We had pretty much a rerun of yesterday, except at breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill where we "lost" our table. Although we arrived at 7:31am, other guests must be lining up at the door to get what they consider the prime window seats. Of course, our names are not on any specific table, but we always occupy the same table just about every day. Now it has become a game of the President's Club members versus the Neptuners. We were not the only ones displaced because another Pres. Club couple we know were seated in the room with us at the far end. We all had a chuckle over it. We still have the option of breakfast in the upper dining room, so we may return there maybe half of the time.
Leaving the ship around 10:30am after the hour-long crew drill, we joined a shuttle that left right away even without it being full. This bus even had maps of the Miraflores area. With the weather not as nice as yesterday, we were glad we had taken the hour ride to Miraflores yesterday. The overcast remained most of the day with a mix of fog shrouding the ocean front. Not the best conditions for photo-taking.
We did a little shopping, but came away empty-handed. There was a Hush Puppy store in the Larcomar Mall, and one of us wanted to see what they offered. Of course, there was the perfect pair of white dressy sandals, but they were a bit too small in size. That's always a problem having big feet, so recently we resorted to online shopping and it has worked like a charm.
This afternoon's lunch was at TGI Fridays, another busy venue at Larcomar. Good thing we did not wait until later, because the place filled up with mostly locals. Starting with draft beers by the name of Cusquena, locally-brewed Peruvian beer. We added a heaping plate of nachos – a fun treat for us. But the best part of our lunch had to be the dessert of an apple cake topped with vanilla ice cream sitting in a puddle of the tastiest raspberry sauce with fresh berries. Sinful….we savored every bite and happy we were sharing the treat.
Our plan had included a hike to the Indian Market, a stop that the shuttles used to make years ago. We recall it was a 1 to 2 mile walk from Miraflores and the mall. After the delicious lunch and huge beers, we changed our minds. And with the emphasis on safety, it may not be the best part of town to be walking, even during the day. The small craft market at the pier will be enough shopping for us tomorrow. Since we will be in port only half of the day, it will be something to do.
The shuttle got us back after the hour ride with a mostly empty bus. Fine with us, since we are hearing more and more people coughing and sneezing…….one of the reasons we avoid buses and ship tours. In fact, our room steward just returned after being confined to his room for 48 hours. He just had a nasty cold, but he did seem better this evening.
There was a Gaucho dinner in the Lido tonight, taking on the cowboy culture of Chile. Wait a minute, we're not in Chile. Oh well, it was a good attempt to push the Chilean wines along with BBQ meats and other Chilean treats. And the wait staff made good use of their cowboy outfits they wear on special occasions. All in good fun.
We had a small surprise at dinner tonight. Yesterday, we were told there were no more special menus (the white cover ones) that included the Club Orange special of the day. Truthfully, it has not followed any pattern such as a seven day revolving menu like they have on the other HAL ships. Tonight, we were advised that the Club Orange entrée would be scrapped in the dining room for the rest of the cruise. Wonder who made this decision two weeks into the cruise? It is not a deal-breaker for us, but we did enjoy the veal chop (when they had them), the roast lamb, and the pork belly. The Club Orange perk is one that applies to President's Club members as well as the Neptuners. And of course, it is available for the folks that pay extra for it. Or at least it was. We shall do some digging into this and seek out the decision-makers.
So we enjoyed the crispy BBQ chicken spring rolls, so good, we could have ordered a few more and made a meal out of it. One of us had salad, and the other had the chicken noodle soup. It did not come with noodles as promised. Oh well, requesting the noodles would have helped. Mains were one pork chop with different sides, and one Asian noodle vegetarian dish. Good for a change. Then when it came to dessert, we were happy to see rocky road ice cream. Guess what? They ran out, so we had vanilla and chocolate chip – one scoop for each of us. Some days just seem to go that way. And to top things off, someone decided to play Gaucho music in the dining room and a bit too loud. We were happy to leave.
There was a local show this evening. It was a music and dance show by the Dance Company Un Peru Para Todos. Watching from our veranda, we saw this group arrive around 5:30pm, and they were very young, but then most of these groups are young. Their show will include three natural regions that include mountains, the coast, and jungles.
And so much for day two in Lima.
Bill & Mary Ann
