We’re docked in the commercial port of Callao (pronounced “Kai-ow”), adjacent to the city of Lima, Peru. Steve and his excited group of 15 left this morning for the Lima airport, headed for Cusco, on the way to Machu Picchu. We’ll tell his story when they get back in three days.

For now, Wendy is on her own with a busy schedule!

I decided to stay on board for the afternoon, as I had a 3:45 pm meeting time for our next Cruise Specialists Group Excursion. We were a group of 25 going to see Lima at night with dinner. We enjoyed a panoramic tour of the downtown with moderate traffic, and saw a surprising number of archeological sites, called huacas, right in the middle of the city. There are at least 300 such sites, many of which are parts of the Inca Trail, with the largest consisting of five pyramids.

Lima, Peru

We then arrived at Casa Tambo, a historic mansion tucked behind beautifully ornate doors. Inside, we had a private dining room where we were served a welcome drink—potent pisco sours, often considered the national drink. They were quite tasty, though a bit stronger than I remembered from previous tastings.

Our dinner featured traditional Peruvian dishes. Peruvians are big on potatoes (there are 400 different varieties here), so our appetizer was mashed yellow potato, formed into wormlike shapes with a creamy sauce and some ceviche (marinated fish) on the side. The main course was an excellent beef stir-fry with onions, peppers, and more potatoes—this time, a huge mound of French fries.

As for dessert, I’m not exactly sure what it was made of. I’d describe it as ice cream on top of chocolate pudding with crushed nuts, but our guide insisted it was made of fruit. Very rich! If the pisco sours weren’t enough, they also poured a very good Argentine red wine.

Private dinner at Casa Tambo

Sufficiently stuffed, we moved on to a fun walk through the Barranco District, a colorful and upscale artistic neighborhood in Lima. We stumbled upon a live orchestra playing Argentine tango music in the park, complete with tango dancers. The streets were lively, filled with murals, fun sculptures, and the energy of local life. We enjoyed it so much that we didn’t return to the ship until10:00 pm.

Murals in the Barranco District

After a late night out, it was tough getting up early for my next tour, "The Best of Lima," the following morning. Over the course of eight hours, we covered a lot of ground:

• Visited the Cathedral of Lima, which holds the tomb of Francisco Pizarro
• Toured the Santo Domingo Convent, the oldest church and convent in Lima
• Marveled at the Gold Museum, which houses 20,000 Incan gold treasures from a private collection
• Enjoyed a buffet lunch at the five-star Casa Andina hotel
• Shopped at the Indian Market, with its hundreds of stalls selling silver jewelry, alpaca products, and colorful Peruvian souvenirs
• Stopped at Parque del Amor in Miraflores, admiring spectacular coastline views, the famous Kissing Statue, and the stunning mosaic sculptures in beautifully manicured gardens

That was a full but rewarding day.

Port General San Martin, Peru 

We left Callao this evening and cruised down the coast to General San Martin, a funky port that looks very similar to Salaverry. There is nothing visible but desert and sand — everywhere.

This is a good place for organized excursions, which we’ve done several times before. The Paracas National Reserve, set in the coastal desert, offers views of the Red Beach, unique cliffs with prehistoric fossils, and tons of birds. The more adventurous might try dune buggy rides in the sand or even take a flight over the Nazca Lines—those mysterious drawings of animals and geometric figures on the desert floor and hillsides. Wildlife lovers often head to the Ballestas Islands, also called Peru’s Galápagos, an important wildlife sanctuary home to migratory birds and sea lions.

Paracas, Peru

The nearest town to the port is Paracas, a 30-minute shuttle ride. The larger city of Pisco is another 30 minutes further, so we doubt many people ventured there.

I hopped on the shuttle just to see what Paracas looked like. It rises out of the desert like an oasis and is a bustling tourist community. It seems that all the 5,000 residents are involved in serving visitors. Dozens of restaurants line the waterfront, and shops selling souvenirs and local food products are everywhere. Local entrepreneurs offer tours and boat rides, when I arrived, there were hundreds of local visitors waiting to board tour boats. Others were strolling the beach or enjoying their morning coffee.

It was so much busier than I expected. There’s even what looks like an amusement park in the water, designed for climbing and other water activities. I walked along the waterfront for several blocks in both directions from the shuttle stop and then returned to the ship.

The group that went to Machu Picchu will be flying back to Lima today, then making the four-hour drive to rejoin the ship in General San Martin by midafternoon. I’ll be happy to have Steve back. We are rarely apart for more than a few hours, so this was unusual. His story from Machu Picchu will be in our next installment!

Fondly,

Wendy and Steve 

Continue Reading:

A Bon Voyage! | Costa Rica & Panama |  Ecuador and Northern Peru  | Wendy's Adventures in Peru | Steve's Adventure in Machu Picchu | Arica and San Antonio, Chile | Robinson Crusoe & Southern Chile | More Chile & Argentina | Antarctica | Falkland Islands | Montevideo & Punta del Este | Brazil | The Amazon | Salvation Islands | Arriving in Africa | Canary Islands & Morocco | Gibraltar and Barcelona | Spain & Portugal | France, Belgium and The Netherlands | Scotland and Norway | More Norway | Iceland | Greenland | Canada & New England | Voyage Summary 

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