Day 7: May 5

By the sea

Solanne had been talking about this since our first day in Lima: to
touch the Pacific ocean. We have spent some time on a sort of
boardwalk, but high above the sea, overlooking the crashing waves and
their ever-present surfers.

Today we wound our way down a great number of stairs and spent a few
hours - at midday - on the stoney beach. The girls squealed as the
surf hit them, they picked through the tiny pebbles and found pretty
ones to keep, and they nearly lost their discarded crocs as the tide
came in. Definitely a fun time at the beach.

We dried off in minutes in the hot tropical sun and made our way
toward our hotel. We stopped on the way at a restaurant. The kids had
rice with seafood, I had beef stew with sweet potato and rice, and
Derek had some kind of beef with homecut potatoes and rice. I think I
had the winning plate, but it was mediocre at best. For 23 soles ($7) for
the lot, however, it's hard to complain.

Tomorrow, we are off to Cuzco, as we say hasta luego to noisy Lima. We
opted for the quick 70-minute flight instead of the slightly cheaper
17-hour bus trip.