1-17 2nd Day in Lima

1-17 2nd day in Lima

What a fun day of exploration.. Took the free shuttle bus into town and walked and walked and walked some more! We were looking for the Indian Market, and in the search saw a lot of the area we had not expected to see. We found a huge local market for food mainly. We strolled around inside admiring all the fresh veggies and fruits. It was very local and very little English was spoken. Fortunately, Doug's Spanish came back during the day as we kept having to ask for directions. At one point, we asked a family taking a Sunday walk, and they said (in Spanish, of course!) that they would show us part of the way since that was the way they were going. Doug and one of the ladies carried on a basic conversation – I was very impressed. My only contribution to the chat was “gracias!”

Well, we finally found the market with all the local handicrafts. It was fun walking around, but we didn't make any purchases. Instead, on the way back to the meeting spot for the bus, we stopped in a local restaurant. From the day before, we had learned that there were more Chinese restaurants in Lima than almost anywhere. Also, if it were a Chinese restaurant it would say Chiffa something. So, we found one that looked good and stopped in – it was Chiffa Hong Kong. The man who seated us was a real showman. He asked if we wanted Peruvian or Chinese food. When we weren't sure, he suggested we get one dish of each . . . and offered to select them for us. Why not! So, after a Pisco Sour (Doug's favorite S. American drink) we had Chinese egg rolls – but not like the ones we are used to in the States. These were more baked than fried and better than any we have had. Then came the Chinese shrimp dish (it was HUGE – could have easily been enough for 2) and the Peruvian fish dish. The latter was the best with the most flavor. Had no idea what kind it was (even after he told us – we had never heard of that fish) but it was delicious. We also sampled their local cola drink: Inca Kola. It reminded us a little of Mountain Dew in its color and taste. Somehow we managed to almost finish all the dishes. They were that good.

Back on board, we went out on deck to watch us sail away from Peru. We want to find out about one part of it – a tug boat was along side of us guiding us out of the protected harbor. About halfway through, it did spin arounds in the water. It was different! We thought maybe it was their way of saying “good-bye”, but who knows!

After our huge lunch, we only had a little soup and cheese for dinner. We visited with a nice couple from Louisiana we had met earlier on the bus into town. They were both teachers and had taught in Germany for about 20 years. Very interesting discussions with them.

We did attend the ship's evening show and were so glad we did. A British vocalist (Fiona Wilson) sang some of the most beautiful arias from many different composers. We were spell bound by her voice. She was a trim, small person, and we couldn't imagine how such powerful lungs were inside that body! She also told us about her life journey becoming a vocalist – which included many humorous little stories. It was a great way to end the evening.