June 20: San Francisco - Lima

We had a nearly two-hour delay at the very disorganized Miami airport. So our flight didn't arrive in Lima until just after midnight local time. After a long wait to get through immigration and an even longer wait for our luggage, we exited customs and immigration and faced a huge waiting crowd. By this time it was after 1am. The hotel I booked was supposed to send a driver to pick us up, but given the late hour, I was doubting that anyone would be there waiting for us. Still, I scanned the crowd looking for my name on one of the many signs being held up. Taxi drivers kept trying to get our attention, hoping to snag a fare. I kept looking for my name as we wandered further into the crowd, and then Jim spotted my last name on one of the signs! Unbelievable! Maybe the hotel called the airline and so they knew about our late arrival. We introduced ourselves to the driver, Jose, who grabbed Betsy's bag and led us to the car.

The drive from the airport to the hotel in Miraflores took about a half-hour, even at that late hour with no traffic (there are no airport hotels in Lima). We drove through an area of shops and residences, not too attractive, but no shock to us either - we were prepared for the generally unappealing nature of the city. After skirting along the coast, the driver took us up a steep hill into the Miraflores district, where most of the tourist hotels and shops are located. I wasn't too impressed with Miraflores, either - at least what I saw from the car at 2am. But fortunately our hotel was located on a quiet residential street, we checked in, and were in bed by 2:25am.