Today, and all

I know there is a big chunk of the story missing, the bits about arriving in Peru for the first time and our adjustment to life here.  I will catch up on this, promise.

Sam and I have been back in Peru this week after a two-week trip to Dallas. We are settling back in and waiting for Stu to return from Chile and join us. Sam is very happy to be back – he missed his friends, and his playground, and his bed. For me, it’s not so easy.

This morning I woke up about 8:15 to the sound of Sam shouting to me over the baby monitor: “Mama…mama…wake up!  Mama…come here now!”

As I got up I realized that we probably needed to catch the bus to Lima today in order to get more water (and beer, but I’ll let you decide which is more important) because we won’t be able to go again until Monday.

Deciding at the last minute meant getting ready in a hurry. I threw Sam and I into the shower, dressed, shoved our breakfast into a backpack, grabbed the stroller and carseat, and rushed out the door to get to the bus stop by 9. 

Halfway there one of the drivers ran over to me.

“Senora, lada lada lada NO BUS lada lada lada lada.”

I understood enough and turned around towards home. Grumpily.

Later, I found out that there were major strike activities planned for today with tire burnings, marches and demonstrations expected along the Panamerican highway so the buses were restriced due to security reasons. In fact, the early morning bus from our camp, filled with the guys going to work, had to turn back after it was set upon and had things thrown at it.

(There is a fly on my leg, it will not leave me alone. I did not miss the flies, did not want to come back to all these flies. Have killed over 10 of them today, one was especially messy. This one does not have long to live.)

The fun part was that Sam got to play with some of his “uncles” and his godfather, since they were home for the morning. Everything cleared up before noon, which is good, but still no bus action for me today.

It is very quiet here, almost stunningly so. I was prepared for it, so I thought, because I knew the summer locals weren’t coming back after Easter, but it feels really bare here. Imagine that Sam and I have gone into the movie “The Shining”  again, and we’re holding up the hotel for the winter. The halls are empty, folks.

After lunch, I put a bag of popcorn into the microwave and stepped out the door to put laundry on. Burned the heck out of it (the popcorn, of course).

So, I promptly put another bag of popcorn on, popped into the loo, and burned this second bag worse than the first.

Ah well.