Sunday, October 28, 2007

Bus to Bolivia

Day 14: September 5, 2007

Stayed up a little past midnight last night trying to get the internet to work before giving up with no success. Woke up at 5AM to catch a bus to La Paz, Bolivia. The bus was late and didn’t end up leaving until 9:30AM. I'm pretty bitter that I could have slept for another four hours.


The operator of the internet café in the bus terminal was also over an hour late, but I still managed to send some email before leaving. Also ate a chocolate crepe/pancake thing at the terminal restaurant. Good but salty.


The bus ride took about 8 hours but we had a decent bus this time and mostly just watched movies. I read a little of Clarence Darrow's biography as well. When we arrived in Bolivia, we had to deal with passports and border security. The guard tried to give me the wrong change for the border toll but I argued with him in Spanish and he gave me my change eventually. Apparently they try to cheat tourists (and everyone else) with regularity.


From the border we drove to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, and actually the highest capital city in the world. Did a walking tour of La Paz, particularly the witches market and then used the internet before dinner. La Paz is much nicer than the sketchy border area. It’s scrunched in a canyon. Pretty at night with lights all up the cliffs. We went to Mongo’s for dinner. It was a burger place but the burgers tasted kind of rancid and overall the restaurant wasn’t very good. Came home and arranged laundry and a mountain bike adventure down the Death Road for tomorrow.

Taquile Island

Day 13: September 3, 2007

Woke up feeling substantially better. Had a couple pancakes and jam with the family. It seems that there are three sisters all living together an only one is married. There are very few men compared with women in Peru. I heard it was like six women for every man. Polygamy isn't uncommon. On the island, most of the men are out fishing or in Puno for much of the time so women seem to run the place. There were some children running around the house too. Not sure who they belonged to exactly.


I packed up after breakfast and took the boat to Taquile Island. Hiked around the island but there wasn’t much to see. Some shepherds with their flocks grazing on the rocky hillsides and a small mrket.


Took the boat back to Puno, about a 3 hour ride. Tried not to get too much sun due to the intensity of the rays at high altitude. Some of the others on the boat were less concerned about it in spite of my warnings and they were quite red and peeling later. Oh well, I tried.


Got back to Puno very hungry but started off with a hot shower at the hotel after the van dropped us off. Then went for lunch at a Chinese restaurant with Alvaro. It was only ok, but a mountain of food. I could only eat half even though I was faamished.


Used the internet and watched TV in bed for the rest of the afternoon. Feeling a bit worn down. Met the group at the reggae bar before dinner. Tried Cusqueňa dark - the dark beer of Peru. It was way too sweet, and all around far worse than the Cusqueňa light. I couldn't manage to drink more than a few sips.


We went to another fancy restaurant for dinner. Wasn’t very good. Tried three kinds of trout but they all tasted like the lake smelled (bad). Hope I don’t get poisoned again. Had lamb meatballs for an entrée and they were ok, but too full to eat more than half. After dinner I popped into another bar with group just to see the scene (or lack thereof as it turned out) but I quickly said goodnight.


Waiting for the internet now. Some student tourists from Spain are taking their sweet time.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Floating Islands

Day 12: September 2, 2007


Puno, Floating Islands, and Amantani Island

Got up at 6:45. Woke up not feeling very well. Perhaps I shouldn't have eaten that salad last night? The menu claimed everything was washed in purified water, but I don't think I trust it anymore.


Took bike taxis to the market to get gifts for local families we would be staying with on Amantani island. Picked up 15 soles worth of rice, sugar, pencils, coffee, etc. We them took a boat to the floating islands. These are artificial islands that the natives construct by weaving together reeds from the lake. They engage in some primitive aquaculture and built their houses, boats, etc out of the same reeds that they use to build their islands. Each tiny island has a president who they other inhabitants pick on a yearly basis. It all seemed a little ridiculous. Most of the islands were only about a quarter of an acre at best.


I started to feel really bad. When we landed I had awful diarrhea and soon was throwing up as well. I'm pretty sure it was food poisoning. Not much to do about it in the middle of Lake Titicaca. We took the boat to other islands and I kept feeling worse. Pity that my Imodium and any other useful medicine I may have had was stolen in the mountains.


