Ciao Peru: Cusco to Lima and last goodbyes

The day after the inca trail in Cusco:
Our planned and desperately needed lie in was ruined by the gym next to the hotel who started pumping tunes at 6:30am with a shouting instructor. So annoying. Brucey managed to put the ear plugs in and kept going for a few more hours but I couldn’t go back to sleep so ended up in reception trying to use the very poor Wifi. Called la mamma and Maggie, so nice to speak to them I miss them so much now!! I also managed to sort out our photos since we were running out of space. We had breakky just before it closed at 9:45 and then went to our full body massage which was great after the inca trail. Nice relaxing music and good strong hands sorting out our sore legs. The sun was shining and we wandered around Cusco doing some shopping and admiring the old inca capital lazily, getting coffee and lunch at our own pace and wondering around shops and stalls. At 4pm we had a two hours chocolate class at the chocolate museum, which was fun and weird at the same time. We learnt about the process of making chocolate, and made our own chocolates with all the ingredients we wanted. I made dark chocolates with almond and sea salt, with m&m’s and coffee beans, with macadamia nuts, with coconut and sprinkles and with quinoa bits that supposedly make it crunchy. The best part of it all was that we got to finish the bowl of melted chocolate! So delicious. The class finished a bit late so we had to run back to the hotel to have time to have a shower before meeting for dinner. At 7:30 we met and went to the main square in a place called Pachacho to have some food. Chino joined us for a last supper together and we watched the Copa America Peru vs Ecuador game which finished 2-2. We were all still tired, and the pub was very cold and a few people had bad stomachs so even if we were planning a big night out everyone gradually bailed out and we ended up coming back at 11pm with a cab. Luckily we did because after that Brucey was sick all night 🙁


Cusco to Lima and last goodbyes
Lima day 1
We had to check out of the hotel at 10:30am and then had two hours to kill until our bus to the airport at 12:30. But Brucey was on the loo all night, very dehydrated and tired so I managed to convince reception to give him an extra hour in the room. In the meantime I woke up, packed and left my luggage in storage, had breakfast and went back to the chocolate museum to pick up our creations from yesterday’s chocolate class. It was nice to walk in the sun and say my goodbye to Cusco. Got to the airport and the flight Cusco to Lima was just one hour but very bumpy and terrifying. I feel like I am somehow getting worse at flying rather than better 🙁
We got to Lima half an hour earlier than expected, at 3:30pm. All luggages arrived which was a relief and we got a bus transfer to the hotel called Casa Suyay in Miraflores. Lima at first sight is not particularly pretty at all. Dirty, foggy, smoggy, and so much traffic.
We arrived at 5pm to the hotel and met at 6pm to go around and see the magic fountain at the Parque de la Reserva. Bruce decided to stay behind and join only for dinner since he was feeling very weak. It was the right decision since our taxi took over one hour to get to the park. The others were all there when we arrived so clearly our driver took the wrong or the most trafficked road. Anyway the park was beautiful and the fountains fascinating with lights show and all sorts. By the time we finished to look at the park it was already 9pm and we went for dinner in the bohemian Barranco quarter. Brucey by that time bailed out since it was late and he didn’t feel like eating. We were all tired and the food wasn’t very good that night, we all ended up getting a cab back straight after the meal – again our cab was the last to arrive which makes me think I am the one with the bad luck since I was the only one on both the slow taxis!

