30 and after packing up my goods for the red-eye flight later that night, we got picked up by Lili and Alfredo around noon. We hadn't eaten yet that day and I was basically famished, but we were going to experience Lima's ceviche at the beach that day so I had to be patient.According to our tour guides, the best beaches were down in southern Lima so off we headed down the highways. Erika couldn't come with us because she had to work and was honest enough not to ask for a "doctor's note" to go to the beach with us. She is very sweet and I missed her a lot on Monday. She kept asking me on Sunday if I would remember her when I went back to the United States and I of course said I couldn't forget her that easy. I was very comfortable with her and vice versa and I thought it was sad when she asked me if I had a girlfriend back in the United States because I think these girls are treated really bad by typical gringo tourists, not to mention the stereotypical Latin attitude towards women that they are subjected to. It's no wonder they appreciate it when someone is a gentleman and treats them well...
Anyway, a couple hours later we got the beach, which is basically a parking lot
lined with restaurants facing the beach and people begging us and running with our car trying to get us to come to their portion of the beach and eat their food. Thankfully our tour guide knew the one she trusted and parked in front of it.Life is good on the beach. You basically go where you want and the restaurant workers bring you chairs, umbrellas, and a menu if you want it. You order plate fulls of food and drinks and they bring it out on trays for you. That's what I'm talking about! Alfredo and Lili ordered us "Conchitas" (mussels in the shell filled with lime juice, vinegar, diced red onions and peppers - out of this world!), ceviche (raw fish in lime juice, which 'cooks' the fish because of the acidity), and a plate of mixed fried seafood like squid, octopus, and sweet potatoes and washed it all down with Inca Kola. I was famished and I dug into the food and was amazed at how fast you can fill up on that kind of stuff.
After lunch we all kind of laid around, took
micro naps in the hot sun, and even ventured out into the water. According to the local "reports", today's water quality was good but the brownish tint and the yellow foam on top made me wonder if maybe the water quality index was relative and not absolute for us gringos :o) . At least the temperature was perfect!In the late afternoon, the restauarants were shutting up shop for the day and we decided to head back to the hotel to pick up my gear and then head out to a nice dinner. Lili decided that we should go to Jose Antonio's, where we were treated like first-class citizens with a bottle of wine, huge portions of delicious food, and too much customer service for a $20 meal. I prepared for the red-eye with white Peruvian wine to wash down my Argentine tenderloin steak with grilled onions and tomatoes and a patty of rice & beans cooked together.
Dessert finally arrived in the shape of a stressed out Latina finishing up last minute wor
k on her mobile phone. I thought Americans were bad when it came to work, but Erika is right up there with working late every night and six or seven days a week as a marketing events planner. I couldn't understand why she like me so much because she hardly knew me and her and Lili were not "bricheras", girls that are looking for green cards, like many of the girls I met. They are both happy to live in Peru and pursue their successful careers without needing a foreignor to come and "rescue" them from Peru. No, some girls just need someone who makes them feel special. And some guys, too....Yusteen, I got dropped off at the airport, said my goodbyes, was at work the next day suffering the consequences of ceviche that might not have been fresh enough, and missing South America.
No comments:
Post a Comment