Finally arrived at Amantani island where we were to spend the night with local families. A 25 minute hike uphill was more than I could handle by that point. Had to have Alvaro carry my bag the second half of the way up. Only left my bed to go to the toilet. Very primitive toilets. No toilet seats. No flush. Door barely worked in the outhouse. Not a great place to be sick with it coming out both ends. Finally got Alvaro to return to check on me at 6PM. Borrowed some Imodium from Laura, one of the other backpackers. Got gator aid and tea from the local store. Felt a bit better. Came down for dinner at 7 and ate a bit of soup and tea. Got dressed for the traditional party after. All the islanders and tourists dress up in traditional Amantani garb and do traditional dances. They have a live band and the music is pretty good. Very strong drum beat. It was fun but one dance was all I could manage. Going to bed now. Hope I feel better tomorrow.

Bus Break Down

Day 11: September 1, 2007


Cuzco to Puno

Had a bus ride to Puno starting at 7:30AM. It was supposed to be a 7 hour ride. Turned out to be more like 10. The bus kept breaking down. We finally had to order a mini bus to rescue us about 10 miles outside of Puno when the bus became irreparable. Nice hotel in Puno, but my room was a 4th floor walk up. Not the greatest room considering Puno is still at a very high elevation. We had dinner at a restaurant a few blocks from the hotel – standard steak. I’m getting tired of it. Went to a reggae bar after and stayed out having a few beers and flaming sambuca shots.

Hanging out in Cuzco

Day 10: August 31, 2007

Cuzco

Went to the police station at 10AM to get my police report. Had some tamales on the street first near the cathedral. They were good. Did some shopping and catching up at an internet cafe, then went horseback riding around Inca ruins in the hills. Nice and relaxing. Got a switch and used it to speed up my horse. Got it to trot. Lots of fun. Came back to meet my group for dinner at a famous restaurant called Fallen Angel Fire and Ice. It was good but pricey. Not too bad though I guess. 2 bottles of really good wine (shared 4 ways), an appetizer, a steak, and a bottle of water for 150 soles or roughly $50 US. It’s reasonable. Went for drinks after at a 5 star hotel next door with the group but I didn’t order anything.

Machu Pichu

Day 9: August 30, 2007


Machu Pichu and back to Cuzco

Woke up at 5:30AM to hike Machu Pichu. Took a bus up the mountain to get there. Toured the site but couldn’t see much due to early morning fog. Did see a chinchilla though. It's pretty impressive that the Incas built with such large stones at such a high altitude. Lots of the trademark Inca terraces and temples to the sun, moon, condor, jaguar, etc. There's even a system of irrigation still running up there.


Coco left around 10AM and I went alone to summit Waynapichu – the mountain overlooking Machu Pichu. It was a brutal hike. Had only 1 liter of water with me. Not enough when it got hot and the fog burned off. A very steep, challenging hike. At the top there's a boulder to sit or stand on and get a good view of Machu Pichu. It's so high up and so steep that sitting on the boulder you feel like you can easily fall straight off the mountain in every direction. It's probably not just a feeling. One wrong step and a several thousand foot fall is a distinct possibility. Not worth it.


Came back to Aguas Calientes for lunch. Another restaurant of Coco’s choosing. Not bad but also very expensive. Had a pizza. It was ok. Spent the afternoon in an internet café and wandering. Taking train back to Cuzco in minutes. Actually, taking the train to Ollantaytambo and then taking a taxi to Cuzco. Whatever.


The train wasn’t as great this time. Dirtier car, no overhead windows, and no free snack. What gives? Got back to Cuzco and went to the police department straightaway. Took a couple hours to fill out the police report, went to the Lares trek travel agency with the police, etc. Had a full body massage after. It was nice. Then got dinner in a little dive and did some internetting.

Aguas Calientes

Day 8: August 29, 2007

Leaving the High Andes for Aguas Calientes

Even at lower elevations it’s very cold at night and without hot water bottles in my sleeping bag I was pretty chilly. Still in the same clothes as 3 days ago and I smell pretty bad. I miss my friends. It’s lonely out here in the middle of nowhere. Can’t wait to get to town this morning to file a police report and hopefully get some fresh clothes. Ate a full breakfast and broke camp.

Walked down the river through many farms and then climbed up a hill to Puma Marka, an old Inca ruin. Mosquitoes caught up with us in the ruins. I'm not sure how they got up that high, but with my repellant stolen there wasn't a lot I could do about them.

