Winter to Summer - A Month in the Summer Hemisphere - South America and South Pacific - Eating in Lima

Traditional centers of eating excellence -- London, New York, Paris, Copenhagen, and Tokyo regularly garner multiple awards each year for the quality of their restaurants.  

This year - 2017 - New York had three restaurants in the top 50 and the #1 rated restaurant in the world - a meal for two with paired wines for each course tops $1,000 at "Eleven Madison Park".  Paris had 5 restaurants in the top 50, London - 3, Tokyo - 2, and Copenhagen, 2.  Not one of these cities however had two restaurants in the top 10 but Lima, Peru had #5 - "Central" and #8 "Maido" on this coveted annual list.  Along with "Astrid" at #33 making 3 in the top 50 in Lima, the overall average ranking for Lima's internationally known restaurants is the best in the world this year - 15 vs 19 for NY, Paris - 27, London - 29, Copenhagen - 29, and Tokyo - 31.  

I'd like to say we knew all this before we arrived in Lima - we didn't and ultimately, if Andrea at the Belmond Miraflores hadn't called in some favors, we wouldn't have been able to eat in any of Lima's finest restaurants who are often booked 3-4 months in advance.  But we managed to squeak into Central Restaurant and spent 3 hours in the afternoon savoring 17 individual courses of epicurean delight originating from 10 meters below to 4100 meters above sea level.

I won't say that we raved about each and every course - but the ingenuity in preparation and presentation of each course was amazing - and as we were to find out repeatedly during our time in Peru - the value proposition is incredible.  Our total bill including wine and a nice tip on our American Express Platinum (keep those points rolling...) was a dollar or two over $500, roughly half what we'd pay for a meal at an equivalent restaurant in New York or a third of the same meal in London, Paris, Tokyo, or Copenhagen.

Service for each and every course was exquisite - as each course was presented, a side display dish representing the area from which the course came was presented as well.  When it came time for our dessert course, our waiter swooped in and using two spoons as "chopsticks", pulled our soiled napkins up and laid out new napkins for each of us using the same spoons - a very nice touch.  

So I'll close on our afternoon at Central on the following theme - this was bar none, the best dining experience we've ever had.  The price, while more than I've ever paid for a meal for two with only one bottle of medium priced wine, is probably half or one third of what we would pay in any other capital's finest restaurant for a three hour exploration of some of the world's most innovative cuisine.  If you are a foodie and haven't been to Peru, you must put Lima on your itinerary.  I suspect each of the three "Top 50" restaurants in Lima are worthy and undoubtedly driving each to still greater innovation in both ingredients and presentation.

Now, having paid homage to one of the world's finest restaurants, I'll state unequivocally that this was not our best "eating" meal in Peru, we'll talk about that when we write about our time in Cusco so stayed tuned...

Our Central Menu

We have pictures of every one of the 17 courses but figure just a sampling will give you the idea of both preparation and presentation -- check out the frozen Piranha heads (yes - they are real!) keeping our food at perfect serving temperature.

 

                

Our romantic table for two at Central

In addition to amazing breakfasts at the Belmond, and our ne plus ultra dining experience at Central, we also ate at another restaurant during our time in Lima, Fiesta Chiclayo Gourmet.  

A short ten minute taxi ride from our hotel, Fiesta Gourmet followed the trend we'd observed at Central - i.e. there isn't a fancy sign proclaiming the name out front - in fact, there isn't any name out front and if you didn't know where you were going, you wouldn't know you were there - just a nondescript doorway with a few cars parked out in front.

We'd had a long day - up at 4am to get ready for our MIA to LIM plane so figured we'd have Andrea from the Belmond ask for a 7:30pm reservation for us.  No problem - we were the only folks in the restaurant when we arrived in a nicely decorated restaurant with "Reserved" signs on almost every table but times at 8 or 8:30pm for the most part.  By the time we left about 9:15, the restaurant was essentially full - so clearly this is a popular establishment for dinner on a Tuesday night.  

Our table at Fiesta Gourmet

Overall, we had a very nice experience, choosing a shared appetizer, a seafood dish, and a beef dish.  The food was well prepared, tasty, expertly presented and served.  Entree prices were between $20 and $35 US so while considered an upscale restaurant, very comparable in price to equivalent US restaurants.  We also noted a continuing trend throughout all our meals throughout Peru - local, fresh ingredients are the basis for all the meals we ate.  We had no idea about the diversity and quality of Peru's agricultural production but the proof was on our table, morning, noon, and night each day.

