This is Going Well?

In every journey there is a time when various tasks must be performed. Tasks which hold absolutely no interest whatsoever to anyone else in the world. Or, for that matter, to the performer of said duties. Often one of these days occurs toward the beginning of a trip. Like today. How simple it would have been to have rented a cell phone upon arrival at the airport. For the paltry sum of $US 10, and a contribution of 10 minutes of our time, we would have had a cell phone and a phone number. Not that we normally have a cell phone. Not that we want one. But when traveling, it seems like a good idea to have one in case of emergency. Or in case of a need to make a call to find a room or some such thing. The airport phone rental thing seems way too easy. So we have now spent the better part of our second day here obtaining cell phone service. There's this thing about paying somebody to "unlock" your old cell phone. Returning several hours later to retrieve the magically "unlocked" instrument. Then there's the business of going to another office to obtain service and a number. The taking of numbers. Waiting in line. Ever so much more interesting than simply spending 10 minutes at the airport renting a cell phone.
I hope I haven't made it sound like all we did today was obtain a phone, which in all likelihood we will never use. We also purchased 2 towels, to replace the towels which we clearly forgot to pack. Ever so lovely, we thought, to have a nice hot shower and dry off in a fluffy soft towel. We now know, among other things, where the major department store in Miraflores is. But before all this, and after another exciting Combi ride to town, we had discovered the famous Larco Mar mall, hanging off the side of a cliff high above the ocean. A gorgeous 3 story up scale al fresco shopping mall isn't quite what you expect in Peru. But there it is. Of course Lima - or more precisely Miraflores - isn't what you expect when you think of Peru. We had breakfast at a charming little cafe looking out over the Pacific ocean. My first Butifarra - why don't I just wait a big and do a separate post about food - there's a lot to say. There are several restaurants, including Dunkin' Donuts (no, I didn't). There are banks, cafes, a gelateria, numerous upscale clothing and shoe stores, and above it all, at street level, a beautiful park. You know how much I hate malls, but this place is nice. And the view is amazing.
Somewhere in the course of the day I experienced my first Pisco Sour. Not bad. I may have to sample many more of them before giving you my final verdict on them. Dinner was at a cafeteria type place near Parque Central - a real find. They actually have something that approximates tapas at the bar. I had tomatoes stuffed with a potato salad thing. Gene had delicious ham croquettas. OK. Doesn't sound like Peru, but it was good. They also have real Spanish chocolate and churros. So we'll be back.

After all these earth-shattering accomplishments, we catch the Combi back to the suburban area of Surco. Nice walk from the bus stop to the house. Hoping we'll be able to get in without pounding on the door for an hour tonight. Surprise! No problem getting in. Everyone's waiting at the door. No electricity. Reason is a bit confusing. It will be back on tomorrow. If it's not back on tomorrow, it will be back on Monday. Probably. Remember that hot water for a shower that I'd been dreaming about all day? Oh, well.