Walked to Ollantaytambo and tried to file a police report. The policeman said that it wasn’t his jurisdiction and that I had to go to Cuzco. Lovely. Had lunch in a sketchy little restaurant. Coc's pick, not mine. It wasn't very good and there were flies.

Bought a new suit of clothes in the market where the locals shop. Walked through a very unimpressive museum. Waiting now at the train station. Oh, we also copied Coco’s pics to a CD and I tried calling home but no one picked up on any lines. Not sure the phone worked here.

I took the train to Aguas Calientes. Pretty ride. I recommend the train to anyone else wanting to visit Machu Pichu (skip the hike, just take the train all the way from Cuzco). We unloaded our stuff at the hotel near the end of the railroad tracks. No hot water as usual. It’s a very expensive and touristy town by Peruvian standards. 20 soles for a tiny cheap pizza. It’s highway robbery.

We went to the hot springs up the hill to relax after the hike. They were warm, but not bubbly, and they were very green and dirty. Showered at the hotel after and took care of some business at an internet café. Then took Coco to dinner. He picked a restaurant on the plaza. We both had fillet mignon and a bottle of Peruvian red wine. The wine was barely ok, the steak was awful and the whole thing was quite expensive, 135 soles or so. Coco said he really enjoyed it. I think his taste is in his feet. We drank until everyone else in the square had departed. Not hard to do in Peru. Got to bed around 1:30AM. Freezing in hotel. Sheets smell bad too.

Crossing the Highest Pass

Day 7: August 28, 2007

High Andes

Got up at the crack of dawn as usual. Beginning to wonder if this is really even a vacation. Not so cold this morning (but don’t get me wrong, it’s still cold!) so the altitude is once again my biggest problem. No altitude pills or anything, they were all stolen. Coco told me what I had already suspected. In spite of the robbery, it was impractical to turn back. We had to go on and reach Ollantaytambo.





Had a bite or two of a pancake and a couple swallows of hot chocolate for breakfast. I can’t eat at these altitudes. Also this is a very different style of hiking than I’m used to. I don’t like long breaks for no good reason and I prefer to eat granola bars and peanut butter. Three course meals all the time slow me down. Isn’t the whole point of hiking to be on the trail? I feel like I spend all my time at meals just waiting for Coco to finish so we can hit the road again.





Anyway, the first part of today involved a climb through a 4,600 meter high pass. That was the highest point of the Lares trek. Made it ok. Great views from the top. We could see how steep the route we came up was and how steep it was on the other side. We were basically standing on a ridge line. On the other side of the mountain there was a medium sized lake surrounded on three sides by high mountains with glaciers. The glaciers are much smaller now than in the past, and some of them are almost melted away. Just goes to show that people should have woken up to global warming a lot sooner. After a brief break and a look around we went down the mountain and then over another pass, more like 4,300 meters. Then a lot of cruising through pampas grass covered highland hills. Saw lakes and glaciers from time to time. Lots of llamas, sheep, goats, etc. The animals graze all over the hills in flocks. They are both beautiful and calming.




The people who live in the Andes still live for the most part in primitive stone houses with thatch roofs made of grass. They are always filthy, both young and old, but they don’t seem to notice or mind. We would make small gifts to the children as we passed by – bread or pencils or clothes. Most people still wear traditional dress. Lots of bright red skirts and ponchos with fancy hats. Everything dusty. It’s quiet for the most part aside from the occasional bleating domesticated animal or the babble of a brook or small waterfall.




Made great time after lunch; downhill I’m fine and booked it faster than the guide seemed to want. Beat the porters by quite some time. Had I been left to my own devices I would have just continued on another two hours to Ollantaytambo, but instead we pitched camp on a farm on a soccer field where horses and donkeys were grazing. Up in the Andes the smell alternates between clean mountain air and large herbivore feces. After Davis, I’m ok with both smells so it wasn’t a problem. Seriously animal dung all over the mountains though. Saw a condor but not for long or very clearly. Really wish I had a change of socks/undies and my first aid stuff to clean/bandage my feet. Oh well.




