October 15, 2025
My First Day in Peru
I woke up at 7 AM on the 15th, the day of my flight, and it was so nice to not have to leave for the airport at the crack of dawn. I had my last cup of green tea and snuggled with each of the cats for a little while in the morning. I wrote out all the instructions for my friend Mari to take care of them, and then I did my final packing.
I packed in stages — first, I gathered all the things I thought I might want to take and put them in the suitcase. Then I took out a bunch of stuff, and when I did my final round of packing in a more organized way, I took out a few more things but also put a few others back in. It was a good packing experience overall. My suitcase is very heavy, but I felt good about checking it.
I had this fantasy of only having a carry-on so I wouldn’t have to worry about my bag getting lost between all the flight transfers. But what I realized is that on all these flights there wasn’t enough room in the overhead for everyone’s carry-on bags, and lots of people had to check them anyway. So I was actually glad not to have a little suitcase to deal with.
All of the flights went as smoothly as possible. I had several hours at SFO since I got there three hours early, which was great because I got to do some work and make some last-minute phone calls. Then when I flew to LA, I had a four-hour layover and got to do some more work and eat some sushi at the airport that was really good. I just moved slowly, explored the airport, and took my time.
The flight from LA to Lima — an eight-hour redeye — was rough. I watched two and a half movies, but I didn’t sleep. I broke my Dieta and just ate whatever they gave me. I didn’t eat red meat, but I did eat a little cheese on pasta, more cheese on a bagel, and a muffin in the morning. I had tried to bring all my food — six hard-boiled eggs — thinking that would be my protein source, but they smelled so bad in my bag that I couldn’t take it. I ate one in LA and it just wasn’t good. I couldn’t put salt on it, so it was bland and gross. I ended up tossing them.
It was rough to travel for 19 hours and try to stay on the Dieta plan, but I did find juices and smoothies at the airports, so I did a pretty good job overall.
When I got into Lima, I went through immigration. They stamped my passport, took my fingerprints and pictures of me, and asked how long I was staying and what I was doing in Peru. It was all smooth, and everyone was kind to me. I’d been worried about getting confused in the airports or not understanding the language, but most people speak some English, and all the flights went well. They were all very full flights. Airplane seats feel smaller and smaller — or maybe I’m getting bigger, I don’t know.
Travel Details
San Rafael to SFO
Leave for SFO at 10:40am.
Arrive SFO at 12-12:30pm to Terminal 1 – Delta Flight DL2267 Seat 22F
Check bag through to CUZ – Cusco
Boarding begins 2:45pm – flight leaves 3:30pm
1 hour 20 min. flying time to LAX
SFO to LAX
Arrive LAX at 4:56pm domestic terminal
Transfer to the international terminal (Tom Bradley / Terminal B)
4 hour 19 min. layover
Latam airlines flight DL6071 leaves LAX at 9:15pm, seat 25L
LAX to Lima (LIM)
Arrive Lima at 7:30am (8 hours 15 min. flying time)
Layover in Lima 2 hours 15 min.
Latam airlines flight DL6142 leaves at 9:45am seat 14A
Lima to Cusco (CUZ)
Arrival: Jorge Chávez International Airport (Lima)
Transfer: Domestic connection to Cusco
Here’s the Critical Part
Domestic terminal: Walk upstairs (or follow signage) to your next gate — Cusco flights are domestic, and security screening happens again.
Immigration: You’ll go through passport control in Lima, as it’s your first point of entry into Peru.
Baggage claim: You’ll need to pick up your checked bags here, even if they were tagged to Cusco.
Customs: Go through customs with your luggage.
Recheck bags: After customs, there’s a baggage recheck area for connecting domestic flights to Cusco.
Arrive Cusco at 11:15 am (1 hour 30 min. flying time)