Our Ceviche appetizer - Yumm!

Entrance - without a sign

Signature Lobster dish

Table side service

The "Turf" to our "Surf"

Busy Tuesday Evening

Just when you thought all we saw in Lima were hotels, malls, and restaurants, our next post on the cultural highlights of Lima will change things up...

Winter to Summer - A Month in the Summer Hemisphere - South America and South Pacific - Staying in Lima

Day #1 

Let me start by saying that we hadn't set any expectations for our stay in Peru.  We were here to catch an amazing 18-day cruise and decided, with Rachel's help, to spend a week getting to know Lima, Cusco, and Machu Picchu.  Boy, are we glad we did...  We went from saying, "You know, we'll never be passing through these parts again, so better see all the highlights while we're here" to "When are we coming back next time?"  But I'm getting ahead of myself, what happened to change our mind?  Here we go...

Our arrival at the Belmond Miraflores started with "Wow" - no other way to describe the understated but obvious elegance of the hotel we'd chosen for our stay in Lima.  

Hotel Arrival

Beautiful Lobby

Andrea Denegri from Guest Relations checked us in and then made everything we needed or desired, happen.  This included getting us lunch reservations at Central - a top "5" in the world restaurant - for the following day, dinner reservations at Fiesta Chiclayo Gourmet for our first meal in Lima, and her own recommendations for dining in Cusco when we headed that direction.  After Andrea worked her magic, we were greeted by the hotel's general manager, Thomas Moons, who introduced us to his hotel and made our arrival at the Belmond Miraflores complete.  Well, almost complete, Thomas mentioned we'd been upgraded and then between he and Andrea, they arranged for the marine layer to recede just in time for our first sunset in Peru, overlooking the beautiful park full of joggers, lovers, and happy dogs...

Our beautiful corner room - #704 

Miraflores boardwalk

Mall Overlooking the Pacific

A drink with dinner perhaps?

Our first impressions of Miraflores were so positive...  We walked a short distance from the hotel to a nearby mall to find an ATM to get some Peruvian Soles for our visit.  On the short walk through the park fronting the Belmond, we passed so many happy people along the way from small classes of people learning Brazilian martial arts, to dog walkers with 6 or 8 dogs on their leashes out for an afternoon stroll.  After walking perhaps 3 or 4 hundred yards, we arrived at the mall - hustle and bustle of well dressed people of all ages - surrounded by stores we'd see back in the USA with restaurants of every cuisine, all with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean.  With a little help from a mall security guard we found the promised ATM and proceeded to get some Soles as planned.  The ATM had a choice of English or Spanish text so running through the normal sequence of selections was as easy as it is at home.  On second thought, perhaps I should start practicing at home using the Spanish option, and save the English option for the road, but I digress...

















In addition to the wonderful people hosting us at Belmond Miraflores, we were also fortunate to get tour of the entire hotel from Jorge Carrera from Sales and Marketing.  Jorge showed us rooms in both traditional and modern motif - both beautiful in their own way - and most importantly, the Club Floor.  The Club Floor hosts an Executive Club set up to provide for both business people (fully appointed conference room) or international travelers arriving or departing outside of normal check in/check out hours and wanting a nice place to shower, eat, or rest until their room is ready or their ride to the airport is leaving.

Club Floor Entrance

We also sampled both food and drink at the Belmond...  Andrea had given us the heads up that breakfast was not to be missed.  She was so right.  For $15 US each, we ate in one of the best breakfast environments we've ever visited.  The food was magnificent, fresh, and varied making this one of the best values ever.  And the view?  On one side was a disappearing edge pool and on the other, was a view of the park and a Catholic Cathedral.  

Disappearing edge pool overlooking the Pacific

Buffet Spread

Fresh honey with bee pollen

Breakfast View

So with breakfast well taken care of, what about dinner and drink?  On Thursday nights, Thomas and his staff host a Manager's Happy Hour.  Each of the guests attending the Happy Hour had the chance to meet and chat with hotel staff and in doing so, take a true measure of the hotel and its personality.  Andrea shared tips and restaurants about Cusco and Machu Picchu while Eric showed us around the restaurant, explaining each piece of art and the concept of changing the art through the restaurant several times each year.  Meanwhile Renzo the head bartender created our first Pisco Sours in Peru.  After Happy Hour, we had a great dinner served on the patio, capping a perfect day in Lima.