There were some ruins of Inca houses near our tents so I explored them. Nothing exciting. The locals seemed to spend the afternoon whipping oxen to make them till a field. One of the oxen was recalcitrant and didn't seem to care about being whipped, he just didn't want to move. Further uphill, the people just do the tilling by hand with pickaxes. I still think it’s odd that only my tent was robbed and none of my rented equipment was taken, not even my walking stick which was outside and easiest to steal. Must investigate further. Ate both tea and dinner for a change. At 3500 meters I have a much better appetite than at 4000. Played some card games with Coco and did some riddles and puzzles with match sticks. I also found out Coco's nickname - Mata Gringos (aka, gringo killer). Lovely, just my luck. Good stars in the sky. Very bright and clear. Found some constellations including Scorpio, then went to bed.

Robbery in the Andes

Day 6: August 27, 2007







Middle of nowhere - high Andes

Woke up at 5:30AM to be ready by 6AM for the Lares trek. Turns out I didn’t need to meet my guide until 6:30. Oops. I was so intent on fighting off the altitude sickness that was beginning to take hold when Coco briefed me that I really didn’t remember much of anything. When he picked me up, we drove to a small authentic bakery first to buy bread for the Andean children we would encounter. Then we went to a market in Culca to get other trinkets for them and coca leaves as a gift for a local family. Then we went to Lares and explored that market too. We drove a bit further to the trail head and had lunch. I was already to walk but instead they made me a three course lunch. If I’d finished it I would have been done for. I ate sparingly. Also tried chewing coca leaves. It didn’t do anything for me but it’s less nasty than the tea.





We hiked through lots of pasture land with alpacas, sheep, pigs, horses, etc. Lots of cute children too. They would come walk with us for a bit and we would give them bread or small toys. Saw some local villages too. We walked slowly and it wasn’t too bad until we got above about 13,000 feet. Then I stopped walking in a straight line. I was pretty much meandering/stumbling up the hill. It was less pretty too. I began wishing I was just taking a day hike and gone back down. Our camp was farther than expected because the porters are probably nuts. It was also over 14,000 feet. When we reached it I collapsed on a rock. The last hill was by far the worst. Really feel the altitude. Coco forced me to go to my tent and put on warm clothes. He was right. The sun was going down and it got cold quickly. Currently must be below 0 degrees C. Oh, I forgot to mention - on the van ride to the trail head it snowed a bit. The road was very narrow but I’ve driven worse. I only started to get concerned when the driver crossed himself.





I took a 45 minute nap and was awoken for tea. Dinner will be soon. I’m not hungry. I just want to get in my sleeping bag.





Lovely. I got robbed during dinner. Shoulda stayed with plan A and not left my tent. The last I saw of my clothes, backpack, and camera, I was taking my pills after tea. After dinner my tent had been ransacked. Now what? Even though we camped (for some inexplicable reason) at 14,000 feet, the cold quickly became a bigger problem for me than the lack of oxygen. With no clothes but the ones on my back and no sleeping bag liner (it too was stolen) I was hard pressed to keep warm. I had my water bottles with me during dinner so I filled them with hot water boiled over the fire to warm my sleeping bag. It was a rough night. Cold, robbed, dogs howling, the altitude, and being too out of it to go outside and take a leak. Fairly miserable all around.

Touring the Sacred Valley Inca Ruins

Day 5: August 26, 2007



Cuzco and Sacred Valley

Got up too early accidentally. Ran out of hot water in the middle of my shower. Packed up. Still not feeling great. We’ll see what happens. Dropped off laundry. Coca tea still tastes bad. We took a bus to the sun temple above Cuzco and got a tour of it. Felt the altitude. Then we drove to other towns with ruins or cool markets. I think Culca, Pisac, and Ollantaytambo. Did some shopping in the markets. Oh, we also stopped at a traditional native alpaca weaving place and got to feed/pet the alpacas. Stuff was super expensive there but excellent quality and I felt like I should buy something to support the natives. I got two hats made of alpaca wool. At the middle hiking stops I adjusted to the altitude and felt much better. Took lots of pictures of Inca temples, houses, pre-Inca burial grounds, etc. At Ollantaytambo the rest of the group spent the night with locals. Because I was doing the Lares trek I had to take an hour and a half bus ride back to Cuzco. I was all alone there but I managed to get my stuff packed for the hike, found chicken soup for dinner, and a phone/internet café to reconnect with El Norte. Seems everything is fine and the contract for 392 Central Park West is signed. What a relief. I almost can’t wait to move in.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Beginning to Battle the Altitude

