Down Day

Anne and I both woke this morning with healthy cases of “tourista” which were likely the result of something we ate last night (the serviche is my prime suspect). We took immodium and dragged ourselves through the process of packing and checking out of the Dazzler - which tops my list of weird hotel names - though it was perfectly fine for one night.

Then we dove back into traffic madness, as our Uber driver demonstrated skill at the Peruvian game of vehicular chicken. One day we saw what looked like a driver getting a traffic ticket and wondered what he could possibly have done that crossed the line. In addition to the absence of the concept of voluntary yielding, which creates the ideal conditions for bumper cars (though in all the time we spent in cars going here and there, I never saw one vehicle touch another), the highway design and frequent blockage of the right lane force three solid rows of bumper to bumper traffic to merge down to two lanes - or with worse adverse impact on traffic flow, the two left lanes become stopped up attempting to turn left against a steady stream of oncoming traffic, forcing all those trying to continue forward into the far right lane, unless of course it is blocked by one of the many rickety minibuses dropping off or picking up riders, in which case gridlock prevails amidst a cacophony of honking horns.

I was able to categorize the honking into at least four groups: 1) taxi drivers asking a pedestrians if they would like a taxi (random pooling seems pretty common); 2) a driver warning another driver that they were insisting on the right of way; 3) a driver warning pedestrians crossing against the light or in the middle of the road to run faster or else; and 4) a driver who is justifiably angry at some manouver that crossed a line that all would agree was reckless and stupid (a difficult threshold to define here).

We arrived safely after the 60 minute ride to our hotel, the Lima Airport Holday Inn, at 2:00 pm, check in time! And this is where we have mostly slept since, now wondering if we should risk dinner.  We have learned that we have to have our luggage outside the hotel room door by 6 am. Clearly some moments in any journey stink.

Doing Lima

After settling in to our new hotel, somewhat pretentiously named Dazzler, we ubered to the Lima museum of art where we saw pottery in various forms as old as 1,600 years bc. The exhibit was well organized to show the history of Peruvian art up to present. We have leaned a great deal about the history of Peru, and have come to appreciate what a journey it has been. The country is rich in minerals with gold high on the list and lithium soon to become an even more important export. Last night we had dinner with Gonzalo, a close relative of Connie’s (mother of Elizabeth and active participant in the Whimsey Cove frame shop.)

He is highly educated with excellent English and a fascinating life story having worked for the World Bank and UN and about to embark on a new career as an independent consultant.

This evening meet up with our tour group at a hotel airport and tomorrow we fly to Cusco, “a city in the Peruvian Andes, which was once capital of the Inca Empire, and is now known for its archaeological remains and Spanish colonial architecture.”

Photos from our walk around the park with the Museum of Art.

Moving

So the owner of the apartment we are renting (Airbnb) had it sprayed with an insecticide while we were out yesterday to attack the ants and it smells so bad we decided to move to a hotel today.

I am not a big fan of posting pictures of food, but this tuna tartar last night was outstanding. It was covered with a layer of creamy avacado with beautiful little baby lettuce leaves on top and served with a wisp of a white rice concoction that looked like a wrinkled fairy wing.

Woke up to find that ants had infested the pastries that we had purchased for breakfast. Dealt with that and had a marvelous citywide 4 hour bus tour of Lima. There were only four of us! Our tour guide, Gabriel, was a marvel of information about the city and basically the history of civilization back to 3,600 BC. I could say so much more about what we saw and learned, but that is for another time. I will summarize by saying that Lima is an important city with a dramatic history in a country that is making wonderful progress in a region and country with a deeply troubled history and challenging present. Based on my experience today, I am guardedly optimistic that the future will democratic and progressive.

A few photos:

My feet are so happy to be free and off the ground! Walked 5 miles today. Saw the Miraflores Market, a elaborate marvelous colorful maze of open air shops (all adjacent and covered) selling everything from the usual imported souvenir trinkets (I brought you a lovely refrigerator magnet that says Perú with a braised ginnea big in the background) to giant silver pitchers and alpaca shawls. I cannot I imagine how they all survive. We also learned about Pisco and consumed some. Dinner was exceptional - and not expensive.

Some images from the walk and market:

Pacific View 

In Lima

Our long flight from Miami to Lima was made unexpectedly delightful by an upgrade to business class where the seats were adjustable and the service excellent. The ride from the airport, provided by a cousin of a friend, was jarring - drivers here are aggressive, roads are rough, and car horns are in constant use. Our Airbnb apartment is comfortable and in a good neighborhood. Now we are working out how to get around as public transportation is chaotic and taxi service barely regulated.

Here is an example of the interesting art work in our apartment:

A photo of a security camera.

Dinner hot spot in Dania Beach - close to Fort Lauderdale airport - on to Miami Airport by train tomorrow morning.

This a joint Linblad/National Geographic led expedition. We are spending a few days on our own in Lima before the trip starts and a few days in Quito after it ends.

Sunrise a few days ago with my new camera!

Getting Ready

Here is the itinerary: