Leaving Arequipa

 We very nearly got delayed by laundry before our departure as the laundry lady failed to deliver our clean rugs at noon and barely got them out by 6pm yesterday. 

The day went by pretty much as usual with a Rusty walk first thing, followed by sitting in the sun together, me reading Rusty sniffing and watching the hotel guests come and go.  

There are quite a few vehicles in the parking lot, two Brazilians, a German family with a small child, the Dutch couple who have become our buddies and us  as usual the sole Americans.

I have this idea that Europeans prefer hand washing laundry while North Americans prefer laundries. Jerome and Sasha from the Netherlands have a washing machine in their expedition truck so I guess they need somewhere to dry their laundry. They also have a 650cc BMW motorcycle to get around when they are camped. 

This new looking RV from Brazil whose occupants we haven’t met, is a testament to the RV construction industry in that country. It’s as modern as anything made in Europe. 

Bruce noticed a stained television disc in a photo I sent him so when I saw the culprit I photographed him too. I never cease to be amazed by the details people notice. 

We showed Jerome and Sasha where we like to eat fish for lunch and they liked it of course. 

What’s not to like? Fried fish, ceviche and Chinese/Peruvian fried rice (chaufa).  $11, not cheap but excellent value. 

We separated after lunch, they went into town after failing to find a hat big enough for Jerome’s head and we went back to Rusty aboard GANNET2. Jerome and Sasha took their two kids aged six and eight around the world on a five year cruise aboard a 46 foot steel sailboat. We talked sailing and I turned Jerome onto websites of sailboats for sale in Mexico. He’s thinking he wants another Pacific cruise with their adult kids but Sasha it’s sure. Traveling by truck in South America is a temporary thing for them, another year and they go home to the Netherlands. We’ll barely be starting back to the US by then. 

I wanted a churro, a fried pastry stick for $1:50 for dessert as we walked home. The holiday weekend in Arequipa has got the street vendors busy and drunks falling off the sidewalks. It’s time for us old farts to go.  

Psst! Wanna learn English? Free classes!  What the catch may be I couldn’t say but the ability to speak English is a career move down here. I find it ironic how scared Americans are of Spanish speakers when all they want is to speak English! 

We started packing up and putting stuff away and then I saw Jerome putting away his town bike and I was glad once again for the relative simplicity of our lives aboard GANNET2.

They may cross our path in northern Brazil in a couple of months. They are going to Cusco and on to explore central Peru before they follow us on the road to Manaus and the place they want to check out, the former Dutch Guyana now called Suriname.

Ever patient Rusty released from his comfortable bed where he spent our time at lunch. Both the Germans and one of the Brazilian campers have dogs and while Rusty likes one of the dogs okay he doesn’t like sharing his campground.  

I’m hoping he’ll be glad to leave.