Perú 6/16/2010-6/17/2010: Tingo to Huánuco to Lima

Photos are here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188367&id=580751501

For our last day in Tingo Maria, we planned on going to the Casa de Niños for lunch, then saying good bye to the kids and heading out to Huánuco.

There was some complication about getting luggage to Lima from Tingo Maria. You see, the plane from Huánuco to Lima is so small, we simply can't put all our luggage on it. We planned on sending it by bus through the mountains and getting it when we got to Lima (and living out of carry-on luggage for a day). We got the luggage to the bus station and they told us the buses weren't going to Lima due to a miner's strike in one of the towns there that has the roads blocked and last time they did this they killed anyone who tried to pass... with machetes. Don't worry, they said, the strike will be over by the 26th for the San Juan Bautista Festival. Just stay until then! Tempting, but no thanks.

One of the mototaxi drivers told us that he knew a pilot for Cielos Andinos, a cargo-only airline that flies out of Tingo Maria twice a week. The Tingo airport is currently closed to passenger planes - only cargo and the military use it. We stopped at Cielos Andinos and they told us it was too late to get anything on the next several flights out.

The next plan was to go to the Tingo airport and beg them to take it, even though there's nothing in it for them. While the runway there is dirt, the actual buildings are much nicer and larger than Huánuco's airport. However, the military guys with shotguns and AK-47s at the locked gates didn't seem very promising. That didn't work out either, but at least we tried.

Plan D was to take the luggage from Tingo Maria to Huánuco in taxis (car-taxis, not mototaxis) and get them to Lima through that airport. JD and Charo took them and we were to take more taxis after lunch and meet them there. Lunch was good and goodbyes were emotional, as expected, but then I got to ride back to the hotel on the back of Pastor Victor's motorcycle, which is a pretty cool way to see the city. Then we headed out in taxis through the mountains to Huánuco (the strike is between there and Lima, not Tingo and Huánuco) and that was a lovely ride as always. We got there and discovered that the strike had ended so we sent the luggage to Lima from there.

We met up with JD and Charo and had dinner with Kurtis and Theresa Smith and their kids, some missionaries from the World Mission Prayer League (http://wmpl.org for more info) who had been there for a month and were really glad to hear other people speaking English. It turns out Kurtis is a prog rock fan so he said he was going to check out ProgPositivity Radio.

We had some free time that evening so I got my show set up to run remotely (I didn't get to listen to it though, oh well) then went to bed. We woke up this morning to a lovely day in Huánuco. After breakfast we were able to walk around the city and talk to people. It is said that Huánuco has the best climate in the world, something like San Diego. It sure was pleasant there today. I could definitely live here if I had to. Or if God calls me to. ;-)

We headed out to the airport and flew to Lima. I was pretty tired so I slept for most of it, then a little more during the bus trip to the bus station to get our luggage (which had arrived in time, praise the Lord) and back to the Hotel Santa Cruz, where I am now.

We ate dinner in the very nice part of town - Larcomar, Miraflores. Then we looked at some of the shops there and walked back to the hotel - probably about a two mile walk, but it felt good. One thing that we noticed that's different here is that the people own dogs as pets here, whereas they're just strays in Tingo - I'm not sure about Huánuco. It's "winter" here, which means that it's about 60 degrees Fahrenheit and most of the Peruvians (and their dogs!) have their winter coats and hats on. I'm getting a sore throat though, not sure what from. Perhaps it's the pollution. I'll see if a good night's sleep helps at all.