We arrived very early to the huge port of Callao, the gateway to Lima, Peru. It has been quite a while since we were here last, so we are looking forward to seeing the best of the city in the following 2 ½ days.
Here are a few facts about Peru. The capital is Lima and the population of the country is 30.7 million people that speak mainly Spanish, Aymara, and Quechua. Very little English is spoken or understood by the locals. A complex country, Peru is filled with ancient history. It becomes front and center with a visit to the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu. Perhaps the big draw is the mystery that surrounds this hidden village buried in the steep peaks and valleys for over 5000 years. Really makes your imagination go into overtime we have heard. Nearby Cuzco is the city where the adventure begins. It may make your head soar in more than one way, due to the high elevation. Many friends that have made this trip say they did enjoy seeing the baroque churches, ancient Indian carvings, and commercial elegance of the hotels and fine restaurants. But be prepared to take a whiff of oxygen when the headache begins. And you have not lived until you try the Andean favorite of quinoa and "cuy" which is fried or grilled guinea pig. Have we ever tried it? Truth be told the answer is no. Bet it tastes something like chicken….. There is the Chan Chan ruins, the largest pre-Columbian ruins in all of the Americas. Or the Nazca Lines, another mystery with geoglyphs in the dry earth, best seen from an airplane.
Ever heard of Lake Titicaca? More like a highland ocean, this lake has been home to the Uros Indians that have made their homes on floating islands using tightly-woven reeds. The Parque Nacional Manu is located on the lower slopes of the jungle and is home to anacondas, tapirs, clay-eating macaws and even jaguars.
All the usual activities may include rafting, paragliding, ziplines, and bike and hiking trails.
Some of the tours offered from here began with the overland excursion of 2 ½ days to Machu Picchu and Cuzco. The gold option included a luxurious hotel and the Hiram Bingham Train for $4200. The silver option was a less expensive hotel and a the regular train for $2800. The Inca civilization, Pachacamac ruins, and the paso horse show for $210 was one of the best tours we did. Actually, we did it twice over the years. Other tours in and around Lima ranged from 4 to 8 hours and ran from $56 to $140. By the way, these prices are per person.
After breakfast where we watched the tour groups joining their buses and the souvenir stands getting raided by early shoppers, we took the time to watch Kimberly's talk on Peru before we headed out for the day. Mostly we wanted to get the details of the complimentary shuttles that would take us to the Miraflores district – the place we wanted to go. While we were catching up on the details, we had a visit on the veranda by a worker who was going to do some maintenance today. We did have a note last night saying this would be done, although if we objected, we could postpone this work for another day and time. Not a problem, they were still outside when we left the room.
Leaving around 10:30am, we got the next bus, which was very nice and clean, that took about an hour ride to the beautiful Miraflores area high above the Pacific Ocean. Due to traffic, the ride did take about an hour from the port. We were all dropped off about a half mile of Larcomar, the semi-outdoor mall on the side of the cliffs. The Malecon Street is landscaped with a series of parks where the locals from the high rise condos can take their dogs for walks. The views from here are beyond spectacular, and thrilling watching the hang gliders soar over the ridges on the thermals.
Larcomar has several levels and is full of high end stores and many eateries. They even have a Chilis, but it was under reconstruction and not opened. Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut are here as well and seem to be the most popular throughout the city. We located one of the most recommended restaurants by the name of Mango. We had to walk down three flights of stairs to reach the patio with a gorgeous seaside view. It was already filling with guests…mostly locals, and some cruise ship folks like us. First we inquired which credit cards they accepted, and American Express was one of them. Always good to ask before ordering. We began with two Barbarian draft beers and then shared a ham and cheese pizza, unlike any we have had before. The crust was almost not there…meaning it was paper thin like a wafer. The toppings were very good, but it was more like an appetizer. We added one dessert of a chocolate dome, something new to us. And it arrived with a dome of chocolate with raspberries, fudge cake, and vanilla ice cream hiding under the dome. When our waiter brought it, he poured hot fudge sauce over the dome making it look like a volcano. Yes, you can guess that it was very good.
We made a sweep through the mall, then headed back to catch the bus. The weather was next to perfect as the sun had come out of the hazy clouds and the temperature must have risen to 80 degrees or more. Lucky for us, there was an ocean breeze to keep us cooler. The line was long to board the shuttle, but we made it with a few seats to spare. We intend to come back tomorrow and search for the Indian market which we recall is close to here.
The bus had us back to the ship by 3:30pm where we relaxed and worked on photos and reports. Before dinner time, we began to have problems with the TV reception. Part of it was due to old batteries in the remote control, but the pixilating on the screen was getting worse. We had sound, but no picture. Hope it gets fixed soon.
The dining room was not crowded tonight. There were a few night tours in Lima, and of course, some folks went on the overlands. We ordered a shrimp cocktail, salads, and won ton soup – very hot, very good. Both of us had the BBQ ribs, which could have been cooked longer, but were tasty. We discovered a pile of cooked spinach under the ribs, which was not on the menu. So we think there is an overabundance of spinach onboard and the cooks are determined to use it. Every evening we have been handed the Club Orange menu that has the Club Orange entrée for the day. Except tonight, we were given a new menu with a different format. The white cover and the special menu with tonight's Club Orange entree was not printed. Someone made a decision to eliminate the menu, so we have to ask our waiter what the special is every night. We bet this will be phased out over time, but that's just a guess. The best items were the pork belly and the veal chop in our humble opinion. Roasted lamb was also one of our choices. Dessert was one chocolate something or other and one pineapple sorbet.
The Grand World Voyage Band took center stage this evening with jazz from Dave Brubeck and nice tunes from Henry Mancini.
Bill & Mary Ann
