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I discovered late last night that my flight to Peru was not going to go as smoothly as hoped.
I had 90 minutes to make a connection in Bogota - not so bad - except that in Bogoto I had to change airports!
 
Yikes!
 
So .. I woke up super early this morning, got to the airport in Medellin 4 hours before my flight, and barely made an earlier flight to Bogota. Took a lot of talking to a lot of people with a lot of lauguage difficulties. But it worked out in the end.

There are no words to describe Colombian Airport Security procedures - trying to leave the country.
 
They don't care about any of the things the Americans and the TSA are paranoid about. No concern over liquids, no need to remove laptops and take off your shoes .. none of that. But I still went through 20 security check-points. Every time you turn another corner there is someone there ready to pat you down - and one of them, I'm sure, was just feeling me up. I'm wondering if he even worked for Airport Security.
 
I met many nice drug-dogs, got the phone number of a pretty immigration girl, and learned that there is absolutely no point in putting neatly folded clothes in a suitcase before going through a Colombian drug-inspection.
 
I also had to untie and re-tie my left shoe for one of the security guys. Have no idea what that was about.
Upshot of it all, however, is that I AM in Lima Peru tonight.

On the plane from Bogota I sat beside a seemingly nice lady named Luz (pron. Looz - as in: "be careful not to lose your chastity"). A Lima-born now living in New Jersey.
 
She is visiting Lima for her Father's 75th birthday and offered me a ride to the hotel with her family. I accepted, knowing that taking a Taxi in this city is a bit risky.
 
Not nearly as risky, it turns out, as riding in an old broken-down Volkswagon Van with Luz, her 8 suitcases, and the 9 family members who came to meet her at the airport. That's a total of 11 people, 9 suitcases, and 1 laptop - all in one old Volkswagon Van with a sliding door that's rusted shut!
 
And guess who was driving.
Yup. The 75-year-old dad - blind and deaf - but that's ok, he wasn't even trying to look at the road.
Spent the whole time looking at Luz and me in the middle seat.!
 
45 minutes through the congested streets of Lima - with everyone driving Loco - packed into the hot van with suitcases stacked 4-high on my left, and Luz (also stacked) on my right. Well - mostly on my right lap actually.
 
I have absolutely no idea how we made it! None. It doesn't seem possible!
 
She offered to come have breakfast with me tomorrow and then give me a ride back.
I'm a little worried about what kind of a ride she has in mind so I think I will take my chances with the homicidal taxi drivers.

Peru's National Drink
Pisco Sour
Traditional Lomo Saltado I had a very traditional Peruvian dinner tonight. Something called Lomo Saltado (suggested by Luz). I'm glad Luz told me about this dish (and wrote it down form me) - because there was no English on the menu. I called the waiter over (who spoke no English) and showed him the paper Luz had written on.
 
It's hard to believe that this dish is from Peru - but I have confirmation that it is very traditional. It's braised beef chunks, rice with soya sauce, French fries, and a few vegetables that I could not identify. Was a tasty combination.
 
The drink you see is a Pisco Sour. A very traditional drink in Peru. Pisco is the local hard-liquor - a kind of Moonshine. To make a Pisco Sour (piece-co-sour) you whip together a little lemon juice, a lot of Pisco, some sugar and some egg-white. It is actually delightful - in a "gasoline never tasted so good" kind of way.