Something completely different

After having shared a lot of happy stories and adventures, I'd like to take the opportunity to enlighten for your information also the darker side of this continent. Some horrible facts:
- the same night (08-12-05) I arrived at the airport of Lima, a female Japanese tourist was murdered for money on the parkingplace where probably my taxi was waiting for me as well.
- a French lady (francoise) was robbed of her camera, all her money and more valuables, while they were holding a knife to her throat in Colombia, the Peruvian guide (Frank) in Lima was robbed of all his belongings in Bolivia, an Australian guy that a talked to on the beach was robbed of all his precious fotos, passport and everything else in Bolivia, today I heard that the Austrian couple (work in the same orphanage as I do) were robbed of everything as well in a bus coming from the market in Otavalo (Ecuador). I left out the million people that I don't know..................
- while I was in Cusco, three girls were raped in or around the discotheques that I frequented almost every night for the last three weeks. I even know the guy by face how commited one of these rapes (saw his face in the newspaper).
- a German guy was murdered in a cab in Cusco near the orphanage were I worked.
-every day the televison shows busaccidents and I'm not making this up, every time when I read it in the newspaper or see it on the tele, it happened in or around the town I just came from or that I am going to.....
- Sunday last, when I was visiting with my family from Ambato, (I live with them now for the coming 5 weeks) the town of Puyo, on the way back we got this telephone call that the cousin (daughter of the sister of the mam) had died in this horrible car accident in Quito. She was only 20 years old.

So people, considering the fact that I have been travelling nearly 2.800 km in the last few weeks and for my time in Cusco, I'm still safe and doing quite well. Don't let all this news keep you from travelling to this magnificient part of the world, neither did I tell you this to scare you or be more worried about me. Just know that my eyes are open at all times. I apalogize for the 10 days you didn't hear anything, I understand it might have troubled you a bit but queens don't just dissapear you know. Be sure I know what I'm doing. I know the dangers and loosing my camera was not one of them. You can't be more alert than I've been this whole trip. Furthermore I don't think my time has come yet. I still have so many things to do and the world hasn't had enough of me yet...By saying this, I don't mean any disrespect to all who suffered by loosing someone or something, or for any other reason in the story mentioned above. My thoughts and deepest sympathy are with you for your loss and your suffering.
Thank you all, to my readers, for watching me and for your support, for your lovely comments, for your warmth that I carry with me....I feel that it helpes me to keep safe on on this extravagent journey....with a lot of love from your friend Miriam