Our very full flight of 304 Peruvians and residents left Miami on Thursday midday for our 5 hour flight with lots of waiting before and after. I was up at 4:44am that morning. Driving to the airport, check-in and security took a total of four hours until I got to the gate and then another 40 minutes waiting in line at Starbucks for coffee. We boarded at 10:30 and departed at 12:30pm.
At 4:44pm local time the plane touched down in Lima. It’s my sacred number so I felt very blessed and happy to finally be back in Peru. Then the real adventure began. We landed in a military airport which meant we had to walk down stairs to get off the plane and take a bus to a tented outside holding area with plastic chairs six feet apart where we waited – and I mean waited. The immigration people came through fairly quickly because we had all filled out the form online before we took off. Then a nurse came by to take our temperature.
Two hours passed as darkness descended and flood lights shone in our eyes as we waited for our luggage which had been placed in long rows on the tarmac – all 608 pieces. It was chaotic to say the least. At first the ground staff were taking our tags and looking for our bags by number because they wanted us to be social distancing but eventually they realized the ridiculousness of that given we had just been sitting on top of each other for 5 hours. So then they released 32 at a time (a bus load) to look for our own suitcases. That took another 2 hours with no carts or porters to assist. Eventually I was on a bus which thankfully had wide sleeper seats because I needed a nap. It was almost 10pm when we left for the hotel in Miraflores, an hour’s drive.
150 of us were dropped off in front of the Arawi Express Hotel where we waited in line on the sidewalk in the chilly winter night air. Everyone had to share a room, we were told, which caused some disgruntled reactions. I had befriended Sisa back in Miami, a 27 year old student, when I asked her to help me fill out the online immigration form I was struggling with. We agreed to share a double room and got in a separate line for that. Her English is impeccable which has been helpful with understanding all the protocols and instructions. A match made in heaven.
By midnight, we were finally in our very small room where we were instructed to stay until we got tested. We waited patiently all day Friday, broken up only by the delivery of meals in plastic bags and styrofoam packaging – rice, potato and some kind of meat. Thankfully I anticipated the food would leave a bit to be desired so I packed cheese, crackers, peanut butter and other goodies.
By 7pm we gave up hope and watched a movie on Netflix (Sisa’s account). This morning at 10am, we were told the testing people had arrived and we would be called room by room. At the airstrip they told us we would be released after the “rapid test” which takes only 5 minutes to get the results so Sisa and I packed up all of our things and waited to be called. And waited. 11, 12, 1, 2… Just as another delicious meal arrived at 2:45, we were called downstairs, masked with ID in hand.
Just being outside the room was relief enough but the testers explained – even though we tested negative which Sisa and I did – we had to wait for a rep from the Ministry of Travel to come tomorrow or Monday to stamp our form before we can go. So it was back upstairs to eat our now cold late lunch of chicken, rice and potato with red jello for dessert and unpack my toothbrush for another lovely night or two in quarantine even though I’m virus-free.
A dear friend lives a mile from our hotel. I will go there when I get released and then fly to Cusco on Wednesday morning. Hopefully the last leg will be less eventful. I thank the angels for “rapid testing” or I’d have been here for 14 days!
Home sweet home, here I come!
July 25, 2020