TUESDAY, 15 APRIL, 2008

The street noise was a little more pronounced today when a truck rumbled by and almost shook me out of bed at 7:30 this morning. I guess requesting a room that doesn't face the street would be the move with this hotel.

I was pretty sure that I hadn't yet reloaded and would continue to shoot blanks this morning, so I decided against any sexual escapades and just planned to stock up for some food for the ride home (anything is better than the slop on Copa), and enjoy my last morning in Lima.

My first order of business: Breakfast. Around 9:00 am, I am walking down Avenue Diagonal (the large street between Parque Kennedy and the entrance to Pizza Alley). There are a few restaurants in the strip between Starbucks and McDonalds, and I was shopping to see who would get my business.

Most of the restaurants in this area have a host or hostess standing in front, holding menus, and trying to get you to come into their restaurant. One place had one of the prettiest young girls I had seen all this week inviting me to come in. What choice did I have? That's where I decided to eat breakfast.

The waitress takes my order and the hostess catches me staring. I was able to wipe away the drool before she saw it, but my intentions were pretty clear. This girl is five foot nothing and can't possibly weigh more than 90 pounds soaking wet. Incredibly, she had a wonderful looking rack for a girl her size, the bottom of her shirt offered a full four inches of firm, young flesh between it and the top of her jeans, and her makeup was very attractive. All at 9 in the morning.

We get to talking about the usual American tourist/Peruvian hostess stuff. She sees my camera and gladly allows me to take a couple of pictures of her (after turning away and arranging her boobs properly). When I offer to email her the photos, she gives me her email address, which includes a two-digit number before the '@' sign. I ask about the number, and she says that it is her birthdate.

"That's mine, too," I reply. She totally thinks that I'm just throwing lines at her until I break out my Florida driver's license and prove my case. We are immediately fast friends and we kill another half hour talking. My Spanish isn't that great, but she was sweet and kind and spoke slowly for the dirty old man.

I pretty much know signals when I see them, and I am reasonably certain that - if I had more time in Lima than just three more hours - she would have been receptive to a request for a date. That's what makes this country incredible: Here's some old, out of shape foreign guy who clearly has a shot with a beautiful 18-year-old, simply on the basis of being nice to her for an hour some morning while she was working. I don't know what they put in the water here, but they should bottle it and sell it in the USA. Someone would make millions of dollars.

Truthfully, I am not sure if I would have asked her out if time allowed. I have no problem boinking and parading 18-year-old hookers around in public, but it just doesn't seem right with civilian girls, not to mention the associated drama that dating a teenager would bring. I did, however, email her the photos and I will send her an e-card on her birthday next week. It will also be my first stop for breakfast when I return next trip.

After a quick kiss on the cheek good-bye, I walked down to the Vivienda on Av. Benevides. There, I had the girl at the deli counter make me a sub and pack away a couple of empanadas for the two-plane ride. I picked up a bottle of Pisco as a gift and headed back to the hotel to finish packing.

Checkout was a snap. The hotel was pre-paid, and the front desk took my word that all I used from the minibar was a small package of Oreos that Ninoska asked for. I grabbed a taxi on the street to the airport for 20 Soles, and I the driver had to wake me when we got to the airport. I was exhausted.

The plane landed in Miami fifteen minutes early at 12:10 and the airport was a walk in the park. There was a long line to clear immigration, but other than that, it went well. Both Copa flights were less than full, so I was able to spread out on both legs. There were no issues with either immigration or customs in Miami, but the bottle of Pisco broke in my bag. I glad I packed it with my dirty laundry - the wine smell can only improve the overall condition of my underwear. I was unpacking my car in Ft. Lauderdale and back in my own bed before 2:00 am, mentally marking off the days until my next visit.

WRAP-UP

I needed to have a great time this trip, and I did. I spent more than I planned to - a total of $1,598 plus the airfare. That's $320 per night - I usually average in the $225-$250 range. Some of that was attributable to housing, both the $60 that the Radisson hit me up for my two visitors and the general rise in hotel costs here. Also, with the exception of Sunday, I spent relatively big bucks on both Lunch and Dinner every day. And last, I didn't take a day off and all of my dates were of the expensive type. The $100 (+ or -) girls don't put all that big a dent in my budget when they're offset by some more inexpensive experiences. The price at my one attempt at a low-cost encounter (Relax y Vida) went up in smoke when Anita decided that the rules there didn't apply to her. In both the eating and sex departments, cost-averaging is a must. That didn't happen this trip.

Last, my cost overruns can be directly attributable to the dollar being in the shitter. The Sol, which was 3.5/1 on my first visit to Lima is now at 2.65. That's a drop of around 25%, which adds up quickly.

Here's two more pictures of Ninoska. The second one is my favorite, I think:

Photos: Ninoska 35 36

So, in summary:

West? Not really. Wewaxation? Some. At Wast? Certainly. Can't wait to do it again.

Thanks for reading.

RT

Sir,

I'm glad you had an opportunity to unwind from your troubles. I am in a similar situation and really need a getaway, which is in the near future, then Rio in November.

Thanks for the great report. Helpful in the information provided, the photos (both chicas and comida) and the contacts. I had a trip to Lima scheduled for June which due to business reasons have to cancel. Now I will definitely rebook another, b/c it looks like a great all around place.
Best,
MeisterG

Hey RT:

Glad to see you got a short trip in under your belt. Sorry about all the home front problems. Always remember a bad day in Lima is way better than a good day at work. I understood your thoughts about the six day trip. Short enough that you have to run your engine the whole time to keep from thinking that you wasted a trp. That’s why I like the Asia trips. The length of the flights forces the trip to be at least two weeks. My current Thailand trip is a month and I'm three days in country. So far I've done a few Lólita's stops, kind of a Pattaya version of Relax Y Vida, and spent part nights with two old girls. Took this afternoon off and getting ready to go out for new action tonight.
Your trip reports are always tops. The combination of your writing style, info and pics. Look forward to everyone of them and wish I could write like that. Think about Lima on Labor Day, let me know.

PS shrinking dollar sucks, we feel it in Thailand too. Two years ago 42 Baht to the dollar now 31.5 baht to the dollar. Got to go the gogos are waiting for me.

RT great report I really enjoyed reading it and the photos. Timely too as I'm heading to Peru for the first time this August. Take care.

Tbird