"On the morning of my departure I called at the agents to check that all was OK and collect my ticket, only to be told there was a hitch. It seemed it was not a direct flight as I had first thought, but involved changing planes in Lima. I would arrive in Lima at 8:00pm and my flight on to Ecuador would leave at 1:00am. Normally there would have been no problem, but on this occasion there was no flight, as the following day, the 1st May, was a public holiday. I was informed that as a consequence I would have to spend a night in Lima, where accommodation had been arranged. The company seemed quite upset about the inconvenience to me, but I thought it seemed more like a bonus, though I did wonder where I might finnish up staying. The flight, that cost £157, also included a Taxi from Arica to the airport at Tacna. On departure at 3:00pm I had just a short walk to the taxi rank, I showed my voucher for the ride and was on my way. The 22 mile journey to Tacna airport was across a barren stretch of desert, broken about half way by the small complex of buildings at the border. All went ok and I was soon at the airport, way ahead of schedule, and as can often be the case in these situations, within a few minutes of my arrival it was announced that my flight would be delayed. At first it was just an hour, then another, and we eventually took off 4 hours late." - MH