DAY TWO – WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2004

Hola everyone. RT here. Typing on a 70 cent per hour computer terminal!

Yesterday started really nice. Paola and I woke up at the same time. Probably a big truck drove by the hotel. My room faces the street and it is plenty noisy.

We sessioned again. She gave me her number and tried to extract a promise that I would call later. It wouldn't hold up in court, but I'm pretty sure that she thinks that I agreed.

I took my morning walk around town. I'm getting a little more comfortable with where things are and how they connect. Having a good map of the area sure helps. I posted my report and took care of some other business. How lucky! It was then lunchtime. My research had unearthed a place close by called Brujas de Cachiche.

BRUJAS DE CACHICHE
460 Bologonesi, Miraflores
444-1883 - Sorry, no GPS coordinates. It was in my pocket and I forgot
(Click here for Brujas De Cachiche discussion)

These guys had a killer lunch buffet. Priced at US$25, it had better damm well be killer. I eat mostly fish and seafood, so the cuisine here is perfect for me. This buffet had (cold) calamari salad, pulpo salad, both clams and mussels with some spicy stuff on top, a cold fish item I couldn't quite understand (good as well), smoked salmon and some other stuff.

The hot part included a carving station, pork, chicken, various beef items, stuffed peppers topped with an awesome creme fraiche, and various vegetables. There were dessert items, too. I didn't pay much attention.

Don't get me wrong -- there are plenty of cheap dining options around, too. I just figure that I'm on vacation, so what the hell. This place was pretty busy with expense-account looking Peruvians eating lunch. It wasn't a tourist place. And all prices I've found so far include the tax and tip, so by US standards, it was a $19 lunch. Still not cheap, but not a fortune, either.

I had bought a different newspaper, and went through it during lunch. There were plenty of small display ads for incall and outcall massages and just plain 'attention', many featuring 18, 19 or 20 year old 'massajistas'. I think my first day search just got me off on the wrong foot. Daytime activities shouldn't be all that difficult. We will see in the next few days.

I needed to walk off my lunch, so I created a mission: Find a casino that would let me play blackjack during the day.

There are casinos everywhere around here. Most of them are open 24/7. The bad news is that the gaming tables here don't open until 6 pm. This is not an English-friendly town. You can find someone to give directions, but an advanced concept like table games in the daytime was impossible for me to get across.

I did accomplish one thing: I have a cell phone here. Buying one is prohibitive for a short visit, but something made me ask about renting. Sure, the guy said. $9 for a week on a pre-paid plan. Bingo! I put $15 worth of time on the phone, and I was off with a brand new Nokia.

If you're bored, call me. My Peruvian cell number is 9-726-5039. I have no clue what the country code is or anything, but if you're bored enough, you'll figure it out.

I only had a couple more hours before I had to get back to the hotel to meet Pappy. He was supposed to be checking in at 6, I thought.

So much for thinking. It's always better to check AA's web site for the truth. His plane was on time, but wasn't landing until 9:15. Add at least an hour for customs, etc. and he wouldn't be there until 10:30 or so. Oops.

I took the newly-free time to check on and fix Pappy's reservation at the hotel, and decide on another casino. I chose the Golden Palace in San Isidro. I liked the name, and a couple of people recommended it during my earlier search.

Sorry, but I didn't bring my GPS with me. The cab ride was $1.50, and seemed like it should cost more. This place was huge. Slots as far as the eye can see (I guess people in Peru love slot machines), and, at the end, table games: Blackjack, roulette, Caribbean poker, and something called 'let it ride'. All bets in US$, and it was a $3 minimum. I managed to kill a couple of hours and wound up winning some money (third time this trip!). Everywhere I have played here in Lima, the blackjack has been dealt very sloooowly. That's just how they do it. Happy, I grabbed a taxi back to the hotel to get a light bite and wait for Pappy. It had been almost 12 hours since I had some female companionship. I was ready.

I had the taxi drop me off at the mouth of Pizza Alley. Gentlemen, going there is almost unfair. It's just too easy. On this one parade through, I wound up with two phone numbers (from girls that were only so-so) and got the stare from easily four or five more, a few very attractive at that.

When I get to the hotel, no Pappy yet, but there was a message -- Paola had stopped by to look for me. She left her number and asked me to call her. I guess I paid/tipped a little too much, huh?

