My Last Day in Peru: A Venti Good Time

Dennis at the Rosa Nautica.
Story and photo by Dennis Hensley
Sunday, February 17 - Lima, Peru

Before flying to Lima, I visited the charming town square in Cusco and made the fatal mistake of buying a beanie from a kid. Then all his cohorts knew I was an easy mark and harangued me back to my hotel. I felt like Britney Spears at Rite-Aid!

But they were not without charm. One asked, "Do you want peace and quiet?" When I said yes, he said, "Well, I'm Peace and this is my friend Quiet. Wanna buy a scarf?"

My hotel in Lima, the Casa Andina Private Collection Hotel, was my third Andina hotel. Each is unique to its location and the Sacred Valley hotel offered a eco-friendly, campus-like vibe. The Cusco hotel, which was originally a 17th century mansion, was rustic and full of history, and the new Lima Casa Andina was slick and modern, with protruding blocks of windows that made me feel like I was in a giant Jenga puzzle.   

After getting my Starbuck's on at Lima's popular ocean-side shopping complex Larcomar, I cabbed to La Rosa Nautica, a fabulous seafood restaurant built on a boardwalk out over the ocean. Shrimp and surfer-watching, yum.

Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant in the Miraflores area called Hou Wha S.A. There's a large Chinese population in Lima, I'm told, because back in the day, the British brought Chinese people over to work on the railroad for peanuts. I feel bad about the exploitation…but the dumplings are delicious.