Here I go, again

So. I realize that my last entry is when I left for the Philippines, last December. Oops.

The update: I'm in Peru! A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck the central coast here on August 15, 2007, causing upwards of 500 deaths and flattening a 200+ mile stretch of cities and towns. HODR decided to deploy on Saturday, I flew from Honduras to Houston on Sunday (I was in Roatan for a two week holiday), and landed in Lima on Monday. What craziness!

After collecting our bags, Marc (operations director) and I zipped through Lima in a taxi, passing through a nondescript part of the city under a midnight veil. Suddenly, everything up ahead was dark - the Pacific ocean. I couldn't make everything out, but can only imagine how beautiful the cliffs and beach are during the day. (I'm still imagining. There's not going to be any sightseeing anytime soon.) One pedestrian crossing sign showed the silhouette of a person carrying a surfboard. Fun!

One interesting thing: the cliffside road fronting the ocean, had numerous signs saying that cellphone use is prohibited in that area. Wonder what that's all about.