The evening American Airlines flight out of Miami landed on time, and all of the standard stuff (immigration, luggage, money exchange) were a snap. For my money, the Lima airport is great - the luggage people have their shit together, immigration has always been hassle-free, and one of the two money exchange places gives a fair exchange. Always use the one further from the exit of immigration (they don't charge commission; the closer one does).
I got the green light at customs, and exited to the familiar chorus of 'taxi, taxi'. It took a minute to negotiate down to the price of 25 Soles ($1=3.35 Soles), and off we went. The government finally has the toll booths operational as you leave the airport. The driver hit me up for another one and a half Soles, so I just gave him 30 and told him to deal with it.
In nothing flat, we were pulling up in front of the Suites Hotel Inkari.
Suites Hotel Inkari
Av El Ejercito #1147
San Isidro - 264-0884
12° 06.082' S, 77° 03.589' W
www.inkarisuiteshotel.com.pe
I had driven past this hotel a couple of times and it looked nice enough. San Isidro is the next neighborhood over from Miraflores, and if anything, is a little more upscale. Their web site mentions their suites and that they had a Banos Turcos on site, so I figured that they were guest friendly, as well. I called and reserved a suite for $50 per night for the two nights (the web site says the room is $120). I confirmed the reservation on Thursday, and they said that I was good to go.
The cab rolls up to the hotel, the front desk claims to be expecting me, I check in and am upstairs in my room by 11:30. The room is a little small, I think, for a suite, but there's a couple of couches, a nice firm bed, a TV, and it is clean. It turns out that I can also pick up a non-hotel supplied wireless signal, so I figure that I can make do. It's only two nights, I think and decide to deal with it in the morning. Here's a couple of pictures of the room:
OK, time to hit the town and get laid. I head to Pizza Alley (a small street off of Miraflores Central Park that has a bunch of Italian-ish restaurants, catering to both a local and tourist crowd. Where there are male tourists, there are pretty young women. The girls cruise the street, looking to pick up/get picked up by a tourist with money, (of course the girls hope for a large fortune, but the standard rate for a girl at Pizza Alley is in the neighborhood of $50), but don't see anyone that strikes my fancy. I decide to give it an hour or so, and grab a taxi to Casino Miraflores to play some blackjack.
Casino Miraflores
At the end of Avenida Larco, across from LarcoMar
Miraflores
12° 07.896' S, 77° 01.775' W
I've been to this casino enough times that most of the dealers know me well enough to say hello to. Two of them ask where my girlfriend is. I explain that we broke up, and they tell me how sorry they are for me. Not sorry enough to let me win or anything, but I only dropped a few dollars before I left and taxied back to Pizza Alley.
SIDE NOTE ABOUT TAXIS: There's a million of them in Lima, and they are cheaper than dirt. There's absolutely no reason to walk anywhere. There's no meters, so you negotiate your price beforehand. Short locals are 3 Soles, the hotel to Central Park was 4, and to LarcoMar was 5. You could beat them up a little more on the price, but for less than $1.50, I could get anywhere I wanted in the neighborhood. Tips are not expected. Be sure to use your seatbelt - it's not just the law, but a REALLY good idea.
Once again, I am underwhelmed by the girls walking around Pizza Alley, so I review my other options at 1 in the morning:
-- Go to the hotel and start calling for an outcall. I didn't want to do that, because I am uncomfortable calling girls late at night, even if their ads say '24 hours'.
-- Pick one of the beauties waiting for me at Tequila Rock. This was out, too. Angie's cousin (and for all I knew, Angie) worked out of Tequila Rock, and I wasn't looking for drama on my first night.
-- Go to a Banos Turcos. Both Cavin Spa and Hotel Los Andes offered 24-hour service. At Cavin Spa, you used the massage table, but at Los Andes, you went to an actual bed in an actual bedroom. Los Andes won out.
Hotel Los Andes
Av. Angamos Este #833
Surquillo - 445-8556
12° 06.793' S, 77° 01.385' W
Surquillo is the neighborhood next to Miraflores, on the other side from San Isidro, so it's really close to where I was. At Los Andes, you take the elevator to the 9th floor, and pay the receptionist. I ordered up some Spa time (steam/sauna) and then a 20 minute massage, for a total of 40 Soles (just under $12) . I didn't make the most of my Spa time, as it was getting late. I told the receptionist that I was ready for the massage, and went into the waiting room to see the girls. Five entered, all dressed in identical black jumpsuits, zippered down so that the push up bras could do their job.
I selected Mirella. She was the smallest of the bunch, in her early 20s, and had an appropriate rack for her body. While I was getting the massage, she brought up the topic of 'service'. I said that of course I wanted service. She quoted me 200 Soles. When I told her that it wasn't my first time here and that I only paid 150 last time (the truth), she told me that the 200 was for a full hour. I didn't want to argue the point at 2:30 in the morning, so I just agreed.
What I really don't like about the Los Andes hotel is that you have to stop with the girl on the way to the room to pay for your session. It is the only place I've been to that has that policy. It certainly was a mood killer, and there always seems to be a crowd at the desk while you're standing there in a towel paying for sex.
I managed to get past that, and we went into the room. The session was, at best, unspectacular. No kissing, CBJ (but with gusto), no DATY, but she was agreeable to whatever positions I wanted, and she was nice and tight. After all that build up, I really didn't need the full hour, and we were dressed (her in the jumpsuit and me in my towel) and out in 45 minutes.
I took a taxi back to the hotel and had a delicious room service dinner (lomo saltado, salad, and a drink) before falling asleep at around 4 in the morning.