Day 4: August 25, 2007


Jungle to Cuzco

Slept poorly due to racket from birds. Had breakfast and took a quick morning hike in the jungle. Saw a red tree squirrel. Very red and fluffy. Took a boat back to Puerto Maldonado. From there, took a van from the river bank to the airport. Didn’t get time to repack bags. Got stopped in security for having a pocket knife in my backpack. They confiscated it. Need to go back to the airport to get it later. The flight into Cuzco was rough. Feeling unsettled. Altitude doesn’t help. Dropped off stuff at my hotel and tried coca tea for the first time. It's made from boiling coca leaves, the same stuff cocaine is made of. It's supposed to help with altitude sickness but there's no scientific basis to back that up. It tastes pretty gross. After a cup of tea, I went on a walking tour. Had lunch in a nice restaurant before the walk. Tried Lomo Saltado, a traditional Peruvian dish. It was good – basically a sliced up steak on a bed of potatoes and rice. Spent the rest of the time shopping. Got an alpaca poncho. Hurried back to the hotel for a briefing on the Lares trail – and really started to feel sick. Maybe it was foreshadowing of the trials to come in the high Andes. My guide’s name is Coco. I hope he doesn’t get me killed, it’ll just be me and him. We went to another nice restaurant for dinner but I felt too sick to eat. Had half a tonic water and left before everyone’s food even arrived. Woke up every two hours that night to drink water to get over the altitude faster.

Fishing for Piranhas

Day 3: August 24, 2007


Somewhere in the Amazon Jungle...

There were few ants still outside in the morning when I was awoken at 5AM by the cries of howler monkeys. I found out I took the wrong trail the previous night. That’s why I never reached the garden. Apparently I was off bumbling somewhere.


Breakfast was ok. I tried some fruits I’d never seen before, but they weren’t exceptional. The howler monkeys continued to roar away (they sound a bit like lions).


After breakfast, we went on a walk (guided tour) through jungle swamp. It was still barely past dawn when we reached the swamp. We paddled a dugout canoe through the muck looking for exotic birds. Spotted some and got pictures of a few. Also some really beautiful butterflies. A very friendly blue one wouldn’t leave us alone and kept landing on people. Got some great pictures I think. Guess I'll never find out for sure (more on that later). Hiked back to camp after. Oh – on the way back through the swamp I spotted a baby black caiman. Couldn’t catch it though before it escaped in the bushes. It's hard chasing reptiles through the dens foliage, especially in a rickity dugout canoe.


The trail back turned out to be the trail I took last night. Not so lost anymore.


When we got back to camp it was only 11:30AM because we left so early. I had some free time before lunch at 1PM so I went looking for the gardens again and once more became lost. This time on a different trail. I was surprised by some deer sized mammals in the brush that made a growling/barking sound before crashing off through the brush. Peccaries maybe? Didn’t get a clear look. Or at another large mammal later. Could have been just about anything. I saw other stuff though and got pictures.


It turned out that the trail ended in a swamp. I found two caimans there, one of which was pretty big, maybe over a meter. Lots of birds and some fish. Went back to camp for lunch.


After lunch I went swimming in a pool covered by mosquito netting (all that nonsense about waiting an hour after eating is totally unfounded scientifically). Frigid water, but having chlorine was nice.


After a swim I went with my guide, Alvaro, to the gardens and actually made it this time. On the way I spotted a capybara (a juvenile I believe) but it ran into a thicket before we could get close enough to get a good picture. It had a light brown head and a darker body.


At the garden I smelled, touched, and tasted lots of plants. Not sure what many of them were. It turns out several were poisonous (I did recognize and avoid them), some others were halucinogenic (these were pointed out to me and I avoided them as well) and the others were either food, medicine, or both. Probably not so smart to play with them without knowing, but oh well. Not dead yet.


Took a shower when I got back. Very cold. Clean though. Oh wait, that was after going fishing for catfish and piranhas. I loaded up on 100% DEET and put on my mosquito net. We took a boat down the river bank to a spot that seemed good for fishing and baited our hooks with small pieces of raw meat. For poles we used sticks. I didn’t catch anything (as usual) but some of the others caught catfish. The piranhas didn't bite unfortunately. The bugs did. I was fairly well protected but several of my fishing buddies got savaged by gnats, mosquitos, and biting flies. It's worth mentioning that the mosquitos in the Amazon are the largest I've ever seen. Way bigger than Alaska. I actually mistook some for dragon flies. It's ridiculous.


