Friday April 18 - Punos and Lima

Up at 5:00 again, breakfast at 5:40, in the bus at 6:00 for the ride to the airport, at the airport at 7:00, check in and checking luggage, then going through security, and finally waiting at the only gate with a large group of people – our flight was an Avianca flight on an A-320 (it still had the TACA markings, as Avianca had recently acquired TACA) and the other flight was a LAN flight, also on an A-320.  So the small waiting area was quite crowded and both flights were called at the same time, so there was one line through the one door to get to both planes.  There was not jet way, just stairs to the front and back doors of the jet.

After a surprisingly comfortable flight, we arrived in Lima at 10:00 and got to our hotel by 11:00.  We made reservations for lunch at 3:00 at el Cebiche del Rey, then went to our rooms to repack and relax.  I went out for water, snacks and an ATM.  Since it was good Friday, all of us who went out for walks found most things closed.  I expected banks to be closed, but also MacDonalds, Burger King and Starbucks, as well as shopping centers.  A  large, modern grocery store was open and it had an ATM.  And small, non-chain stores and restaurants were open – I found a little bodega on a small side street that had ice cold Heinekin beer.  Two beers and a bag of chips cost 10.50 PS – and tasted very good in the heat of Lima.

At 3:00, our two vans arrived and twelve of us went to the restaurant.  We started with two plates of ceviche for appetizers, then had a magnificent repast of fish based dishes – rice with prawns, rice with seafood, octopus with olive remillard, etc., etc. Thank you Zenon for introducing us to this delightful restaurant. 

A little after 5:00, we returned to our hotel and said our last good byes.  Six people were leaving for the airport at 7:30 p.m., one at 3:00 a.m, and one at 4:30 a.m.  Jim and Marcie are staying at a different hotel and will meet Patty and me for brunch at 9:00 on Saturday, then we leave at 8:00 p.m. for our 11:50 p.m. flight.  They return to Portland on Monday night.

As our trip winds down, Patty and I relaxed, read or did crossword puzzles.  We went to bed at a reasonable hour with the knowledge that we could sleep in and not have to get up at an early hour to catch another tour bus.