Memories of Another Moving Adventure

After unpacking more today and trying to sort out our mess, I took a break and sketched. I was "talking" on the Scavenger Hunt about shipping things and it reminded me of our arrival in Peru in 1983. I was not thrilled to move to Lima. Every time we had been at the airport it was foggy, humid, gloomy and dusty. Yes, dusty in the humidity. Lima is on the desert seacoast. It never really rains. The city sits in a bowl and the fog hangs in and it mists. The streets and plants are wet but the dust blows in from the surrounding sand hills. It was the only place we lived where I had dusty mildew.

The temperature was about the same all year round as I recall. Around 65 degrees in the daytime and 50 at night. I could be wrong, but that is what I remember. (I looked it up and I'm not to far off considering my memory. ) I'm getting ahead of myself though.

We arrived in August. We found a house quickly near the school. It was a two story house that touched up against the houses on either side with a small backyard and tiny courtyard in the front with iron bar fence. It faced a park and the security officer lived catty-corner across the park. There were quite a few robberies in the area including the security officers house a couple of times. We didn't have bars on the windows and never had a robbery. That irritated him! They did steal all the tires off Gene's office vehicle once, just left it on the ground. We only had one space to park behind the fence and our van was there. Another time they took his car and tore it down. When found, it had just the frame. All the parts were gone. The thieves used to take their stolen items to the "Thieves Market" where you could go and buy back your things.

I'm drifting off track again. We stayed in a friends apartment while we were house hunting and moved in to our house with just the welcome kit from the Embassy. We had a card table and chairs, beds, cooking utensils and bedding. I think we borrowed a TV from the office for the kids to watch and a carpet so they could sit on the floor. Our car (a conversion van) came in about 3 weeks. No air freight came which included important household items to tide us over until our furniture and all would arrive. It usually comes in a couple of weeks. Well.....

One of Gene's working buddies came to Lima from La Paz, Bolivia. He came to stay with us and slept on the extra bed we had which was for a maid. After dinner we went out to the van for wine, coffee and to listen to cassettes. The van had four captains chairs and you could turn them to face each other with a little table in the middle, so it was very comfortable and accommodating for our "living room". Gary always joked that he came to visit and we made him sit in the car after dinner and sleep in the maids quarters!

We lived that way for about three months. Finally we got word that the air freight was to be delivered. Ah, we would be able to make flour tortillas and have our own bedding. Then, a big surprise, the big shipment arrived at the same time. It came in a huge metal container like they use on trains or eighteen wheelers. It was all sealed and everything looked great as it was unloaded. The kids were happy to have their own "stuff".

At the end of the day, we were looking for the cushions for the sofa .. uh oh .. there were the cushions, relief. But wait, no sofa! We received the love seat and chair but not the sofa. We were missing things ... a whole crate full. We had the top of a cabinet but not the bottom, one speaker for the stereo but not the other, etc. It was plain that the things had not been stolen, the big container was not opened.

The moving company in Lubbock could not find it. Much discussion by phone and cables. Finally, after about six months later, Gene went back to Lubbock for business so he paid a visit to the moving company. They showed him the rest of our storage, but none of the missing items were there.

The supervisor walked around the warehouse with Gene discussing what was going to happen. Gene noticed a big crate off to the side with nothing stamped or printed on it.

"What's in there?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, " stated the supervisor.

Well, they opened it and it was our crate -- hiding in plain sight! The company wanted to send the crate by boat .... another six months?? Finally, they agreed to send it air freight, but the sofa didn't fit in that container so we left it in storage. We lived for the three years in Lima with a love seat and chair and cushions for the floor. We moved to another house in a safer area that had a huge living room. We did add some of the leather/wooden chairs made in Lima and we managed quite well.

Our stay in Lima started off a little shaky, but we enjoyed the tour there. We made visits to Machu Picchu and many excursions to the beach and other areas around Peru. Lima has hundreds of restaurants and museums, etc. We visited Iquitos, Peru, on the Amazon River, and Iguazu Falls on the Brazilian side, and many more interesting places. Even Gene's mom came to Lima with Joanna.

A local fellow at the dock in Iquitos, Peru.

Larry, Jennie and I on our tour boat. They put about 30 people on with about 20 life jackets. The river is a mile wide and deep enough for huge ships ... not where I wanted to be!

Gene and I out in the jungle about 4 hours downriver from Iquitos.

Larry at the beach, probably Paracas looking at the seals.

Larry helping to unpack or pack the van.

Me and Joanna in the "big" living room. We still have the same love seat, you have seen it on the Scavenger Hunts. :) It was near the Christmas holidays as Joanna is there. She has short hair, that is unusual. I look like I have had too much wine. My foot is broken, I broke it playing bridge. Ah, that is another story.

As I write about this, I am reminded of so many other stories ... well, another time.

I dug out some photos from way back then, but my scanner and computer are not speaking to each other, so will post the photos later.