Friday afternoon we arrived at Pearson airport...

...some by plane others by car, then started looking around the gate area for each other.  Some familiar faces (we met on the Tour to Peru last year), and some new that we recognized by photos shared in advanced, and some we guessed based on clues from an email address (travelgran1).  A 2-hour delay (something about the electrical board) let us mingle a little longer, then we boarded our plane for an 8 hour flight.  It didn't seem too long -- and I finally got to watch the new version of Footloose ;)  Though I was pretty stoked about this, it was quickly eclipsed by the beauty of the sun shining off the lakes as we flew over the States, and later on by the city lights as we passed over Panama.

Arrived in Lima 2 hours late about midnight, and our faithful team from our PINIFE site was eagerly awaiting us.  Kisses & hugs from Sr. Kela ("The Boss"), Patty (translator), Ziola (social worker), Juan (community project coordinator) and Marcos (teacher). We piled into a small bus with all 30+ suitcases (half are full of soccer gear, learning games, crochet hooks, knitting needles, yarn, school supplies, clothing, toiletries, and even winter clothes - surprising eh?).

Finally made it to bed about 3 a.m. - fell asleep with the window open (I <3 SUMMER!), listening to a Peruvian man singing his heart out... buenas noches...