We were pretty hot after fishing so we took the boat to the middle of the river and jumped in the water. Very cloudy, lots of sediment. Extremely strong current too. Very difficult to stand up in one place without being swept away. The bottom was fairly sandy and pleasant to the touch. Couldn’t see anything in the water. Probably better off that way. The water was warm enough, far warmer than the pool or showers back at camp. Came back to camp, showered and hung out at the bar. At dinner time they served a buffet as well as the freshly caught fish (of course, I couldn’t eat it because it was catfish).


After dinner I went hiking down the same trail as the previous night again, but this time with a camera. Got the tarantula pics – they were all in the same place. Came back to the bar for drinks (something called a Toucan) and poker (I won). At this point I noticed that I'd apparently been bitten quite a lot swimming in the river. Everything started to itch terribly. The gnats and flies are vicious. I realized that when I took off my clothes to jump in the river, I didn't have DEET on underneath them. Oops. You can actually tell the difference between the various insect bites by their size and whether or not they bleed. The flies leave the largest and nastiest wounds. Fun times.


I found the hive of the red ants on the way to bed. It’s next to one of the support posts of the bungalow next to mine. I'll need to look up the actual species of the ants tomorrow. Took pictures.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Going Adventuring

Day 0-1: August 21-22, 2007.

New York and Miami, USA and Lima, Peru.


My flight was delayed by weather at La Guardia. Barely drizzling. Ridiculous. As a result, I missed my transfer in Miami. There were no more American Airlines flights that night, so I took LAN, Peru's airline. I had to run through the airport in Miami because the LAN flight was already boarding when we landed, but fortunately I had made the new ticket arrangements at La Guardia when I realized I wouldn't make my connection. The other passengers trying to get on the flight who hadn't gotten tickets in advance were in a stickier situation.



At the gate, Spanish was clearly the first language of the Miami staff, as well as 99% of the passengers. I was too tired to muck around in Spanish but since no one seemed able to communicate with me in English (and remember this was still in Miami, not even out of the US yet), I was forced to get by with what Spanish I could muster. Good leg room on the plane at least and the food was fine.


When we landed I picked up my backpack in baggage claim, avoiding the horde of people trying to sell cell phones, rental cars and such to the tourists coming off the plane. I went outside and bargained for a taxi to my hotel. It's much cheaper to go out and bargain than to have the airport staff call a cab, but apparently it can also be dangerous and you have to watch out for kidnappers.

It took about half an hour to get to the hotel and I was disappointed to discover there was no hot water in the morning. Bummer.

I decided to go out fro a while since it was still very early in the morning but I couldn't sleep. I walked around Lima and saw the plazas. They were pretty and the walking started to give me an appetite. I had breakfast at a cafe but the vegetarian omelet I ordered was ham not mushroom so I had to send it back and get it switched. At least when they brought me the right one it was tasty.

After some more wandering I had lunch at a chinese restaraunt and tried Inca Kola - the second most popular drink in Peru after Coke. It tastes pretty good, like bubble gum. Apparently it can be foudn in the US some places under the name golden cola or something to that effect. During lunch a little boy came and asked for food. I had way too much so I gave him the rest of my lunch. There are a lot of poor people all over Peru, but it seems like there are actually less in the big cities than in the country. It always feels the other way round in New York.

I went back to the hotel and met the tour group at 2PM. It was only me and a family from Virginia. Not exactly what I'd been told to expect since I heard the age range was 18-40. Note to self, don't trust travel agents.

I skipped the city tour since I had already seen most of it and this seemed like my last opportunity to do anything in Lima. Based on a recommendation from a friend in NY, I took a taxi to Miraflores to go paragliding. Unfortunately, there was no wind to paraglide so I waited on the cliffs for a couple hours with a bunch of other people but we didn't get to fly.

I took a taxi back to central Lima and met up with the rest of the group. I watched some tv in my suite and then we went back to Miraflores as a group for dinner at a restaraunt called Cafe Cafe. I had the ceviche (it was good and spicy) and the beef stew (which was actually like roast beef and mashed potatoes) and combined it all with a bottle of Chilean Malbec. It was a tasty wine and actually was very interesting combined with the spicy ceviche. All the spice disappeared from the wine after such spicy food and it seemed much sweeter. Plastic cork bottle though - not terribly great stuff.

After dinner we drove back to central Lima, again piled 5 in a cab meant for 4. Watched movies until 2AM or so and then drifted off.