Leaving Peru for good.

 I knew that eventually the time would come when I had to turn my back on South America and return to the UK, but did not expect it to happen like this. I had been in Peru now for over a year, instead of the usual 6 months, lockdown and curfew regulations were still in place (and being largely ignored by large numbers of people, resulting in Peru having the highest mortality rates in the world (per 100,000 people).

When I first started my annual visits to Peru I rented a small apartment, and had used the same one for 6 of my 8 visits, and although it was "furnished" I had accumulated a lot of personal items over the years, especially things in the kitchen, as well as my motorbike - which was still in pieces with the mechanic! I needed to divest myself of all of these things, so started sorting out the things I needed/wanted to keep from those I would be giving away. I could have sold some of them, but decided that there were people who could benefit far more from receiving these items, than the monetary value I could receive. Some I would like to have kept, like my fishing tackle, but, apart, from the weight of these, I was pretty sure that my beach fishing days were over due to the lack of a shoulderblade on my dominant arm, so these were bundled up and given away.

Oli, the motorbike, was a problem. It still was not running, and the mechanic did not appear to have a clue how to rectify this, so in the end I gave it to Carmen's (my guardian angel) son. I had spent a lot of money on new parts during my current stay in Huanchaco - new fuel tank, new seat, loads of new engine parts - but felt I couldn't sell a non-runner that might never run again, so spoke to Carmen's son and he agreed to take on the project. As well as the bike, there were loads of extras like tools, crash helmet and the two bolt-on panniers. Ironically it took his mechanic only a few days to get Oli running again, but I was pleased it had gone to a new home.

I gave Carmen first choice on everything else, but did give a lot of things to Manuel and Valeria (including the fishing gear), who were the first friends I made in Peru, and who used to look after all my things when I went back to Brazil every year. It still left me with a lot of things and I was pleased that my ticket back to the UK included 2 pieces of checked luggage.

Throughout all this I was still having the wound on my shoulder dressed twice a day by Carmen, and as the flight date approached I realised that the wound would still be open by the time I left. Due to Peru being on the UK's "Red list" I needed to stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days on arrival, and duly notified them I would need daily treatment on my shoulder, but for the flight itself (it was going to take around 24 hours until I was in the hotel) Carmen simply put extra padding on the wound, and taped it up to prevent any leaks.

The day of departure arrived, and it was quite an emotional affair. Carmen and her son took me to the airport, and the farewell was difficult, especially as we both knew it was probably going to be our last meeting. Trujillo to Lima was uneventful, but I had to collect my baggage there to check in for the next leg as it was a different airline. This was unusual as generally if you book a trip through one company (in this instance LATAM) your baggage is checked in until your final destination, but I collected my bags and joined the check-in queue. I had a couple of hours until the flight so was not too concerned, but soon realised that the Iberia check-in queue was not moving. It turned out that their system had crashed and they could not process any tickets!

After an hour in a static queue, and a long way from the desk, I started to get a bit worried, and there was still no sign of any activity. As boarding time approached we still were not moving, and I managed to get the attention of an airport worker who simply told me not to worry, and they were dealing with it. Departure time came and went, and the information board still showed boarding, but finally we started moving slowly. I eventually managed to check in 90 minutes after my flight should have departed, and as then rushed to immigration by a member of staff, and straight on to the plane, and we took off a few minutes later, almost 2 hours late.

I realised that the 2 hours I was supposed to have between flights in Madrid was probably also now going to be impossible, as, although I did not have to collect my baggage, I did have to find my way to the departure lounge for the Heathrow flight. I also had hotel quarantine transport booked based on that flight data, so was worried about the implications there, too. As it turned out I managed to get to the departure gate with minutes to spare, despite a slight delay while they checked all my Covid paperwork, and landed in London on schedule.

There was a special immigration "lane" for "Red list" passengers so I joined that and there were only a handful of passengers ahead of me, but only one immigration official on this queue, and he left his post when I reached the front of the queue and disappeared for 30 minutes! Eventually I asked another official what was happening, and he called someone to process me, and I was escorted to baggage reclaim by a "quarantine" official. Of course my baggage was not there, and in hindsight I should have seen this - there had been no time in Lima for my bags to get on the Madrid flight, and again in Madrid there would have been no time to get them on the Heathrow flight! I was taken to the reclaim desk, but, other than giving me a small pack with some toiletries and a t-shirt, the staff refused to process me as I was now "in quarantine"! They did give me a link to the claim section on their website.

