that J2 sunk closer and closer into the clutches of
death and my bottom was made of pain and discomfort as I attempted to sit in
the airplane seat. I wondered sadly if I would ever enjoy sitting again.
When we arrived in Lima we
discovered we had to leave the terminal, go outside, and back through security,
which was multi-step. Jessica convinced the people running the first line
to let us skip ahead a bit, but the next person we talked to told us we had
plenty of time, despite the fact that our flight was leaving in 20 minutes and
we were nowhere in sight of the gate. Also we had to stand in a long line
to get our carry on bags searched as well as our persons. Panic
definitely set in during this process. Eventually though, we made it onto
our plane (without any Britt chocolate) where we were able to sit in some of
the worst discomfort of our lives as J2 fought for her life and my butt
continued to swell like a mylar party balloon. In this way we traveled to
Dulles in Washington DC where we were met by our Male Protectors and
carted away to be quarantined.
It’s been a good two months now
that we've been back, and I admit I have still not fully unpacked.
Unfortunately I'm leaving in four days for Germany and Denmark and I need
that bag. So now the real hard work begins.
