What To Do Tomorrow…

With only a few days left in Lima I am starting to think (read: get stressed out) about packing. Over the course of six weeks we have ended up with some extra items. We purchased a fair amount of souvenirs and presents. Sean and I each bought a book in Spanish, the kids have new blankets because it was so cold in the apartment at night. We have an unopened bottle of bourbon that my dad bought for Sean, a bottle of Pisco we bought for ourselves, a couple of bags of Peruvian coffee, two Minion water bottles and a soccer ball. I bought myself two coats. (Alpaca, super on sale because it’s been a mild winter here.) Sofia has a couple of new shirts, sweaters and bags. Oscar acquired a very fragile shellacked piranha. There are lots of other odds and ends that I am not remembering (and choosing not to mention because it will make me seem like a person with a shopping problem) but will nevertheless take up room in our suitcases. We have at our disposal two large suitcases, one medium suitcase, four carry-on bags and one duffel bag.  I already sent one duffel bag filled with clothes that we weren’t using with my parents. I might have to buy another bag.

Part of the problem is that I did a really bad job of packing for our trip here. I partially blame Sean for giving me incorrect information about the weather and dressing habits in Lima and myself for listening to him. He claims he was thinking about Colombia not Peru when we had the weather conversation. Before we left for Lima I looked at the ten-day forecast, saw it was in the low 70’s and packed accordingly, not realizing (or perhaps being in denial) that the temperature would drop. The gray mist makes it feel even colder. Even though it’s been a relatively mild winter it is still much chillier than I expected. I was thinking more late September in New York, not March in London. I also overestimated how casually people dress here so I have lots of dresses that I haven’t worn. I’m not sure why I brought two pairs of sandals or so many different earrings. I have basically worn the same few things over and over: jeans, some t-shirts, thin sweaters, patterned long sleeve shirts and either a blue blazer from JCrew, a long black sweater or a thin, black puffy jacket. I bought a pair of nude, suede Coach loafers in New York and have worn them nearly every day even on our long walks. Sean did a pretty good job of packing for himself and I did a much better job with the kids clothes than my own. The good news is that I will have lots of warm weather clothes to pick from when we get to Panama.

I historically have a problem with over packing so it’s no surprise that I brought too many items, clothing and otherwise. (My parents still tease me about the summer I insisted on bringing my electric guitar sans amplifier to Finland and played it approximately twice during a three-week period.) We have a washer and dryer in the apartment and a nice woman who does some of the laundry so I probably could have gotten away with packing one suitcase for myself. But, I probably would have needed another suitcase for all my shoes, bags, hats, scarves, etc… Unfortunately I think Sofia has inherited my problem.

But, I will think about packing tomorrow. Duty calls and I have to go make myself a Havana Club and ginger ale because I don’t have room for the bottle in my suitcase.

Update 1: For those of you interested in the status of Minion-gate 2015, Oscar managed to finally find a copy of the movie online in English. Success!I

Update 2: For those of you still interested, the woman who manages the apartment was here today supervising the delivery of some new furniture. (I cannot even tell you how annoying it is to receive a king size bed and comfy new sofa four days before we are leaving.) I had texted and emailed her about the hole in the bathroom door but never heard back. Today, she walked by the door when I was standing in the hallway and DID NOT SAY ONE WORD. Perhaps we are just imagining that there is a hole in the door? If a tree falls in the forest….