I was then taken to a waiting area for quarantine transport, by this stage I was stressed out, tired, and aching all over. Suddenly a customs officer appeared alongside me and wanted to check all my hand luggage!! She was very interested in my blood sugar reading log - I suppose all the lists of numbers (in a plain notebook) looked suspicious, and then was further intrigued by my collection of sim cards (I had Peru, Brazil and an old UK one, too!), but finally was satisfied I was not carrying anything. About 30 minutes later I was on the bus - the only passenger in a 40-seater bus - heading for my hotel, and was processed there before being shown my room. I asked about getting the dressing changed as it was now well over 24 hours old, but they knew nothing about this, and did not know what to do, but suggested I call reception and ask for assistance.

To be continued ...

The "joys" of apartment living!

In Brazil I own my own house - the emphasis is on "house", as it is a detached property on a 690 sq metre plot, so there is a nice garden buffer between me and my closest neighbours. There is also a street between me and the next house on two sides, and the only other adjacent house is below and to the side, so, although they extended close to the property line, not too close to be a nuisance. It means that life there is reasonably quiet, most of the time.
in Peru, however, where I spend the other 6 months each year, I have to rent. I do have certain requirements from the property I rent, apart from price being a major factor, primarily that it has secure off-road parking for my motorbike, a kitchen with a proper cooker (many rentals here are "holiday" lets so may only have a twin-burner hotplate), and include electricity, water and internet in the price. It also, obviously, must be furnished! As I only stay for 6 months I cannot negotiate my own utility bills, as minimum contracts are usually 12 months, and clearly having my own furniture is not really an option - even though renting an unfurnished place would be cheaper. I do have quite a lot of my own things which I store, along with my bike, with a friend here - kitchen utensils, bedding, towels, and so on - as the supplied equipment with apartments is usually either "old" or inadequate.
The first year I was here I was assisted in finding somewhere by the charity I was volunteering for - in the case of most volunteers the charity sets up the accommodation beforehand, but I was left to look at their selection once I arrived. I also had to make a quick decision on the only place they had found, though I had a couple more lined up myself to look at, as the landlady had someone else interested, and for the most part I am quite happy with my choice. It is only half a block from the beach on a fairly quiet street, and is a small building with only 7 apartments, but with two separate entrances, so only 3 accessed from the same side as mine.
The apartment is one bed-roomed, but quite spacious, with a small kitchen, and a large lounge-dining room and a balcony, plus access to the roof terrace, where the washing lines are. The kitchen was not very well equipped, though did have a full cooker, so I bought some of my own things, like a set of crockery and cutlery, and kitchen knives, and a lot of the general furnishings, provided bedding and towels were pretty old - the pillows were a little musty so I bought some of those too!
Most of the other apartments were occupied by short-term tenants, and though at times a little noisy, that first year was not too bad. At the end of my stay I asked if I could book again for the following year, but the landlady was reluctant to commit so far ahead in case she lost a permanent lease by accepting my booking, so asked if I would confirm closer to my arrival date in 6 months time. However by then the apartment was already taken until a month after my arrival so I had to look elsewhere.
Although there were quite a few online adverts for apartments getting a response from the advertisers was more difficult - with many not responding, and some of the email addresses bouncing back as "unknown" - so in the end I arrived the following March, booked into a hostel for a week and started apartment hunting! As it was just before Easter there was not much available, particularly for the 6 month period I required, but eventually I responded to a large advert outside a new building and they had a brand-new 3 bedroomed apartment available. It was much bigger - and more expensive - that I needed, but was beautifully appointed, if a little further from the beach, so I took it for the full 6 months. The English-speaking landlord gave me a special price based on 6 months occupancy, and a single occupancy rebate, but it was still a lot more than I had paid the previous year. One downside to this apartment was that other apartment in my floor, which was going to be the owner/landlord's apartment, was not yet finished, so there was a lot of construction noise for the next two months!
At the end of my second stay in Peru I started looking for somewhere for the following year - the apartment I was in was great, but really too expensive, so I needed something smaller and cheaper. I looked at two other one-bedroomed apartments nearby, one advertised parking available, but when I asked about it they said the parking was already  taken - by their car! The other also advertised parking, but she said is was "on-street" and safe, and also the kitchen was outside the apartment, which was essentially a large bed-sit with a bathroom and balcony, across a hallway and without a door, so easily accessible by the other apartments, though she assured me it was just for "my" apartment! I declined both of these! I contacted the landlady of the apartment I had been in the first year, and she said she could only "guarantee" availability for me if I paid a deposit in advance, which in the end I did.