Happy Hour

Belmond Patio Dining

Renzo shaking a Pisco Sour

Inside Dining    

Our First Pisco Sour

 While many of the people who host you - whether in a hotel or on a cruise ship - are those you get to talk to and interact with - there are other folks who we don't always see who make their presence felt in other ways... 


In this case it was a member of the Belmond's housekeeping staff who helpfully rearranged our toothbrushes and toothpaste while we were out to dinner.  This small kindness was emblematic of our stay - every thing and every one was perfect.  We couldn't imagine staying anywhere else the next time we visit Lima.

From a travel tip perspective, the Belmond was the first part of our baggage bread crumb plan.  We were packed for a 32 day trip with an 18 day cruise in the middle.  So we arranged our cruise clothes into our big bags and left everything we wouldn't need for our Cusco/Machu Picchu visit at the Belmond.  In Cusco, we left our two carry on rollers behind with everything we wouldn't need for our train trip to Aguas Calientes, tour of the Machu Picchu monument, and overnight stay in Aguas Calientes.  Our bread crumb plan worked perfectly as we picked up each piece we'd left behind in Cusco and then at the Belmond, greatly simplifying the task of luggage and "Trains, Planes, Ships, and Automobiles".

Next up, a transition from world class accommodations to world class dining --did you know Lima may be the world's new number one city for dining?

Winter to Summer - A Month in the Summer Hemisphere - South America and South Pacific - Departing Miami and Arriving in Lima Peru

We picked up our one way rental from Hertz — with pricing courtesy of Autoslash — as planned on the morning of our Naples departure.  Since we were flying out of Miami International (MIA) we drove east on Florida 41 (Tamiami Trail).  This time of year, it is a beautiful drive as our migratory birds flock to the Everglades through which 41 passed on the way to Miami.

After dropping Valerie at the Embassy Suites Miami Airport, I refueled the rental car (don’t do what I did and do it within sight of the airport — the gas prices are a dollar/gallon higher — than they are a mile or two away.  The other negative about refueling at the Shell is that you have to pull an “illegal” U-turn to get to the Rental Car return which is right across the street from the Shell station.

Once the car was returned, next up was figuring out how to get back to the Embassy Suites.  After asking the Hertz guy about it, he said the train station (Trirail) prevented this so he recommended going to the terminal and getting on the hotel shuttle, so onto the Rental Car Center to MIA Terminal people mover and down an escalator to reach the curb at Door 9 of Arrivals.  From here, I was able to text Embassy Suites and advise them where I was waiting for the Shuttle driver.  They let me know that he was on the way and sent me a link to an app that actually showed where the shuttle was in relation to each of the terminal locations — pretty cool actually.

The Embassy Suites at MIA is renovating with a really beautiful color scheme for the ground floor of their atrium. We loved the free happy hour which provided us two glasses of wine to celebrate the first stage of our trip.  We followed this with dinner in the hotel restaurant with both of us eating a very nice dish of pasta to help get us to sleep fast for our early wake up.  Our 5th floor room was nice sized but not conducive to sound sleep. Trirail trains passed throughout the night blowing their horns as they pulled into and out of the MIA station.  In addition to the trains, there was also a fair amount of jet noise on takeoff.  As a result, the short night was a little bit shorter...

Embassy Suites Miami Airport

Entrance to VIP Lounge

Up at 4:30 to catch the Hotel’s 5 am shuttle for a 6:57 flight located at MIA’s last gate - #31 (Copa).  With minimal early morning airport traffic, the Embassy Suite’s proximity to the airport allowed us to arrive at 5:15. Copa’s Priority Check-in process was smooth and efficient. TSA Pre-Check line was active and got us thru security in 5 minutes flat.  From there it was a short 3 minute walk to the VIP lounge across from our gate 4 Boarding gate. Hostess on second floor showed us into the Avianca lounge (Star Alliance and Premier Pass access).  The lounge was decently appointed with a free WiFi code handed out on entry.  

Inside the lounge

Our first segment was a smooth, three hour flight from MIA to Panama City (PTY) aboard a newish 737-800 configured with 4 rows of 2 x 2 seats in Business. Upon arrival, we headed to the lounge at PTY.  It was very busy but we managed to find two seats at the bar - the bar tender was one of those more experienced guys that’s seen everything at least once, a character you remember seeing…

Panama City on final approach

Our connecting flight from PTY to LIM (Lima) was on another Copa 737-800. Same 4 row 2 x2 seating configuration in this front cabin.  The food served was ok but nothing to write home about.  The best part was our flight attendant - she was just about the most bubbly flight attendant ever. 

