Day 10 - Final Day in Peru

It was great to finally have a totally free day. Our flight didn’t leave until 11pm, but due to the crazy traffic we were going to be picked up at 7:00pm. What to do?

Madeline had a good suggestion - walk south along the ocean to the Bohemian
part of town called Barranco. A quick Google called it the Soho of Lima, one of the cities hippest neighbourhoods with colourful street art, vibrant old mansions and summer homes, and plenty of Bohemian vibe. Yes, it was all that.

It was the perfect way to end our last day in Peru - long walk, ocean view, clear sky, sandy beach where students were celebrating their graduation, quaint streets, bridges, mural art, etc etc.

We followed the ocean for quite a while then headed into the village. There were lovely parks, sculptures, bridges and monuments. We headed down to the beach to test the water. Wandering further we spotted a deck overlooking the ocean and headed up the stairs. They quickly pulled together 2 tables and we had front row seats overlooking Playa Barranquito - absolutely beautiful. Once again pisco sours were the fav drink.

From there it was a lovely long walk to the restaurant Chris, our guide, had recommended - Punto Azul. He’d suggested arriving well before or well after 2:00pm. Needless to say, we arrived at 2:00 and it was packed. Not to be deterred, we sat on the ledge outside, waited, chatted and soon were called in. It never ceases to amaze me how good the food is here. Everything is so fresh, and beautifully & aesthetically prepared. I’m not one to take pics of food, so have nothing to prove it.

Content & mellow, we wandered back north to Miraflores where our hotel was. Our final destination was a no brainer - the « famous «  bar where Peter & John had found their triple pisco sours. It was perfect - in fact it had been recommended by Chris. It’s called Popular - full name Popular de Aquí y de Allá.

Our timing was perfect - got at least 6 pics of the various stages of the sunset - soooo lovely. Unfortunately we chatted too long and time ran out, so those still sipping pisco sours had the waiter pour them into plastic glasses and we headed out. Could you imagine that in TO - carrying drinks out and sipping them on the bus on route to the airport. Needless to say, we were all quite mellow when we arrived.

The United Airways flight was on time - leaving at 11pm and arriving in Newark at 8:00am. By 10am we were on another United Airways flight on route home.

Must confess, the combination of high altitudes, flight to Lima, and nasal congestion kept my ears plugged all day. As soon as our flight took off in Lima they popped. What a relief. . . . .

We landed in TO about noon and were home shortly thereafter. Many thanks to Rose who ordered and paid for our Uber. Speaking of that, it was great how often someone offered to pick up the whole bill rather than have separate checks. It was fun listening to the cajoling & banter about who would pay. Such a good vibe.

All in all a great Adventure. Although the joke was that it was not a pleasure trip, but an adventure; aside from the super early wake up calls, it actually was a pleasure - and great fun. Would happily travel with these fun-loving good friends again.

My project now is to cull my hundreds of pics into 1 reasonable album.Lue lisää