While waiting for Pappy to show up, I walked a couple of doors away from the hotel and got an order of cebiche to tide me over. Cebiche is a mixture of fish (usually sea bass, they call it corvina here) and sometimes other seafood and onions, all marinated in a lime-based juice. It's one of the famous food products of Peru, and popular all over the world. For me, it's OK (I like all of the ingredients), but does it rock my socks? No. Will I keep ordering in? Yup. Go figure.

About 10:45 or so, Pappy shows up. It turns out the he left before reading my Day 1 report, and went right instead of left at Immigration. It wound up costing him about a half hour, he said. He gets settled and we take a walk through Kennedy Park and Pizza Alley, just to get grounded. We discuss our first stop. I tell him that I have internet coupons for Club Emmanuelle, one of the top-shelf strip clubs in the City.

Emmanuelle
San Isidro (didn't have my GPS with me)
(Click here for Emmanuelle discussion)

We take the taxi ($1.65) to Emmanuelle and hand them the coupons (free cover in lieu of $15). Problema numero uno. They don't want to let us in for free. OK, we say (calling their bluff), we will go elsewhere. After a long discussion, they say they will let us in for $9 each, and we get one free drink. Done.

We enter. Immediately in front is a stage. To the right at a few tables, to the left is the bar, and if you keep going around the stage, more tables, benches and booths.

Pappy and I are accosted almost immediately. His girl seemed nice enough, and Pappy was happy to talk and buy her two $10 drinks, so she hung with him.

NOTE TO REMEMBER: We're in South America, people!!! $15 cover, $10 chica drinks. Something is rotten in Denmark.

My first chica is pretty enough, and affectionate until I tell her that I'm not springing for a $10 drink. She leaves faster than you can say Diego Maradonna.

To quote someone I know, Jesus Christ, can you spell 'clip joint'?

She is immediately replaced with another sweet young thing. She's all over me. Kisses real good, too. I finally buy her a drink. It's her third day ever, she tells me, and she hasn't made any money yet. Would I be interested? Sure, I say, but I want someone to stay all night.

No, she tells me, there's rooms here and the $20 exit fee only covers two hours. I tell her sorry, see what she can do. She walks to the bar to ask. I almost spill my drink when she says:

'They want a $60 salida for todo la noche.'

Pappy was doing no better. His girl quoted $200 including the salida, so we decide to leave. Check, please.

They bring my bill and it was $15 for the one drink. When I complain, they tell me her drink was more expensive (duh) and that's what it cost. What could I do in this situation? That's right. I paid and we left. When my girl asked for a tip, I told her that her bosses had all of my money, go get some from them.

We taxi back to Pizza Alley. Dozens of stares at 1 am. Not having the luxury of messing up again, we return go to Tequila Rock, the site of last night's conquest.

It turns out that the cover is a mere $3, so we pay happily. The place is busier than the night before, with the same 2:1 ratio of girls to guys. We settle in at a table, order a drink, and who swoops down on me but Paola from last night, wanting to know why I didn't call. I avoided the question, but she went and got a photo album and showed me where last night's pictures should go. I wasn't being very responsive, and she finally got the hint that I wasn't repeating, and left me to go three tables away to stare at me with hate in her eyes.

It didn't take long for us to attract other attention. Pappy hooks up with a slim, very large-breasted girl, and in less than 15 minutes they are out the door, after we make plans to meet in the morning. I am occupied with a 23 year-old well-stacked spinner. I buy her a drink and a shot of Tequila. After the prices in Emmanualle, anything was a bargain, so I didn't even notice what the drinks cost there.

They must teach kissing in school, because she was an expert as well. We agree to $100 for all night (there's no salida at Tequila Rock), and walk back to the hotel.

I wish I could say that there were skyrockets, but I'd be lying. The session was average at best. Not just here, but all over the world, I just wish that these girls put 3/4 of the effort that they did selling into their performance. It would be off the chart.

Don't get me wrong -- everything that needed to happen, happened. And then some. I just knew that she had better in her. I told her that she didn't have to stay all night, and she hung another half hour and then got dressed and left. I fell asleep, and slept hard for about four hours.

A COUPLE OF TIPS: 1. Always negotiate with taxis before getting in. Everybody else does, and the prices vary widely. There's no meters, so you cut your best deal. 2. Bring a pen and paper with you everywhere. You never know when you will get a phone number, and it sucks to have one on the hook, so to speak, and have them get away.

COMING UP TOMORROW: A full day. I change hotel rooms, Pappy has a civilian date, my daily sightseeing tour, another good lunch, and a visit to the marketplace in Central City. I promise to bring my GPS with me, too.