LIMA DAY 11: Adios, Lima

Sunday, March 19, 2017

On Sunday mornings, I drink Coffee and read my Kindle. It's what I do. So I set off on a search for somewhere to do just that, and I found that Delicass was open.

They are a coffee shop/diner kind of place. This one is in a small mall with a Supermarket and some other stores. A cup of Coffee is about US$3, but for about $6.50 you can get Coffee, fresh Juice, Scrambled Eggs, and a basket of Breads. So that's what I did. And I read my Kindle.

There's been flooding in Peru big-time, and it has screwed up the water supply here in the city. There was no water in my apartment building, and it is 5474037807 degrees out, so I moved in (for my last night) to the Hotel Boulevard, where Ed is staying. Plenty of air conditioning and water in the showers.

Ed and I went for his final Lunch to Cala Restaurant. It's right on the water, very fancy, and has good food. We didn't have a reservation, and we got the last available table -- the whole place filled up after we got there.

We started with Scallops for me and a 'cooked' Shrimp Ceviche for Ed.

Me, I love Scallops. I extra love Grilled Scallops. Ed loves Shrimp -- everybody's happy.

Speaking of love... I Love Duck. My friend Joi loves Duck, too. But it's different. She loves them because they are cute; I love them for Dinner. Or Lunch.

Sorry, Joi. I had the Rice with Duck. It's probably my last chance until I get back here. Ed had Tuna.

My Duck was good. It wasn't up to the standards set earlier this week, but pretty much nothing could be. Ed seemed to enjoy his Tuna. We passed on Dessert.

So Ed left for the airport and I kept myself occupied in the evening. Around 10:30, I realized that I hadn't had Dinner. I wasn't emotionally prepared to deal with a restaurant, so I went to the supermarket and bought some Turkey, Cheese, Mustard and a Loaf of Bread.

I didn't really think the whole Bread thing completely through, but I managed to rip off enough Bread for one Sandwich, and that was enough to keep me happy.

That was it for this trip. My flight is super early on Monday, so there might be some nonsense at the airport, but probably not.

LIMA DAY 10: The Seafood Lady. And Panchita :)

Saturday, March 18

My first stop of the morning was Mercado #2 in Surquillo. There are Mercados all over the place, but I've been going here for years to see Rosa, The Seafood Lady.

It's not just Seafood at the Mercado... there's Fish, Meats, Chickens and Ducks, along with dry goods, Cheese items, pirated DVDs... everything. And it makes some great Photo Ops, like this one from a Fish stand.

I told Rosa that I wanted a Ceviche with Clams and Scallops. I also wanted Fried Fish Chunks. We looked over the Clams and picked six nice ones. I left the Scallop deciding to her.

While they did the preparations, I had a Bowl of Chilcano, which is a Fish Stock Soup.

After that, The Ceviche and Chicharron de Pescado.

As if sent by God, some girl from another part of the Mercado came by with Rosa's and her assistant's Coffee. So, after some negotiating, I had a Cafe con Leche delivered (for 60 cents!) and was able to fulfill my usual Saturday routine.

On the way out, I stopped at a Juice stand and had a blender full of Cantaloupe Juice. Just like the old school Soda Fountains, he gave me the overage in the blender.

Ed and I walked around in the afternoon, and wound up at Mama Lola's for Lunch, mostly because they were air conditioned. Ed had Ravioli, and I had Aji de Gallina with Gnocchi.

For Dinner, we had big plans. Ed likes Panchita almost as much as I do, so we planned to eat there for his last night in town.

We started with their wonderful Bread selection. For our Appetizers, I ordered a side dish of Carapulcra, and Ed asked for an Empanada and a Shrimp Causa.

Carapulcra is a Stew made of Dried Potatoes, delicious Spices and either some Pork or Chicken thrown in for good measure. This one had Pork, and it was delicious. Ed loved his Empanada, and the parrt of the HUGE Causa that he could eat.

Our Main Courses were Tacu Tacu with Loma Saltado (me) and an Anticucho of Lomo Fino (Filet on a stick) for Ed.

We were very quiet for the next 15 minutes. Ed did justice to his Steak, and I ate most of the Lomo Saltad, but less than half of the Tacu Tacu Rice & Bean Patty.



For Dessert, Panchita has Queso Helado. If you translate it, that's 'Frozen Cheese,' but it's not. It's just really good Ice Cream from the Arequipa Region of Peru.

Even better (or worse, depending on your point of view), they changed the presentation, raising the price by about a dollar and a quarter and giving you almost twice as much Queso Helado.

Ed had Crema Volteada, which you and I would call Flan. I was too excited with my Ice Cream to remember to take its photo, but yeah, Ed liked it.

That was it for Ed's final night.

LIMA DAY 9: Recovery Day

Friday, March 17, 2017

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. I saw a hi-tech Spork.

I met Bertha for Breakfast. Due to flooding throughout the country, there's sporadically no water in Lima. We restaurant hunted for a while until we wound up at Mercado #1 in Surquillo, where we found an open Cevicheria.

We both had... Ceviche. This was also the place that sports the Sporks.

As we left, we saw an open Ice Cream place. Bertha ran to it like a Moth to a light, so we had Ice Cream for Dessert.

In the afternoon, I stopped by a place near my house for a cup of Coffee and an Egg and Sausage Sandwich.

I had plans with Lucia at night. We were going to meet up and do a "Tour de Mierdo" -- a nighttime scary cemetery tour. We went to a Dunkin Donuts to get something cold to drink before the tour.

The tour was... not so scary. We saw some houses that might have been haunted, and the Cemetery -- Cementerio Presbitero Matias Maestro. The Tour part was only so-so but the Cemetery was really big, and would have been great to visit for the photo ops in the daytime. We didn't see any ghosts, and were only told about some witches. Here's some pictures that I was able to get from the tour...

The better-lit, indoor photos were from the Cemetery's centerpiece: The Crypt of the Heroes. It had the remains of all of Peru's war heroes, and was well-kept and very respectful. As a bonus, I now know why most of the streets are named what they are... all of the guys we saw in there have their own street here in town.

After, it was late, we were dirty and tired. We never made it to Dinner. In a shocking development, I didn't die of starvation.