Hooked up with my waitress and friends. Took me to Chorrillos district. Southern most district in Lima. Seemed safe for daytime gringos, not nearly as nice as Miraflores. Get that feeling your in an under developed country. Did have some real nice places near Costa Verde highway. Took me to a real nice restaurant with some terrific seafood. This district is the best place to go in Lima for seafood. I guess a port is close by and the seafood is normally previous days catch. Didn't get the name of the place, sorry. Took a cab north up the Costa Verde highway and checked out a couple of gift shops, more lessons on Peru culture. Of course my waitress was in her glory. Gal really does have a huge crush on me and would like nothing better to be my "novia" I too could live with that but other chicas would be out of the question. Surely would expect much more of my time, far too possessive. I can see myself having to account for all my time and actions. Still both terrific people and like most Peruvians I met very proud of their country and heritage. She really wanted to take me out dancing one evening before I left.
Did find a nice Chinese restaurant. Short cab ride from the hotel, nothing earth shattering but better than the chain restaurant near Pizza Alley. Wa Lok Avenida Angamos Oeste No. 700 Miraflores. Phone 447-1314 447-1280 reservations 447-1329.
Getting late and hurried back to the hotel to meet Budget, typical SA business. Message they would be a little late. "Little late" tuned into an hour and a half. Price was a little higher than I expected. Partially my fault, doing this at the last minute. I really didn't shop around. $35 a day with 170 Km free. If you rented for 3 days or more it was $60 with unlimited mileage. Can't remember what the rate was if you went over the minimum. I had planned on covering a lot of miles in a short amount of time decided to take the unlimited mileage option. I also checked into renting cell phones. Lost the information and company name but the price was real cheap. $3.50 per day. Purchase cards for minutes. 20 minutes costs 20 soles, about $6.00 American. If you head out of town be sure to spend the money for the phone, just in case. I'm set and might be a little nuts but I'm heading out 5 AM Tuesday morning. Get out of town before rush hour. Hope to see some sights on the way. One of the dumber thoughts I've had in my life!!! Traffic in and around Lima during daylight hours is bumper to bumper. In the middle of all this Karen calls. It truly is a curse. Purchased a good road map of Peru One block from the hotel there is a bookstore. Corner of Berlin (crosses in front of the hotel) and Oscar Benavides, which is the street that runs along Kennedy Park.
While on the topic, driving in Lima. OH MY!!!! Peruvians have to be the most aggressive drivers I have ever seen. This also causes walking around town to be dangerous. If you cross the street at a red light your fine, except in the early morning hours. Only other traffic law that is followed is the drunk driving laws. They're strict and saw many random stops during both visits. Nothing abnormal to have a taxi driver go the wrong way up a one-way street, even with traffic coming. . People making left hand turns from the far right hand lane. Their versions of stop signs Para (sp) translated: slow down to 40KM if you can get thru the intersection before the vehicle that has the right of way, no matter how close you pass, no problem. It is their responsibility to blow the horn, make sure you see them. Miss your turn, no problem! Stop turn on your 4 way flashers wait for traffic behind you to get out of the way, backup and make your turn. Their all nuts!! Need to cross traffic, sure just push your way thru, even if it does bring traffic to a stop. The local busses that run around town. Stay the HELL out of their way, their worse!!!
Need to post the photos of Kennedy Park. This place is always trim, neat, clean and in immaculate condition.
Had a couple of Pizza Alley phone numbers and debated on using them or Tequila Rock. Decide Tequila Rock, hopefully one of my gals will be there, and I was right. Much to my delight my first choice of Karen's was there. FYI the Karen in my first report, one with reddish hair. Chatting with a fella but made eye contact and the huge smile that led me to believe she remembered me. Hung out for a while to see what happens. Suddenly I felt a set of hands on my shoulders, turned and HOT DAMN it was her. Amigo headed towards the exit. LIFE IS GOOD!!! As she sat down it looked like she put on a little weight. Poor thing had been ill, bed ridden and in and out of hospitals, even had surgery. She was working hard to lose the few pounds she had gained. I really don't understand but theses girls really do play games with their English. Her English was very good but not showing it at all. Funny thing, here I set with my number one choice. Excited, willing to take this gal away for a little vacation. A vacation she surely hasn't had in a long time. Rubs her hand along my cheek asked why I shaved my beard. Answer was easy; I didn't want to wear on anymore. Problem......I made that decision 15 years ago!!! Heartbreaker. Ok I said irresistible not unforgettable, but I'm working on it. We finally decide to leave. She had put on more weight than I first thought. The surgery story was true. Good ole South American doctors looked like he use a machete instead of a scalpel. Felt bad as it stunned me and looked too long and embarrassed her. She was real angry with the doctor. The session was nice and did have a good time.