YES, AGAIN, MY BEST TWO MEALS IN A ROW

There are two 100 Best World Restaurants in Lima, Peru.  I had dinner last night with Rosalia and Leonid  at #42, Astrid Y Gaston, only a block away from the Casa Andina hotel where Globus puts us.  The decor is better than St. John, but not too spiffy.  We selected their eleven step tasting meal, developed by head chefs Victoriano Lopez and Hernan Casteneda, and had a bottle of their house red, a Chilean Ventisquero Merlot (a disappointment, as they should have a local wine), while I added a glass of Peruvian white meritage of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc.  We were expected to sit for three hours, but ended up staying for 4 1/2 hours.

I should mention that Rosalia and Leonid legally emigrated from Russia a long time ago to Syndney Australia, where they have enjoyed a fruitful life.  They leave next to hop a Caribbean cruise.

We started with an Amazonic cocktail and appetizer, a giant sea escargot:

Next Ocas, an Andean tube in a bed of dried olives with a sauce that looked like guacamole or wasabi, but was neither:

Octopus:

Guinea pig, a crispy slice eaten like Peking Duck with dark rolled pancake:

Peruvian corn (extra large kernals):

A very colorful sea urchin dish (on the side were three shots of seafood infused cocktails (one was shrimp, so I passed--I might add that they graciously replaced the lobster and shrimp morsels with fish):

Lamb:

Beef:

Goat ice cream and assorted desserts, like eating a work of art:

Rosalia contemplating which dulcement to eat, for at this point we were supersaturated with food:

I had a late harvest riesling and capucchino to close this feast:

We say goodbye to Astrid Y Gaston:

If I look like I'm gaining weight, the answer is certainly, but proud of my body for keeping me healthy through this long ordeal.

We agreed that we have had better meals at restaurants not in the Best 100.  (I add a note to Leonid:  Quay is #26, Attica #53, Tetsuya #58 and Marque #70,)  However, in consideration of the timing (we next leave South America after a grueling tour), authenticity of this being truly Peruvian, the efficient service staff and the relaxing environment (the background music was international, spiced with Ella Fitzgerald and Eartha Kitt), we very much enjoyed this experience and can only recommend A Y G to anyone reading this posting.  Oh, you would pay three times more in almost any equivalent restaurant.

I HATE TO SAY THIS, AGAIN, BUT MY LUNCH AT MALABAR COULD WELL HAVE BEEN THE BEST OF MY LIFE.  Yes, there was La Terrazza dell'Eden in Rome, but it was mostly that fantastic white truffle risotto that excelled.  Here in Lima, the whole meal was a gastronomic extravanganza.  However, I walked in at 1:30 and was somewhat stunned to see that I was the only diner.  This is Friday afternoon and I wondered if I had missed the Board of Health sign outside.  The music was Elvis, which was followed by Mozart, then a Peruvian instrumental....etc.  American music, though, was dominant.

The chef is Pedro Miguel Schiaffino with the excellent service of Jesus.  I ordered their menu degustacion with who knows how many courses.

By 2PM there were fourteen other people eating.  The surprise is that the men largely wore ties and this was the best dressed of any clientele in any of my meals, including London.

To start, I had a Pisco Sour with the first appetizer, a foie gras with patacones (a kind of plaintain,or a cooking banana) and something else.  Then, my second appetizer,  two delicate edibles, was served with a CHAP, Chandon sparkling wine with Pisco, plus a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc (14.5%--lemony) and Argentinian Malbec (14%--chocolates):

The ceviche on endive with seaweed was artistic, sharp and delectable:

Then came scallops with maca root and caviar:

The Brazil nut curd cheese salad just exploded in my mouth, with diverse piquancy for each section.  This could have been the the most spectacular salad I've ever had in my life, although I'm not sure where the Brazil nut was:

The beef tataki was lukewarm with a hint of cumarin, which I liked.

I had to take a photo of the flower at the top of the above dish, which you could only barely see:

At this point, I became concerned because I was only halfway through the meal.  Followed a rock fish with squid and black amaranth, beautiful and divine:

Next, a grilled paiche (you've seen this fish in those fish stories):

with chorizo, a most interesting combination, for rarely do you see a seafood item with a local sausage:

I loved this blend.  The Braised duck with mirasol chili peppers and pecans was outstanding:

Look at all that fat.  Great!  The final entre was a, yikes, braised baby goat (but you all have had lamb, which is baby sheep) in corn beer and winter vegetables.  My olfactories just don't like goat, so I just had a small portion:

Coming to an end, as the first dessert was Granny Smith apple with copoazu (a Peruvian fruit), pistachio and Amazonian wild honey:

The second dessert was another artistic masterpiece of custard apple with nutela, bitter chocolate ice cream (amazing) and kumquats:

Then, finally, the dulce with capucchino:

What a meal!  Yes, the best lunch I've ever had, and how's this for great P.R.  Chef Pedro even sent me an e-mail note saying he was sorry he missed me and to please let him know when I next return.

