July 11 - Lima, Peru

Having spent the last 11 day's in and out of the truck and small towns, it was nice to be in Miraflores, Lima close to good restaurants, hot water, properly tiled bathrooms with toilet seats and heated rooms.  I'm not complaining and not all of our hotels/hostels have been bad...but it was nice to have two nights in one city.  Just being able to sleep in, drink coffee and not hear the rumble of the diesel engine....

We splurged on a great lunch at Astrid y Gaston and enjoyed some fine piscos, great wine and excellent food.  The kids left hungry but we didn't really care ... (and yes we feed them later)

With the help of our good friend Rafael in Brasilia we were put in touch with Guillermo of El Taller Motors in Barranco, Lima.  Lets just say I was treated like family and was assured the truck would be returned by the end of the day.  They changed the oil/filter, balanced & aligned the wheels and did a general inspection.  Unfortunately or fortunately...they did not find the source of the squeak coming from the rear right side.  Of course when I was driving the truck to the shop there was no noise.  They checked all the breaks, rear half axles, rear wheels, bearings and suspension and everything was fine... perhaps it's "fixed itself"... but probably not.  They also washed and vacuumed 11 day's worth of dirt/ mud/ grime.  Thanks Guillermo for the excellent service and quick turn around!

I have had the opportunity to drive in large South American cities such as Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile. This was my first time driving in Lima and by far it was the most interesting, maddening and stressful.  It's apparent there are way too many cars on the road....and every single one of them insist on using their horn.  Drivers also like to block intersections because that helps with the flow of traffic...not! They turn left or right from the opposite right or left lane...all the time... turning lanes are meaningless, stop lights are mere suggestion of an intersection ahead...want to change lanes...just honk ... passing someone ...honk again... grid locked in an intersection with no where to go....they honk.  However, in all this madness and in the hour lost of my life trying to navigate 4.8 km...I witnessed  calm professional traffic police using their whistles and hands to control, manage and keep the traffic moving...even though the drivers just kept honking.