Lima

The flight was a good one, and the staff were very helpful and attentive to any need i had.
I did start to think about the delay, and whether i would be able to still connect with my onward flight, as it was only an hour or so stopover in Lima...
My questions were answered when i landed in Lima, and i was asked which onward flight i was to be taking?
I was told that my connecting flight had already left and that i would have to stay the night in a hotel before leaving the following morning and only arriving in Sao Paulo now at 5pm!
My poor brother would be waking up at 3am to start the 2h drive to the airport to meet me, and i would only be arriving 12h later now!
I had 1 free phone call provided me by the airlines from the hotel, so i would be using it when i arrived.
It was about a half hour drive at midnight to get to the hotel, and when we arrived i was greeted by the famous signage of the Sheraton group!
Wow! A hotel that i could never have dreamed of affording. This should be quite a treat!
It was!
I was prepared a hamburger and chips from the kitchen, and it was delicious. Served with an orange juice while i used my 30min of free internet connection to send an email letting my parents know of the delay and also to my bro, although i suspected he would not be checking emails at 3am in the morning!
Then it was a hobble upstairs on my swollen left foot, and i was greeted with 2 dbl beds in a large room with ensuite shower and bathroom.
It was immaculate, and super comfortable!

I had my first hot shower in almost a year of travelling, and just stood under the water, feeling the weight of the last 5 months slowly wash off of me and disappear down the plughole.
I finally managed to extract myself from the shower, and dried and phoned my bro to let him know of the delay.
Unfortunately i had gotten the time differences wrong, and he was already on the road for an hour!
He was not best pleased, but said he'd see me later on.
And then it was bed.
It was a crying shame that i would only spend the next 4h in the most comfortable bed i had ever slept in, but i had no choice, my taxi would be here to collect me and take me back to the airport at 6.30am!
I decided to forego the incredible spread that was breakfast at the Sheraton, and get the extra hour or so's sleep instead.
Beep beep, beep beep, went the alarm on the clock radio next to the bed, and it was already time to get up.
I lay there thinking about what had passed, and what was still to come, and slowly managed to drag myself away from the comfort i had only briefly known.
I went downstairs, hoping to grab a coffee before my taxi driver arrived, but he was already there, a full 20min early, and i climbed in and said a very grateful goodbye to the best hotel i have ever had the pleasure of staying in.
Back to the airport, and an ontime flight for a change, and we were on our way to Sao Paulo.
I would just like to state for anyone reading this blog, that if you are ever in South and Central America, then the airline of choice has got to be TACA airlines. I flew both legs of my journey to Sao Paulo with them, and was blown away by the helpfulness and professionalism of this airline. They also happened to be the cheapest airline to fly with!
Upon arrival, my bro was nowhere to be seen, and i was once again helped off the plane by a member of staff, and pushed in my wheelchair to baggage collection, and my bags collected and brought along with me to the arrivals area.
The guy who had helped me went off to make a phone call to my brother to ask when he would be arriving, and then returned to stay with me the 20min or so til they did.
He helped me load the bags in the car as well, and off we went.
The 36h or so i spent in Brazil was amazing.
We were in Ubatuba, a coastal area just south of Sao Paulo, and it was incredibly beautiful.
It was great to see my brother, who had been by my side via email and telephone through my entire ordeal, and between him and his Brazilian girlfriend, had been a massive help to me.