So year 3 I was back in the same apartment, and found that the crockery I had bought before was almost all broken, the pillows replaced with more musty ones, and I had to replace a few more things. Apart from that I spent another agreeable year in Peru, though the neighbours seemed a little noisier. Year 4 was a similar story - I again had to replace some equipment, as the supplied things were getting more decrepit, and more pillows!! The same goes for year 5 - though two apartments were now taken by long-term foreign tenants, and there was a crazy lady in the apartment below me, who blamed me for any and all noise in the building (I am like a mouse as I am only too conscious that I am sharing a small space with others and try to keep as quiet as possible), and used to harangue me often, despite me trying to convince her that it wasn't me! Eventually the landlady had to evict here as she was fighting and swearing with everyone!
Towards the end of year 5 the landlady informed me that there would not be any parking the following year as she was looking to rent the whole ground floor, including the parking courtyard, to the mini-market next door. Year 5 had been particularly noisy, too, not only the crazy lady below, but also a large group on the ground floor, and the young lady above me made quite a lot of noise (that I was being blamed for by crazy lady!), so I was not too disappointed that I would have to look elsewhere, and, in fact, the landlord from year 2 had a small apartment available, that I booked in advance!
The only "snag" with this apartment is that it was on the 5th floor (we would call it 4th, as the ground floor here is the 1st), and the stairs were a bit of a problem for my advancing years, but it was again very well appointed, though secure parking was a few blocks away, and had great views over the town. Unfortunately it was not going to be available this year, year 7, upon my arrival, and the only thing he had available was a 3 bedroomed apartment in a different building (owned by someone else but managed by him) which I could rent for 6 weeks until he had something smaller available after Easter. It was again going to be on the 5th floor, but was a lot more expensive, too, that I was willing to pay, and I wasn't that keen on moving during my stay, so I started looking elsewhere again.
There was a place I had ridden past often during my stays and I found an online advert for it - it looked nice, even though it was located in a campsite so I thought could be a bit noisy, so I contacted them and booked it for my 7th year stay in Peru. On arrival, however, they showed me to a completely different apartment - the one I had booked was not available, but they had others, which were open-plan bedsits, with a hotplate rather than a cooker, and were totally unacceptable. I had just spent over 30 hours travelling to Peru, including an overnight stay in Lima airport, and found myself without a place to stay! In desperation I called the landlord from the previous year and his wife said they might have something, so I caught a passing taxi and went to his building.
His wife (he was away) showed me another building they were managing, and another 3-bedroomed apartment, again fairly new and very well appointed, but again quite expensive! I could stay there for 2 weeks, but it was booked after that, though they would have an apartment in their building 10 days after that, meaning I needed to find somewhere for the intervening days! This was also a 5th floor apartment, and this year I was struggling even more with the stairs (bad knee, old motorbike injury, and bad ankle), so felt I needed to look for a lower floor solution.
I contacted my landlady from before and she told me "my" old apartment would be available 10 days after I moved out of the one I was in, but that she had something I could stay in until then. So I moved back into the building I had been in 5 times before. The mini-market move hadn't materialised so the parking was also available, and 10 days after moving into a large bedsit I was back in my "old" apartment!
Yet again the equipment was woefully inadequate, and as far as I can tell there is nothing new since my first stay here 7 years ago! So much so that I stored all her kitchen equipment (utensils, crockery, etc.) and am using all of my own, and again had to buy new pillows. She seems to have an endless supply of old, lumpy, musty pillows! The main gate to the parking is damaged too, though I have told her about it, and it is quite difficult to get the up-and-over gate to stay open so I can get the bike in and out! 3 months in and still nothing has been done about that!
This year there are only 2 apartments occupied besides mine, both long-term by young ladies, though both now have boyfriends staying - one above me, and one below me. The young lady below has a dog with her, and until the boyfriend moved in I never heard her - literally I could not tell if she was home or not, and never even heard the door - however now both doors are slammed shut on entry and exit! Similarly the people upstairs - the apartment door is slammed hard, sometimes more than once as they appear to have trouble closing it, on entry/exit, and just this morning (at 07.30) it was slammed 4 times in the space of 5 minutes! It appeared they were taking some things downstairs one flight then going back for more, and each time the door was slammed on entry/exit, which is several times a day! The door to the street is slammed by her too, and occasionally not even shut properly so the lock doesn't catch, leaving the property unsecured! I manage to close both my apartment door and the street door without resorting to slamming them, but then I have always been considerate towards others.
I really like this apartment - it is spacious, in a good location close to the beach where I take my daily walks, and has secure parking for my bike, but I just wish that fellow tenants would show as much consideration to other building users as I do. It is the only downside to living here, especially since I am now using my own belongings in the kitchen!! With only 2 months left this year till I return to Brazil my thoughts are turning to 2020, and whether I try and re-book, or see if I can find something quieter!!

