Day 351 Four Movies

Saturday 25 July 2009

During desayuno we ask our waiter to put Tour de France on the flat-screen TV and there are no changes at the front—still Contador, Schleck, and Armstrong. After eating we buy snack food in preparation for the all-day-long bus ride. The 10:30 Ormeño bus leaves the parking lot at 10:40—yes! During the 12-hour trip I watch four forgettable movies, snacking and smacking, snoozing and snooping, on people, places, and things.

The border crossing into Peru goes smoothly—what? Yes, we make certain we get our passports stamped. Teri wants to call Yobani and let her know we’ll be there in five more hours, probably about 10:00, but she doesn’t have the right amount of soles for the phone. After much hassling with official money-changers she talks to a woman selling gadgets in the building who exchanges a few dollars for soles out of her own purse. Yobani is happy to hear we’re coming home and tells Teri she won’t bolt the front gate so we can get in with our key—good idea.

We’re pulled over by men with guns in the darkness somewhere in northern Peru; they’re wearing uniforms so we all get off the bus in a lighted shed and stand around while three guys inspect the bus inside and out—no problema. We arrive in Piura at 11:00 and ask an attendant to call a taxi even though we could easily walk. In our room we both get online in hopes of seeing money in our account or a message from Gustavo about our refund from LAN Peru—nada. In less than a week we will be back in the USA.