One thing we noted about Copa is that they take good care of their priority customers - you aren’t fighting to get aboard and your bags actually come off first at your final destination.  Customs and Immigration on arrival to Jose Martin International in Lima (Callao - pronounced Kay-yow) was super fast - apparently, arriving internationally around 3pm is a very good thing and in sharp contrast to the 1:45 minute wait we'd experienced in San Jose, Costa Rica last year,

We were met by our host Rachel Walker from Incas Expert Travel (rachel@incas.expert)  - the lady who arranged all transfers and tours for our trip.  Even travel agents use travel experts when you are planning a complicated itinerary to a place you’ve never been to before.  We were quickly spirited to our driver and van and headed off from the airport located in Callao to our hotel in Miraflores.  The trip took about 45 minutes with Rachel narrating details about our trip and the things we were seeing along the way.  Lima’s traffic and driving environment weren’t the worst I’ve seen but I was sure glad I wasn’t contending with the crazy drivers on the way to a place I’d never been.

Once we got to the hotel, Rachel sat down with us and walked us through each day’s itinerary, providing emergency contact numbers in case something untoward occurred.  She had also prepared a list of recommended restaurants in Lima for our dining pleasure, including the secret places to get the best gelato in all of Peru. 

Thanking Rachel for her hard work

We had a very general outline of when we were arriving, the hotels we were going to stay in, and how long we’d be in Peru.  With this bare outline, Rachel crafted an itinerary of private tours in each recommended location with the connecting transfers that hit all the highlights during our 7 day stay.  Based on our experience over the next 7 days, I don’t think we could have chosen a better travel company for our time in Peru.  There is something comforting about seeing someone with a sign in each airport, hotel lobby or train station.  At the end of the day, from our arrival in Lima to our sail away from Lima, everything was flawlessly planned and executed.  As a result we’re very happy to recommend Incas Expert Travel and Rachel Walker should you be thinking about visiting Peru.  Over the  7 1/2 months we were planning and refining our trip, Rachel was always responsive, able to accommodate modifications we asked for, and dealt with a major procedural change for visits to the Machu Picchu sanctuary with aplomb.  Two thumbs up for Rachel and Incas Expert Travel - https://www.incas.expert/

Next up, Accommodations and Dining in Lima...

Winter to Summer - A Month in the Summer Hemisphere - South America and South Pacific - Getting Ready #1

With a month to go, we're making our final preparations for a month long trip...  First off, what are we going to need to pack? When you think about what you need for a month, what are the things you have to focus on?  Think about the "C's" Clothes (and Shoes), Consumables (Cosmetics and Medicines), and Connectivity (Communications and Electronics)

So what do you think about when you think about packing your Clothes and Shoes?  First - weather will drive what you have to wear in order to be comfortable where you're going.  Weather on land or your port calls is a little easier since there are tons of places to get weather forecasts and seasonal averages.  One site we like to use for our cruise weather is Cruise Outlook - https://cruiseoutlook.com/reports - if you put your cruise in here, you will get the weather reports from each of your port calls - the free version starts the actual temps 7 days before you reach each port - in the meantime, you can add each port into your favorite phone weather app to start checking things.,

While Cruise Outlook is good for weather in ports, when you are heading out on long ocean transits, getting temperatures out on the water can be challenging -- and when you are doing an ocean crossing, you need to know to properly pack.  The best free site we've found is Sailwx.info - http://www.sailwx.info/ - there is a lot of cool information gathered on this page but relevant to our current discussion, if you click on the Weather Observations tab on the far right, you can select the Air Temperature and get a world wide map with all the temps in Celsius - I haven't figured out how to change this setting so I just use a converter.  We have also used Sailwx.info to see about whether or not we might have rough weather or cancelled tenders -- the wave height and wind speed charts are quite good - and sometimes more timely than what the ship may be sharing with you.  We knew before they told us that we wouldn't be getting off the ship in the Azores since the wind and wave observations were nasty - anyway, good information contained therein...