Home comforts

Huanchaco, Peru

I own my house in Brazil, but do not have permanent residence there so can only stay - as a tourist - for 6 months of the year. The remaining 6 months I stay in a small seaside town in Peru, Huanchaco, where I rent an apartment for the duration of my stay.
The first year here (7 years ago now!) I found a decent, spacious one-bedroomed apartment close to the seafront in a nice location which was well within my budget, so rented that for the 6 months. The apartment has a separate bedroom, small kitchen, and a large sitting/dining room, leading to a good balcony, there is also a laundry area (hand washing sink), and a staircase leading to the shared roof terrace, which has a drying area.
The cooker and fridge were old, but serviceable, as really were all the furnishings, and the provided sheets (one set) and towels (one bath and one hand) were again just "adequate". The kitchen equipment, however, was dismal! One plate, cup, knife, fork, spoon, and so on, and not very good quality.
I decided that I needed to buy what I required, so made a trip to the local supermarket and stocked up with a set of cutlery, a set of crockery, a set of glassware, storage containers, some kitchen utensils, a kitchen knife set, and a few extra odds and ends (tea towels and the like!) - they were from the supermarket's economy range so not that expensive, but did make the apartment feel more like home!
Over the course of my stay I also bought some new pillows (the provided ones were lumpy and smelled a little musty), another set of towels, and a sheet set, as well as a new frying pan! I had met a lovely Peruvian family while here, who as well as two of their own children were fostering 6 others, and got to know them all very well, and as my departure approached I asked if I could leave some belongings with the, and would collect them on my return. (I did pay them a small storage fee, which helped them enormously, but they were glad to help) I packed up some of the new things I had bought, but did leave the crockery, the pillows and the frying pan in the apartment.
The following year the apartment was not available until a month after I arrived so I managed to find a different one. This was a brand new building, and I was the first tenant in that apartment - which was three-bedroomed, so much too big (and expensive!) for me on my own - which was beautifully appointed! The furnishings were top quality, included two 48" flat screen TV's (one in the lounge and the other in the master bedroom), and the kitchen items brand new and more than adequate - and included a rice cooker, liquidiser and microwave. The only downside was that the rent was almost double what I had paid the previous year, and ate into my savings.
At the end of my stay I went to see the previous landlady to see if the first apartment would be available the following year, and she hummed and harred and said she could not guarantee it that far ahead in case she got a long-term tenancy offer, but if I cared to pay a deposit now she would ensure it was available - so that is what I did.
Upon my return I was surprised to find that almost all the crockery I had left had disappeared - she said it had been broken by intervening tenants - and the pillows were also gone, with lumpy ones back in their place! The frying pan was also battered out of shape, so utterly unusable! So once I had reclaimed my belongings from my friends here so could see what I needed it was another trip to the supermarket - more pillows, glasses, mugs, frying pan and a kettle, as the handle was falling off the one supplied! I also bought some cushions - the first year I was there I was impressed by the number of cushions scattered around the living room seating, but this time there were just two lumpy ones, so I bought 4 more!
The plug for the laundry sink had also vanished, and despite my and her efforts we could not find a suitable replacement (it was a non-standard sized brass one!), so I bought some large bowls to place in the sink and do my washing.
At the end of that stay I again had to pay a deposit to guarantee it was available the following year, and yet again on my return many of the things I had left had disappeared or were damaged - bowls for laundry, pillows (more lumpy ones had materialised!), frying pan, crockery numbers had diminished again, glassware, mugs. She told me that the other tenants had broken things, but that as there were still "sufficient" for a single tenant she did not replace anything! This time I bought a better quality frying pan, and this one got added to my stored items, and not left behind!
