We have arrived!

The trip was a little longer than expected but we made it and are really glad to be here.  Our flight from Los Angeles to Lima was delayed from an 8 p.m. flight on Wednesday to a 9:30 a.m. flight on Thursday.  That meant a night in LA and a night in Lima instead of the very direct itinerary we had expected.  But we made the best of it.  The airline gave us hotel rooms and free meals in both cities so we were well fed and housed. 

In LA, we rented a car, visited Venice Beach and had a lot of fun watching the skateboarders there.  Then we braved rush hour traffic through downtown LA and visited our friends Andrew and Tanya in Silverlake.  They have two kids the same age as ours.  They are wonderful people and we had a great visit with them before heading back to our hotel for the night - good food, fun conversation and lots of laughing.  It was definitely a lucky opportunity for us.

After landing in Lima, we spent a long time working with the airlines to get new tickets to Cusco, re-check our bags and get the hotel and food situation figured out.  While waiting we struck up a conversation with a very nice guy from Guayquil, Ecuador named Rolando.  We ended up at the same hotel and also shared dinner with him.  He was great to talk to and gave us some good suggestions for places to visit in Ecuador and his contact information so we can look him up if we travel there.  Again, a nice unexpected bonus to our travels.

In Cusco our friend Rocio met us at the airport, took us to our temporary home - her uncle/our friend Amilcar's apartment.  She has helped us get settled in, buy cell phones, set up Internet service and guide us towards all the things we'll need while we're here.  She is a wonderful host and fun companion and we are much indebted to her. 

Throughout our travels so far, we have been blessed with assistance and kindness from friends and strangers alike and it has helped make it a great start to our journey.  We very much look forward to the rest of the adventure.

Matt