Peru – Part Seite (7)

Los Angeles, USA

September 6, 1999.

Folks. Here we are. At home, all the amenities around us, diet cokes in hand, writing the final installment…

The last few days in Peru were among the best of the trip. The 2 Day Inca Trail as we’ve said was truly one of the top highlights. We returned to Cuzco on Thursday night and checked back into Ninos Hotel. We also were able to connect with friends in Cuzco.

Omar and Mellisa were cousins of somebody Jeff had met online several months ago. For the past 2 weeks they had been trying to figure out when they could meet. Tonight was the night. They went to dinner at Georky’s, a fun, very upscale barbeque chicken joint. The restaurant was built around actual Incan walls which could still be seen. Food was actually very good but the Pisco Sours made us very sleepy.

Omar, Jeff’s age, and Melissa, 13, are brother and sister and live in Cuzco. They were very sweet and informative about Cuzco and Peru. It was finally nice to sit down and have dinner with some Peruvians. Glad we got a chance to do it and thanks to Ruth for setting it up.

An early wakeup was required on Friday for another early morning flight – the last of the trip. This time, back to Lima. We were not so excited, initially, about returning to the capitol but wanted to make the most of our last day. We had already checked back into Mami Panchita Hostal (which we really like) by 9am. The Hostal was full so we stayed at their original location, a converted mansion, just down the street in the same San Miguel neighborhood.

By 10am, we were in a taxi headed to the famous Gold Museum on the other side of town. While driving, it was easy to see why so few people enjoy Lima. Traffic, gray, drab buildings. But as the day wore on, Lima began to take hold of us with its beautiful parks, friendly people, shops and beautiful coastline. The sky began to clear and almost instantly, Lima began to grow on us. We are now one of few tourists who have visited the city that actually like it. Like it a lot, in fact. If you miss the Gold Museum in Lima, then you should feel like a fool. This place should not be missed!!!!

Wow! The Gold Museum is truly one of the most amazing museums of its kind that we have ever seen. The arms section of the museum is overwhelming. You could easily spend a day here. Price is expensive though. I think it was $8 per person to enter!! Thousands of arms from every country and every century. Room upon room of antique arms. Apparently, the only other collection larger is in the British Museum.

The underground gold vault is also overwhelming. Room after room of precious Incan metals. It is nice to finally be able to see the objects from the ruins we spent so much time looking at. Getting a better understanding and perspective on the Incan ways of life. An excellent way to finish a trip that focused so much on the Inca culture.

Lunch at Las Brujas del Cachiche was the best of the trip. A fancy

restaurant with well-heeled Limenos in another converted mansion in the very upscale Miraflores section of the city. I had the Lomo Saltado, a specialty (beef, tomatoes, onions, french fries – all mixed together) and a big beer. Steph had ceviche prepared differently than any other we have tried. Excellent. A rice pudding and mazamorra morada for dessert – a purple corn, sweet potoatoes, dried fruit, cinammon cloves, perfumed pepper – far out and fantastic! Overall, an expensive but very tasty treat for the end of our trip.

The afternoon was spent strolling through the streets. Parque de Amor (nice views) and then a walk along the coast. There is a pier and cliffs remind us of Santa Monica. The Centro Comercial Larco-Mar is a big mall complex on the beach which we couldn’t resist seeing for the bizarre/strangeness of it all. Located in this very smart, fancy mall was, among others, a Tony Roma’s, Ben and Jerry’s, Hard Rock Cafe, Subway Sandwich, movie theater, arcade, motorola cell phone shop – you get the idea.

We marvelled at the spectacle and then quickly switched directions and headed back to Miraflores where we window shopped along Ave. La Paz for antiques. Then to McDonald’s at El Ovalo where Jeff made his requisite stop (Jeff visits a McDonald’s in every country he visits as part of some bizarre ritual…He has been to a McDonald’s in 43 countries of the World! Can anybody beat that?).

Then to Cafe Cafe where we drank cappuccinos as the sun set on Parque Kennedy. The park is crowded on this friday evening, people hurrying home to get ready to go out on this Friday night. A crisp cool evening, final warm rays from the sun. The cafe is crowded with business people on cell phones and couples out on early dates. It is a not-to-be-missed-at-sunset kind of place.

We hopped in a cab and asked to be driven around the San Isidro area, another upscale section of the city that turned out to be our favorite. We remembered that there was a synagogue in the area and decided to pay a visit. We arrived at the temple just as Friday night shabat services were beginning. It took us a while to enter due to security reasons. There are only 3000 Jews in this city of 8 million. Our faces stuck out and we were immediately pulled aside as we tried to enter the synagogue. We were interviewed and questioned and our bags were taken. Jeff had to give them copies of our passports. It was quite an interesting affair.

The service was almost completely in hebrew. There were perhaps 300 people filling the room. It was an interesting evening. Steph happened to sit next to the wife of the President of the Temple who invited us to dinner. We declined the offer as we had plans at Lima’s best restaurant, Costa Verde, on Barranquito beach (Omar had told us that it was considered the best in Peru).

As we walked out of the temple, we met with and spoke to the young, 26 year old rabbi. He has come from Israel. The temple had been without a rabbi for 6 months. His Spanish was not all there and it was apparent that he was learning it. He insisted that we go to dinner at his home. We followed him and a group of 12 other people to his house which was nearby. His wife, 2 year old son, and a bodyguard also followed. The 12 of us sat down to dinner and enjoyed a fabulous home-cooked meal. We were joined by a mostly young crowd of Peruvian Jews. We communicated in both English and Spanish. It was a magical night that lasted until midnight. It is interesting to meet Jews who are 3rd generation Peruvians.

We got back to our hostal and passed out. The next morning, as usual

(Saturday), we awoke very early, had breakie, and then got into the hostal’s taxi for a ride to the airport. And that was it.

End of trip. End of story. Photos have been developed and we invite anyone who is interested to see them. The trip was fantastic, full of adventure, charm, good food, good weather, great people, wonderful shopping, interesting ruins – we couldn’t have asked for anything more. Except time. Two weeks flew by when all was said and done.

We thank you for taking the time to read our online journal and hope that eveyone’s summer was everything they wanted it to be.

When you come back from Peru, drop me a line and let me know if you visited any of the places, cafes, restaurants or hotels that I mentioned. I’d appreciate it. Keep travelling.

Jeffrey Berk

Email: jlberk@aol.com

Los Angeles, California

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