So once you know what the weather's expected to be where you're going, you need to consider what you're doing and how you're getting there.  On this cruise, we already know that Oceania doesn't have designated "Formal Nights" so I won't need a tux (sports coat is good enough) nor will my honey need several formal gowns with matching shoes.  Based on where we're going ashore, we know we'll be hiking at altitude (9-11k feet) with temps between 40 and 65 F with some rain, and wading around in tropical waters in temps in the mid to upper 80's -- air temps across the South Pacific will be in high 60's and low 70's.  So we're going to need some layers and we're going to need some beach togs - quite a challenge...

Just to make it a wee bit better, we're doing some stuff ashore - pre and post cruise - that will have have us hauling bags around so unless you're bringing a porter with you, consider how big and how many when you lay your bags out -- this gives you an idea of how many of the clothes  (and shoes) you've figured out in the step above you can actually bring with you.  There is nothing more stressful than hauling numerous big bags around -- unless said numerous big bags don't actually make it to your destination after an international flight :(....  If you can go "carry-on only" you eliminate a ton of heartburn but sometimes, you just can't get everything you really do need into something you can legitimately squeeze into an overhead bin (without a rubber hammer that is).  This multi-mode, 30 day trip is an example of a "No way without a checked bag" trip unless you are a SEAL or Green Beret and carry everything in your rucksack -- oh, and can radio in for a parachute drop of fresh clothes after a couple of weeks...

Speaking of fresh clothes, one thing to consider and investigate for long trips is the availability of washing machines or reasonably priced laundry service.  Oceania Marina does have launderettes aboard for self service laundry - better yet, Oceania just instituted a free laundry service (3 bags for our cruise) -- we used this service on board Oceania Insignia and were so happy with how our laundry came back.

So with clothes and shoes in mind, now you have to consider your bags, how you are going to pack them, and how you are going to configure or arrange them for hauling from place to place.  In our case, we have several different sets of luggage gathered over the years - since we're each going to check a bag, this bag has to roll really well (two big wheel vs. four little wheels) over varied surfaces and it has to have a way to hook our carry-on onto in order to make point to point walks, we're grabbing our REI rolling duffles purchased originally for a three week safari trip to Africa  (2005) as our primary bags.  Our carry-ons will consist of a small retro Travel Pro roller (more on that in a minute), a hand carry Bric bag and Travel Pro bag, and a backpack.

Here's a picture of our planned luggage ensemble...

Looks like a bunch

These wheels are great and roll smoothly

Our choice of luggage is based on what we have to take and some of the restrictions we face along the way - specifically, in Peru, we are flying from Lima to Cusco and once we get to Cusco, are training from Cusco to Machu Picchu - the train has an 11lb luggage limit plus your personal bag (purse or backpack).  So modes of transportation are an important planning factor in what you take and how you book your travel.  In our case, we are flying Business Class from Miami to Lima using miles so by staying within our weight limit, our checked bags will fly free (and we won't throw our backs out).  But the checked bags are too heavy to make the train trip so we needed to bring a small roller so we'd have clothes in Cusco and Machu Picchu -- the big REI rollers will stay at our hotel in Lima while we take our 4 day Cusco/MP.  By staying in the same hotel in Lima, they are willing to hold onto our bigger bags while we traipse around the high country of Peru.  Another potentially sticky spot in our itinerary is our day/night in Moorea after disembarking from Oceania Marina -- in this case, we'll be walking from our cruise ship to the air terminal to catch a short flight from Tahiti to Moorea for our overwater, overnight stay at the Moorea Intercontinental.  We already know we can store a bag at the airport overnight so we'll pack light of the short flight and store everything else.

Other pre-trip considerations... 

We have a full up medical kit with anti-biotics, bandaids, travelers revenge pills, and new for this trip, a "Stop the Bleed" kit (tourniquet, and treated gauze bandages). We never have more than a hangnail or shaving nick but just in case, we're ready.

Plug adaptors on international travel are an important item to pack - and on Oceania - two plugs are US style and the other two are European round plugs - this time we will be able to use all four plugs.  A good site for determining what kind of plug adaptors or electrical transformers you'll need is: https://whatplug.info/from/usa/to/peru

If you're taking a cruise, finding your "Roll Call" can be a great way to meet your fellow cruisers and even coordinate shared shore excursions.  Cruise Critic is the place to find your roll call - here's a link to the roll call page:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=34  We needed four folks to reserve a snorkel trip -- so we posted that we were looking for another couple to do a snorkel trip and found them in two days flat.  Many cruisers are really experienced too - so you can get some really good information on the ship or your ports from your fellow cruisers.

Two more days to go - better get this one posted and start thinking about getting checked in for our flight to Lima...