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FOOD, SONG AND DANCE IN CUZCO

Our last supper was held in Cuzco at La Retama.  The food was Peruvian and good, the band played on and the dancing was exciting.  First our table (Leonid, Rosalia, Jim, Rosella, Richard, Rena, Olga):

Jim and Rosella, followed by Richard and Rena:

Taramati and Kiritkumar:

Hannah and Joe

Doug:

Sylvia, Liz, Frank and Frank:

Sally, Eva and Arnold:

Finally, Alejandro (our Globus tour leader) and Leonid (and you will see him again, with his wife, Rosalia, for we are having lunch next at Astrid Y Gaston, #47 in the Top 100 Restaurants of the World):

Then the show:

I would certainly try out a Peruvian restaurant in the future if I ever stumble across one.  Our table was graced with two servings of Pisco Sours, the national drink, so we were in a good mood at 11,000 feet.  It was a grand conclusion to our Brazil, Argentina and Peru tour.  We next return to Lima and head home.

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BACK TO CUSCO

ACK 

Cuzco (flag to left, sometimes spelled Cuzco, but officially should be Qosqo) was the Inca capitol and is at 11,000 feet, more than twice the elevation of Denver.  You don't feel normal at this height.  Of course, this is nothing compared to La Rinconada (Peru) at 16,728 feet, Wenzhuan (China/Tibet) at 16,467 and Colquechaca (Bolivia) 15,393 ft.  Depending on what source you cite, the population could be less than 400,000 or more than 500,000.

Francisco Pizzaro (supposedly his skull) of Spain arrived in 1534 and the Spanish pretty much eliminated much of the culture and, by tranferring smallpox, much of the population.  There was only a 6 moment magnitude earthquake in 1950, which destroyed half of the buildings in town.  Interestingly enough, what remained of the Inca architecture largely survived.


Today we visited a typical "Inca' home, and the only interesting scene worthy of a photo was a swarm of guinea pigs.  I guess I should add that these are barbequed.

My greatest physical feat of the entire tour was climbing up an Inca fortress.










Well, maybe this was not quite all that remarkable, as a lady with the flu also made it.  Below, Taramati and Rehka also at the top.  Walking down was a lot more stressful for the steps were not consistent.

A final look at Sacred Valley.

This is All Saints Day in Peru, a holiday when people visit their ancestral graves and, frankly, get drunk:

Return for a Peruvian dinner and dance.

MACHU PICCHU

It was a hundred years ago that Hiram Bingham, a  Hawaii-born Yale professor, became the first Westerner to view Machu Picchu.  After half a millennium since abandonment (possibly because of smallpox), the city had become a jungle, with a few locals farming the edges.  The  Spanish Explorers never found it, and neither did a swarm of other explorers.

Machu Picchu is one of the "new" seven wonders of the world.  This Globus tour I'm on took us to two more (there are 14 when you add the natural and man-made versions):  Rio Harbor and Iguassu Falls. They all deserve this ranking.  Machu Picchu met my expectations.

Of course, I'm doing this (world travels) to toss Pearl's ashes at sites she wanted to visit, but did not, mostly because I was reluctant.  Thus, I suffered through Yellow Fever and a few other shots, plus malaria protocols and spider bites to undertake this effort.  There are now more than a dozen such locations, but the big three were the Taj Majal, Mount Kilimanjaro and Machu Picchu.  Now that I've completed this mission, today, I felt a certain elation, not unlike gaining a PhD degree, where I'm now ready to start a new life.

The train ride to the base of Machu Picchu was the most relaxing I've ever had, with rapids on one side and views of snow covered mountains on the other.  The New Age Andean music was soothing.  The first view of Machu Picchu was spectacular:

The mountain in the background to the left is Machu Picchu, or "old mountain."  The Sun Temple is in the right foreground.

Olga, who appeared to have a different attire every day (but someone else brought 7 pairs of shoes--Olga just, in addition, had a hair dryer and expresso machine, but still kept her suitcase weight under 40 pounds--try doing that someday for a two week trip):

I laid Pearl's ashes at three spots:  at the entrance, just behind me next to some yellow flowers:

You will notice my high tech cane, which I forgot in a restroom, but bought a second one, which led to a subsequent stress test on how to get it back home.

The second was in the only area where a wide variety of flowers, including a coca plant, were growing:

And the third at the top, the Sun Dial:

Actually, I did not realize that a guard was watching me and was just about to ask me a question when the tour group showed up and I cleverly involved them in a series of photos that distracted him.

Machu Picchu, just under 8000 feet high, remains largely a mystery, although it is suspected that the city was built for Incan Emperor Pachucuti (who lived in the 15th century).  If the Spanish had gained access to the site, it would have altered or destroyed.

Finally, from the base of Machu Picchu, resting are most of the India contingent, all who arrived in the USA many decades ago, and are largely medical doctors scattered mostly throughout the Midwest (Upendra, Narendrakumar, Jashu, Ila, Rehka, Ansuya and Mulraj):

Richard and Rena:

To end the story, Bingham brought back to Yale a wide variety (5000) of collected artifacts, which are now being returned to Peru...at least in principle. This issue remains controversial.

A major flood closed the attraction last year for several months, where 2000 people needed to be airlifted to safety.  The roads are still being fixed, but all seems well today.  This is a sight worth seeing.