Breakfast, then hike, then boat, then bus - back at the office we pick up our stored stuff, then head to the airport.
A couple of hours later we fly to Cusco. A couple of hours after that, Lima. In the Lima airport we buy a bottle of the national liquor, Pisco. We wait around for an eternity, then at midnight we fly to Atlanta. This flight seems really, really long. This is the first time any of us has come through the international concourse in Atlanta. It's really, really stupid. Due to the design of the airport, there's no way to separate the people whose destination is Atlanta from those who are catching a connecting flight. Therefore, after claiming our checked baggage, then going through Customs, we have to CHECK OUR BAGS AGAIN, AND GO THROUGH AIRPORT SECURITY AGAIN!!! This is COMPLETELY ABSURD! We have our bottle of Pisco in our carry-on, and TSA informs us that this must be checked. YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING. We're just trying to GET OUT OF THE DAMNED AIRPORT. WE LIVE HERE! No, she says, you have to take it all the way back to the Delta counter and check it. Unbelievable. We say never mind, keep it. She says it's really not that big a deal to go check it. We say listen lady, we've been traveling for 24 hours, believe us, it's a big deal. I can't believe NO ONE said ANYTHING, and there were NO SIGNS. I bet this happens hundreds of times a day. Besides that, people had been so nice in Peru, bending over backwards to help us out, and people here were being lazy, indifferent jerks. Welcome to America. We leave our Pisco behind, and go CLAIM OUR BAGGAGE AGAIN. Allison's Dad picks us up, and we are HOME.
This was an absolutely stellar trip. The people were great. The food was (mostly) excellent. The country is beautiful and diverse. I'd go back to Peru. Of course, there are lots of places to see before we die...
2 comments:
Tell me about it! I hate coming into Atlanta from overseas. Glad you guys are back and had a great time. Thanks for the thorough TR.
It was a truly terrific trip - adventurous, well planned, interesting, and great traveling companions. Super thanks to Allison for thinking of it, planning it, leading us and taking great photos.
Will failed to mention that ironically, when we got to the frustrating Atlanta airport on our return, two of his videos were playing on the monitors while we went through re-screening. Jamie/Mom
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