Slept late and well. Enjoyed a last Cusco breakfast at the hotel, then finished packing. At 10:30 am we checked out and Jose “Mr. Toad” took us on another wild ride to the Cusco airport where we checked in and relaxed as we window-shopped one last time in Cusco. Great shopping opportunities all around Cusco but for the ultimate shopping experience, the Sunday Pisac market is a must.

Unfortunately, just as we settled into our spacious room on the fourth floor, we heard the horrible news of the Boston Marathon bombings. Saddened by the awful news, we were immobilized for a while but decided that since this is nearly our last day in South America, we wanted to go out and explore this small corner of Lima, capital of Peru, and a ciudad of more than nine million personas. So we walked two blocks west to Seniorio de Sulco, a restaurant referred to us by our sweet concierge, Susanne.

Our dinner of Tiradito Nikkei - a lightly smoked tuna, marinated in soy sauce, ginger, lime, chile and hot oil to be enjoyed with avocado and yucca croquettes, plus Ceviche Mixto – fish, shrimp, octopus, scallops, squid, lime juice, onions, a touch of hot chili oil, served with corn kernels - was beyond delicious. In fact, as much as we loved last night’s dinner at Limo in Cusco, tonight’s delicacies were so delicious that we ordered a second Tiradito Nikkei.

Our hotel, Runcu, is a block from the ocean, in what is perhaps the most beautiful part of Lima. After leaving the restaurant at sunset we walked along the cliffs overlooking the sandy beach below. There are playgrounds, parks, lovers, kids and dogs everywhere. Even though we are in a city of 9 million people, our hotel is in a very quiet neighborhood and we can highly recommend it.

At 7 pm we went up to the Runcu’s 8 th floor balcony and enjoyed pisco sours overlooking the Mar Pacificio under a crescent moon.

Although our brains wanted us to stay up and explore more of Lima after dark, our bodies said it was time for bed so by 10 pm we fell into bed and a sound sleep as the cacophony of Lima endured four floors below.

Next Day