Last Stop: Lima

After all the chaos in Cusco to get to the Airport due to the so-called National Demonstration, we get to Lima to find out that is business as usual. Nobody in Lima seems to be aware or care that there is a national strike. I think we are a little disappointed but relieved that the craziness is left behind. Because it is still winter season in Lima, it is very cloudy and gloomy. We are very eager to see what Lima has to offer so after checking into our hotel (Casa San Martin) we decide to go out to explore. I personally was very surprised by how beautiful Lima is. Especially, the area of Miraflores which is very modern and upscale. The Malecon is beautiful and strolling through it turned out to be very relaxing. Just beware of the doggie poop that seems to be everywhere in the area. We had really good Ceviche at a restaurant that was recommended to us by the Hotel staff. The name of the restaurant is “Pescados Capitales” and although the menu is hard to read and they over do it by using way too many words to describe their dishes, the food was very good. I think only Sergio was let down by his food but who in their right mind would order Fettuccini in a restaurant where the specialty is Ceviche. The next morning Raul decides to ask around for a market where we can go buy goodies such as Lacoste shirts. We are recommended to go to this one market that offers everything, but are warned that it is a somewhat dangerous place. The girls, like always, are very nervous but can’t resist the shopping temptation. All 6 of us get crammed inside a taxi and off we go to the market. When we get there is as expected; hundreds of people trying to sell you something, dirty and overcrowded. After walking around we find a couple of places that sell the goodies we are looking for. Thanks to Raul we get pretty cheap prices, however we are running out of money so we decide to leave and go to Lima’s city center. Again, we cram into another taxi. Traffic is horrible in the city center so we decide to get off and walk. We walked around, went to the Inquisition Museum, China Town, ate at a local’s restaurant and visited the place where rumor has it the Pisco Sour was born. The rest of the time in the girls managed to go to a Salon to do their nails and hair which was really cheap, walk around, eat and buy some more stuff. Although by the end of our trip we were all complaining about having to pay airport taxes and spend extra money we had not anticipated, we were all very impressed by Peru. In my case, the food, the nature and culture exceeded my expectations. On the way back home I couldn’t stop thinking about where our next adventure will take us. Stay tuned!