Corey the Nomad: Day 2: The Police Show, Sweet Coffee, Pisco, and Tres Leches

Given that the sleep I got for last night was on the plane, I'm not sure if this counts as one long day, or two actual days. But here goes.

So, after my flight in and breezing through immigration and baggage (thank goodness for my small bag!), I found a coffee shop immediately outside of the baggage claim area and ordered a "cafe con creme," which I assumed to be a simple coffee with milk in it (a la coffee con leche). Oh no, what I received, and was grateful for at 6am, was a goblet of coffee flavored cream. My caffeine level restored to normal, I realized that the coffee shop didn't have wi-fi and that I wouldn't be able to communicate with our hosts if needed, so I meandered off to find some internets. Fortunately for my future energy levels, the next place I found was ALSO a coffee shop! So as a tax for wi-fi usage I ordered a shot of espresso, which was pretty much everything that my first cup of coffee wasn't: small, black, and heavy on caffeine. Now I was buzzing and ready to go.

After killing some time on email and facebook, as well as making a surprise internet phone call to mi padre y madre, I packed it up and headed back to the arrivals section and began waiting for our ride to the hostel and for Sabrina and Joey. In a sign of just how much of a creeper I am, I decided the best way to do this would be to stand on the second floor balcony overlooking the arrivals area and wait for somebody to arrive with a sign for me...yeah, that happened. After not too long, Sabrina and Joey arrived and we met our driver (Alphonso, the husband of our airbnb contact, Emma. Hey Alphonso and Emma!).

We slowly made our way through the Lima traffic and arrived at our apartment, which was conveniently adjoining Emma's apartment. After a quick orientation to the apartment and to the city, Sab, Joey and I headed out for some trekking and lunch. Grabbing some quick empanadas at the local tienda, we made our way to "Old Town" Lima just in time for the changing of the guard at the palace. There, we were treated to a lovely band ensemble as well as loads and loads of school children (there as tourists), who were all decked out in their matching track suits. Yes, MATCHING TRACKSUITS. Why didn't we have matching track suits when I was a kid?! I could have totally rocked that.

The afternoon was filled with walking around old town. Buying a S/. 50 cup of coffee that had more sugar than coffee, buying more coffee at Dunkin Donuts, visiting the national cathedral, and briefly falling asleep on the bus back to the neighborhood where we're staying (Miraflores). Having kept moving, we decided that we should just power through the tiredness and keep on trekking; so after a brief pit stop at the apartment for a bio break and camera pickup, we were off to the Parque de la Amor and the bluffwalk overlooking the Pacific. Soaking in some good views, we eventually made our way to a mall overlooking the ocean and decided that it was a FANTASTIC time to grab some happy hour drinks and appetizers. Lucky for us Pardo's chicken (recommended by Alphonso) was able to provide both those in copious quantities. As the happy hour deal was 2 for one, we ended up with two small pisco sours, two muay grande pisco sours, and two Chilcanos (Pisco + ginger ale + lime, i think...), as well as a 1/4 chicken, a skewer of beef hearts, fries, carrots, green beans, and beets. MMMMM....I don't think that any of us wanted to leave the table, but alas, it was almost time for second dinner with Emma and Alpha=onso!

Upon their recommendation, we went as a group to a Chinese and Peruvian place, where we were able to get another traditional dish: Lomo Saltado. The portions were sizeable, and there was plenty left by the time that all of us were pleasantly full. However, we were not done with food yet for the day. There was also a dessert place that Emma and Alphonso knew about, so we decided to try it out. OH, how glad I am that we tried this place out. Together we had three GREAT pieces of Tres Leches (two Vanilla and one Chocolate), and some fruit juices (because we hadn't had enough sugar already). Full of good food and good booze, we were all more than ready to get some sleep. So we quickly went home to change, shower, and wait for the final two of our group (hi Andy and Sandy) to arrive.

I know that this was much less funny, but hopefully enjoyable...keep checking for more updates!

Corey (the Nomad)