My Last Day

Well, the day has come. My very last day in Peru. It's only 7:30 pm and I still have until midnight to entertain myself before my flight leaves for NYC. I won't be arriving in Boston until after 12:30 in the afternoon tomorrow. I think I'm ready to come home. I've been to Starbucks twice today, if that says anything.

I woke up this morning and walked down to the beach to Larcomar, a shopping area that overlooks the ocean. That was where I had my first Starbucks visit. I couldn't help it. I was already making my transition to going back to the States in my head...and I really wanted a Chai latte! After breakfast I think I may have stood looking at the ocean for nearly an hour. The whales are migrating north this time of year and I could see them from the beach! This wasn't the first time this has happened, a few years ago when we were in Ecuador, Phil and I were sitting with his cousins along the beach having ceviche and we could see the whales from the shore. It never gets old. It is amazing to see everytime! So between that, the paragliders and the surfers, there was a lot to keep me entertained.

The rest of the day was spent walking and walking and looking at store after store in Miraflores, of shoes and handbags, none of which I was going to buy (there are a lot of those stores here) and stopping to eat at a cafe for a late lunch. I walked for as long as I could and then when I needed a rest I would find another cafe to sit for a while. That's where Starbucks visit #2 happened. And then as it got dark I made my way to the Parque Central to watch the people dancing in the park. A nice crowd had gathered and it was fun to see so many people dancing! I think I like Lima best at night when all of the lights come on. I will post photos tomorrow so you can see how lovely it was.

So now here I am, back at my hostel, wondering what I'm going to do for another hour and a half before it's time to head to the airport to then wait for another hour and a half! I can't possibly eat any more food...and I don't need to spend anymore money...maybe I will go play with the parrot who lives here in the hostel :)

There have been so many of you who have been supportive of me and my need to take this trip. Especially Mr. Phillip who never once hesitated to tell me that I should do this. I am a very lucky girl to have a husband like that. It was really hard to be away from him this long. Thank you Lizbeth and Michael for taking such good care of Gomez! Thank you Peaps for being such a good Peruvian/Awamaki consultant, tour guide and roommate. Thank you Mare and Phil for coming to Peru too for our Machu Picchu adventure. Thank you Chris and family for going out of your way to host me in your home. Thank you Zellers for the same tremendous generosity. And a big thank you to Miss Caroline who had to go above and beyond her job description to cover for me at work while I was out of the office- As far as I'm concerned, Caroline, you are now an Associate Producer! I feel like I'm accepting an award here, with all of these thank yous...but basically I just wanted to say that I acknowledge the fact that I had to lean on many of you in order to take this trip, and I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for reading this. Tomorrow I will upload photos for all of my July posts so that you have a visual to go along with my blabbering. Wish me luck in my self-entertainment over the next several hours! I will see some of you very soooooon!