Day 7: Peru, Lima

It's a miracle! 

Upon landing in Lima, which is about 80 feet above sea level, both Don and I felt amazing. I chatted non-stop with Mario, the same guide we had when we arrived in Lima the week earlier. Ruth and Bill were quiet in the back seat. Either they were too tired to participate, too far away to hear what we were saying, I was talking too much for others to interrupt, or a combination of the three. All I know is I was feeling much better.

We arrived back at the hotel by 9 pm. Don and I dropped off our bags and started walking towards the Bridge of Sighs. I still couldn't believe we missed it when we were in the Barracuda district earlier in the week.

Our plan was to call a Didi ride share to take us to the bridge, then walk the hour back. Walking both ways did not make sense. No one accepted my bid for a ride, so we started walking. Around the halfway mark I asked Don if he was still interested in Chinese food for dinner. I recognized where we were and that the restaurant we went earlier on the trip was around the corner. He was up for it, actually really excited about eating for the first time in days, so we crossed the street and hoped they were still open.

We still didn't speak Spanish. And they still didn't speak English. I held up two fingers and they guided us to a table in a restaurant that was nearly empty. We took that as a sign we could order dinner. The menu was still in Spanish, but we had picked up a few words, enough with the help of Google Translate to order. Pollo. Carne. Champinon. We ordered two dishes: chicken (pollo) and vegetables with four different types of mushrooms (champinons). Since we had a hamburger for lunch, we skipped the carne. 

We closed the place down at 11. As the lights turned on (great clue), they took our payment and handed us two fortune cookies (in Spanish). We were full, and happy, refreshed enough to continue the rest of the walk to the Bridge of Sighs.

As we got closer, I realized we had been there. The Bridge of Sighs is closed. A little research shows it closed on February 3 for a six month renovation project. Which is how we missed it. After having some ice cream, we followed the crowds to the closed bridge. We then walked down to an area full of street art, and walked back to the hotel. This time we admired the bridge, best as we could, admired the street art again and called a Didi ride share. This time one accepted the job within seconds, and for $3.50 we had a 25-minute ride back to the Miraflores district and our hotel.

Though the mission was not a success, we still had a good time.

So close!

Street art:

One last sleep before we spend a day in airports and airplanes.