It is strange to be back in Peru after eight months. A little has changed and a lot hasn’t. Our flight was smooth and we arrived on time after leaving Miami a few minutes late. We landed at 10:30 pm and were probably at the Hotel Senorial by 12:30 am, 
which isn’t bad considering that traffic is now heavy 24 hours a day. The Senorial has been our hotel of choice for many years. They are suffering a bit as the neighboring property that was a “casona,” a large single family home with an extensive back yard and garden has finally been sold to a developer–it was empty for about 10 years–and a six story building with 65 apartments is filling the space. The “National Sound Of Peru” (hammers on concrete) provides music with breakfast and is likely to continue for another six months.
We did some shopping and left for Barranca. Lima continues to expand in all directions and increase the number of automobiles. Getting to the northern city limits took about about an hour and a lot of the time the air smelled of diesel fumes, fish or rotting meat, but after we passed the new landfill (marked by circling vultures) the smells decreased and the pace picked up. We were in Barranca in 3 hours and 15 minutes, better than some of our recent times.
Our neighborhood on the beach is largely unchanged. There is one newly completed house and a couple of properties for sale, but that is not unusual. 
The biggest surprise was seeing Orca, the puppy we last saw in March. She is now enormous. We expected that, but not that she would be such a good looking dog. It is very sweet that she remembers us and insisted on coming and sitting with us after dinner. Fortunately, she doesn’t want to sit on our laps. Orca is half doberman and half brown farm dog. She has a brown brindle coat. Less than a year old, she probably isn’t quite finished growing.
We plan to chill out on the beach for a while before trying any new adventures.
Llywindatravels 2022 