Lima day 2
We checked out of the hotel after breakfast to move into our Airbnb in Calle Samuel Marquez owned by a nice lady called Maria. The flat is very nice, on two floors with a nice bed and tv and kitchen. Nice to feel “at home” after almost three weeks of tours, early check outs, tents and night buses! We had a very lazy day and treated ourselves to a “Sunday” which have been quite rare in the last few months. I know it sounds crazy, since we have been on holiday for six months and it should be like having a Sunday everyday but travelling fast the way we are doing it is actually very tiring and I can count only on one hand the number of days we spent being ACTUALLY lazy, with no walks or sightseeing or tours, no flights or buses. Anyway this was one of the lazy days. In the evening we met up with the remaining of our Machu Picchu group, 14 of us as three have left, for the last goodbyes. We had dinner in a nice place overlooking the Pacific ocean called Mangos which is in a mall called Larcomar in Miraflores. We had the best ceviche ever (raw fish in lemon sauce) and shared a nice seafood starter – the atmosphere was also really good so I would definitely recommend this place. To end on a sweet note we had a chocolate fondant, all very yummy and it was nice to have Brucey back eating and loving good food as I am used to see him! After that we were again all quite tired and it was time to say goodbye to some that are leaving tomorrow for the Amazon, the four Aussies. So nice to meet them and to share this amazing experience with them, safe journeys to the Amazon and eventually home! And also HUGE thanks to our super G Adventures CEO Jimmy, who was the most patient and kind tour guide ever 🙂

Lima day 3
We had a bit of a lie in and took it easy in the morning, I skyped home for my mum’s birthday, Brucey skyped mum and sister and I also skyped one of my best friends Costi. It was so nice to catch up, but I am not sure if it made me miss her more or less! After that we had breakfast and met up with the last straw of the group left, only 9 of us and went for a Pizza in Pizza Street near Kennedy Park (the cats park!) to watch the England vs Russia Europe Cup game. It was painful to watch, 0-0 in the first half and 1-0 for England in the second half but somehow Russia managed to score one goal at minute 92. England had many more chances and really deserved to win, so it was uber-frustrating! Bruce wasn’t in a good mood after that and nor was I. We had to say goodbye to the entire group, (the real last goodbye) which was already bitter sweet, seeing them being excited to go home made me want to go too but we still have one month. Of course I am looking forward to visiting Colombia and Argentina, and travelling is amazing, but I have never been away for so long, my family was all together for my mum’s birthday and Brucey’s family also for Sam’s Christening and we are both hugely missing them by now. Probably the fact that we are still tired post Machu Picchu, and that Lima is ugly didn’t help our mood. We wandered around in the cat park cuddling random stray cats, which made us miss Jenkins and Sapic. When we saw some old locals having a dance in the middle of the square it cheered us up a bit, we then walked around to buy some dvds to watch, and ended up going back to the Larcomar mall for a stroll. We had a beer and it was almost time for dinner. We went to a delicious italian restaurant called Rigoletto and had very nice food and wine. Octopus to start, then seafood pasta, then sole in capers and lemon sauce and to end a fantastic tiramisu. The Tamutamu Peruvian wine was good too. When we got home we watched a dvd in bed, called Far from Heaven – Brucey lasted 10 minutes before he was snoring, but I loved the film and truly recommend it.

Lima day 4
On our last day in Lima we had all the good intentions to finally do some sightseeing. But during breakfast poor Brucey started to have blurred vision and got a migraine 🙁

After brekky he went to lie down a little and immediately passed out until 1pm poor thing. After he woke up and still had it so had to take his pill that makes him super tired (yes even more than usual) for a few days… At 2pm we managed to get out of the house and went to have a delicious lunch at Costazul Seafood, a small family owned restaurant with fantastic seafood. We had the seabass ceviche and then seabass with calamari and scallops cooked with sweetcorn, fries and rice. Also coffees and dessert, and a soft drink each all for only £22 in two! Super recommend this place. After lunch we went to the Larco Museum which has a beautiful garden full of bright coloured bougainvilles and an interesting collection of incan and pre incan pottery and jewelry. A bit boring after a while, but interesting, especially terrifying the human sacrifice section, and quite funny the erotic gallery. We are spending our last night in Lima at home, I’m making a pasta with pesto and we are playing cards and watching a film. Tomorrow we have time for breakfast and then go to the airport for our 3hrs flight to Bogota, out penultimate country… Colombia! From sea level back to 2,500 metres – can’t say I missed the altitude! Good night, or as they say here buenas noches!

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