Friday was Good Friday, so all banks and most businesses were closed. Saturday, many businesses were open. Patty and I went with Jim and Marcie for brunch at Starbucks. We said our goodbyes, with promises to visit with them when we go to Portland.
We promised our son that we would look for a bike shirt for him. We did not find a bike shop within walking distance, but we did find a Triathlon Sport shop in the same shopping center as the Starbucks. Unfortunately, they did not have the local bike shirts that Ben would want.
We went back to the hotel, checked out of our room by noon as required, then relaxed in the hotel lounge/tv room on the ground floor. Around 4:00, we went down the street to the local Norky's. They specialize in pollo a la brasa and other Peruvian dishes. They are a chain and they are not used to tourists. This was fine with us, as with pictures and my limited Spanish, we were able to order a nice dinner. Patty had pecheuga de pollo light (chicken breast with salad topped with avacado slices) and I had the regular which included fries and salad. And of course, our favorite beer was served, Cusqueña.
Back at the hotel, our prearranged van ride to the hotel arrived a little early at 7:30 (we had planned to go at 8:00). The woman who owns and runs the company was there with the driver. She is a friend of Zenon and was wonderful to all our group. I made sure to give her a nice tip.
Then we checked our luggage and got our boarding passes, went through security and immigration, then went to the Sumaq VIP lounge to wait for our flight. They had free drinks and snacks. Around 11:00, our flight was called. The plane was full. The flight to Houston was uneventful - I slept through dinner and Patty slept through breakfast. Going through Immigration, Customs and TSA was quick and easy since we had Global Entry acquired earlier this year (this was our first time using it). Of the 30 minutes it took for everything, the longest delay was waiting for our luggage to come off the plane - no wait at the Global Entry kiosks, no wait at Immigration and a special lane for us at Customs, which allowed to go past everyone else.
Then we spent a couple of hours in the United Club with coffee and snacks, then our flight to Chicago. We had a nice breakfast. We got into Chicago early and walked over to the gate where our daughter-in-law Martha and Martha's mom Anne were landing - they had just spent the week in Portland, OR finding an apartment for Ben and Martha. We visited with them, left Anne at her gate, then went with Martha to her gate - we chatted with her until she was called for her flight. When then went to the United Club until our flight to Burlington. After leaving the hotel at 7:30 Saturday evening, we got home about 6:00 Sunday. After dropping off our bags, I headed out to the grocery store to get some supplies and to get dinner - only to realize that it was Easter Sunday and everything was closed. I was able to get some frozen pizza and beer at Gracies, but that was it.
This brings our Peruvian adventure to an end. It was an amazing experience. I just wish we could have done more for families we worked with.
We promised our son that we would look for a bike shirt for him. We did not find a bike shop within walking distance, but we did find a Triathlon Sport shop in the same shopping center as the Starbucks. Unfortunately, they did not have the local bike shirts that Ben would want.
We went back to the hotel, checked out of our room by noon as required, then relaxed in the hotel lounge/tv room on the ground floor. Around 4:00, we went down the street to the local Norky's. They specialize in pollo a la brasa and other Peruvian dishes. They are a chain and they are not used to tourists. This was fine with us, as with pictures and my limited Spanish, we were able to order a nice dinner. Patty had pecheuga de pollo light (chicken breast with salad topped with avacado slices) and I had the regular which included fries and salad. And of course, our favorite beer was served, Cusqueña.
Back at the hotel, our prearranged van ride to the hotel arrived a little early at 7:30 (we had planned to go at 8:00). The woman who owns and runs the company was there with the driver. She is a friend of Zenon and was wonderful to all our group. I made sure to give her a nice tip.
Then we checked our luggage and got our boarding passes, went through security and immigration, then went to the Sumaq VIP lounge to wait for our flight. They had free drinks and snacks. Around 11:00, our flight was called. The plane was full. The flight to Houston was uneventful - I slept through dinner and Patty slept through breakfast. Going through Immigration, Customs and TSA was quick and easy since we had Global Entry acquired earlier this year (this was our first time using it). Of the 30 minutes it took for everything, the longest delay was waiting for our luggage to come off the plane - no wait at the Global Entry kiosks, no wait at Immigration and a special lane for us at Customs, which allowed to go past everyone else.
Then we spent a couple of hours in the United Club with coffee and snacks, then our flight to Chicago. We had a nice breakfast. We got into Chicago early and walked over to the gate where our daughter-in-law Martha and Martha's mom Anne were landing - they had just spent the week in Portland, OR finding an apartment for Ben and Martha. We visited with them, left Anne at her gate, then went with Martha to her gate - we chatted with her until she was called for her flight. When then went to the United Club until our flight to Burlington. After leaving the hotel at 7:30 Saturday evening, we got home about 6:00 Sunday. After dropping off our bags, I headed out to the grocery store to get some supplies and to get dinner - only to realize that it was Easter Sunday and everything was closed. I was able to get some frozen pizza and beer at Gracies, but that was it.
This brings our Peruvian adventure to an end. It was an amazing experience. I just wish we could have done more for families we worked with.
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