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| Waiting in the Lima airport for the last leg of our trip. |
Friday, April 24, eleventh day in Perú
Cusco, Lima, and homeward
Early to rise on this, our last day in Perú. A final packing, and then breakfast. My journal says, «M had a shower, and soon we went upstairs fo breakfast. We’re actually on floor -1, below lobby level, but because the hotel is built on a slope, we have a perfectly acceptable window.
«There was lox among the choices at breakfast, and I took enough to cover a small slice of bread. Lots of pineapple, good grub.
«We had checked our bags [I later wrote], to give us the freedom to move about, and maybe around 11:00 we walked out, cameras in hand, to do the sights. We got to the Plaza de Armas while there was some sort of patriotic celebration going on, and stood there watching for a while. I took lots of pictures of faces; I hope I’ll be able to make good use of them on the web page.» And it’s up to you to look below and decide whether I made good on my hope.
For photography, the lighting was perfect: although the morning started out overcast, soon the sky cleared up partially, so that the shadows were weak but apparent. Ideal! I’ve laid out the pictures that I took in the order that I made them, without any caption. In all cases, you can see an image twice the size by clicking on the thumbnail (and come back to this page, as usual, by hitting your “Return” button).
Before I go on, I have to inject a bit of imaginative fiction.The first two people in the last row are characters in the single shot that you see below. Looking at the full picture, I can’t help but make up a story that the three you see there are the Crime-busting Chief of Police, his Trusty Experienced Head Inspector, and the Young Recruit who has Already Shown her Courage and Intelligence. All hurrying to break up a dastardly and nefarious gang.
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| You can make up your own story, but I like mine. |
After the Plaza de Armas, it was time for lunch. My journal says, «Mark found a nice-looking (tourist?) restaurant not far from the hotel, and we went there. A Pisco Sour for each of us, then little empanada-like fried semicircles, filled with a quinoa mixture and presented with guacamole. Really nice. For a main, we had Passion Trout, nicely sauced, but mine was overcooked and leathery. M told me that I was being too picky and critical.»
We waited in the hotel for a while, and our ride came, I think, around two in the afternoon. My journal continues, «The ride to the airport was uneventful, if one ignored the harrowing nature of Peruvian urban traffic. Our flight from Cusco to Lima was a half-hour late, but no matter, ’cause the layover is plenty long. Now we sit in the waiting area for our flight to Newark, about 20 minutes before the scheduled boarding time, having had a pleasant unpretentious supper here in the airport, preceded (of course) by a Pisco Sour.»
Our flight back home was an overnighter, and there’s not much to say about the rest of the trip, since it was completely uneventful. Our visit to Perú has to be counted one of the most successful and stimulating, and we will be talking about it for a long time. A great experience.