It was a similar situation the following year as well, and, of course, things like the cooker and fridge were also in a poorer state of repair every time I returned! You may ask why I kept returning to this apartment, but it was a matter of convenience, as the location was ideal, there was secure parking for my motorbike, the price was reasonable (though the rent did go up every year!), and I had looked around and not been able to find anything else that ticked all the boxes!
As the end of my 4th stay in the apartment, and 5th in Peru, the landlady told me that there may not be any parking the following year as she was looking to let the whole ground floor as a grocery shop! I was as much concerned about noise as losing the parking, so decided to look elsewhere for the following year. The landlord I had stayed with during year 2 had built a few more small apartments so I went to see him, and provisionally booked with him, though the apartment I really wanted was unavailable, but could become free, so we left it like that.
Once back in Brazil I started worrying that if I didn't make a firm booking I could find myself without a place to stay, so booked a different small one-bedroomed apartment with him. Fortunately, though, shortly after that the preferred apartment, on the top floor, became available so I swapped to that one. Again the apartments were beautifully finished and appointed, and had access to a washing machine, but the 5 flights of stairs were a challenge to me at my advancing age, especially on arrival/departure carrying luggage, and with the weekly shopping!
At the end of year 6 I asked about availability for the next year, and unfortunately he already had nothing until 6 weeks after my arrival (there were by now 4 long-term tenants in the building), but offered me a 3 bed-roomed apartment in a building nearby he was managing for a friend for the interim. I was not enamoured with the idea of having to move, and also the rental, albeit only for 6 weeks, was very high, so I said I would think about it and get back to him, however two weeks later he emailed me the large apartment was no longer available!
I did manage to find and book another smaller apartment with someone else, but upon my arrival was shown something totally different to the one advertised, and totally unsuitable, so was at my wits end - especially after over 30 hours travel with no sleep! I called the previous landlord out of desperation, and he did have another (3 bedroomed!) apartment available (another he was managing!), but only for 3 weeks, but should have something else available in his own building after that, but that might also be 3 bedrooms! I was once more on the 5th floor, and this year was struggling much more with the stairs, so again reverted to calling my old landlady - the grocery shop idea hadn't materialised and she had been messaging me to see if I still needed somewhere. "My" apartment would only be available in 10 days, but she did have a bedsit that I could have in the meanwhile, so I took that.
Once again the lumpy pillows were back, and this time the pots and pans in the kitchen were in a poor state, so again it was a trip to the supermarket! The bowls I had previously bought for the laundry area were gone, and still no plug, so I decided this year to take my stuff to a laundry for cleaning rather than buy more bowls and buckets! The bathroom and kitchen, though, had waste bins that were so tiny (and damaged in the case of the bathroom) so I replaced them as well, and bought a set of saucepans, including a kettle, and even a draining board, and chopping boards - as well as, of course, more pillows!
Upon arrival all the provided cutlery and kitchen utensils go into a plastic bag, where they remain until I leave, and this time the pots and pans joined them too - so basically the only "supplied" things I am using this year are plates, everything else (mugs, glasses, cereal bowls, cutlery, kitchen knives, kitchen utensils, and all the pots and pans) is mine! Wear and tear on her things is minimal when I am here - I still have my own sheets and towels, which I alternate with hers when they are being washed - and I don't even use the supplied TV as I use the internet for my entertainment (in fact she removes the TV if I am not going to use it!!) - I must be the perfect tenant (I even pay the rent early if she is here a day or so before the due date to save her making a special trip out!), as I even do small repairs myself (in the past I have replaced a broken light switch - was broken when I arrived - and a leaky toilet valve!), but I treat this place as my "home away from home" and do like to maintain certain standards of comfort while I am here!