Hijack before New Year
It was announced on the news “Two buses, one from Ormeño and Cruz del Sur Companies, were hijacked when they were going from Lima to Arequipa. The police are looking for the hijackers.” It was a week before New Year’s Eve, 1999 and you could feel the excitement of receiving the new millennium everywhere. Summer was beginning in Peru, and the days were warm. My sister, Malu, and I were in Lima when we heard the news. She had applied for an American interchange program, and she had to travel to Lima to obtain her American visa. I thought that it was a good idea to go with her, so I could help her out and also visit some family members that I haven’t seen for a long time. On our third day in Lima, Malu obtained the visa. She was very excited and joyful; I was happy for her too. We spread the news everywhere especially to our parents. They told us to come back soon, so we all could celebrate together. Being aware of what had happened, we bought our ticket to Arequipa from a different bus company called Enlaces. This company was new and seemed to be more secure and reliable. The buses were double-decker vehicles. They had very comfortable seats; dinner and breakfast were offered, with also an assistant who helps passengers anytime. We arrived to the bus station on time, and since it was going to be a very long trip we were wearing comfortable clothes as well; but I don’t know why I was wearing my grandmother’s gold jewelry. I was nervous and I didn’t feel very comfortable, I thought that it was just because of the twelve-hour trip. We got in the bus and we sat in the back on the upper level. As usual, I sat next to the window with my sister sitting next to me. We were talking about our days in Lima and how good it was to see old friends and family. We left Lima at seven in the evening; it was ten already when they gave us dinner. I still remember what we had for dinner, chicken with broccoli and “Mazamorra morada,” which is a typical Peruvian dessert, close to pudding. We were surprised because dinner was good. After dinner “Miracle on 34th Street” was playing.