Chorrillos-The Beach & Climbing the Cliffs

I had been reading about this area called Los Pescadores (the fishermen). Down by the beach where the fishing boats come in, a bunch of little restaurant stalls with the freshest and best fish anywhere. Sounds like our kind of place. Gotta go. Fortunately, I think, we took a taxi. I say fortunately because the taxi driver told us ahead of time what was going to happen when we arrived. Otherwise it would have been pretty startling. As our vehicle approached the restaurant area, right on the beach, we were accosted by a dozen or so people standing in the road. One of them stood directly in front of the taxi and put her hand out to stop us. As we exited the taxi, they all vied for our attention at once, the one who had stood in front of the moving car being the most aggressive – and also having the best smile. She led us around – and then followed us around – insisting that we come to her fish shack for our lunch. All this while there were several others all trying to get us into their places. The scene was bizarre. There are about a dozen different little outdoor “cafes,” each serving the same fish menus as near as I could see. We finally decided on the café of the aggressive, smiley one. I liked her, in spite of her forcefulness. This is the system that the taxi driver had warned us of. It’s all part of the game, and every new customer is treated this way.
I had thought I would find this aggressive attack behavior to be overwhelming. Normally in that type of situation, I would have wanted to leave. Once we got used to it, we found it to be fun. And by the way, this is probably the best fish in the world. We absolutely have to get back there. If you get to Lima and have time to get to only one place, take a taxi to Los Pescadores in Chorrillos. I promise the best fish ever. Have the ceviche. Have the jalea (fried seafish). Try everything.
The ride to the beach afforded fabulous views of the bay as we wound down the cliffs and then along the oceanfront. It was Saturday. The people were out having a great day in the sun. Life is good. Being at the beach is cool and refreshing - like being at the ocean in Maine - instead of sweltering and sweating. The fried seafood even tastes like Maine. This is incredible.
After our meal, as I gazed at the modern pedestrian bridge across the main road, and admired the rock stairways up to the top of the cliff, I jokingly said to Gene: “Listo? Ready?” I wasn’t expecting the casual yes answer that I got. And I certainly didn’t think that I could get any further than the short set of stairs up to the bridge. Off we went, with me expecting to be returning down shortly, gasping and in search of a taxi. We ended up going all the way up to the village – with ease! It was fun. The views were great. I want to go back. What a day. Ever since we arrived here at sea level, I have been walking around everywhere without thinking about breathing. The air is great. I can breath. It feels great. But I had no idea that, at sea level, I would be able to walk all the way up to the top of that cliff! I can walk forever. I feel so incredibly great! I will never live above 100 feet again. I love this place.