July 1,

Today was a moving day. The host of this AirBNB, graciously texted us stating that we could stay as long as we wanted today. That was very much appreciated, especially since it was out of the blue and she doesn’t know about my passport issue. So we told her we would like to stay until 1500, and she okayed it! YAY!! We then got around leisurely, packing, and tidying up. We only had yogurt, & an apple with our Javas.

Just before noon, we went to get a big lunch. We chose El Fuego de San Antonio. It was more of a touristy place but it had Alpaca steaks. When we arrived, going back into the courtyard – it was not open! The signs posted showed it should have just opened. I was just asking a lady in a little shop in the courtyard about the restaurant when a guy came from upstairs and opened the place. Yahoo! So he set up some and then invited us in. We had already seen the menu but took them when he brought them, double checking what we wanted. We were both hungry, so we started with an appetizer of ‘Queso Paria Frito’- Paria Fried Cheese. Then I ordered the Grilled Alpaca (250 gm) with Andean Potatoes; and Jeff ordered the Bone-in Lamb Loin with Green Salad. As we waited for our food, we took in the decor of the place. Authentic cow hides hanging on the wall with ropes and chaps – very cowboy-esque! We also shared a ½ liter of Sangria and a small water. Our appetizer fried cheese came with three salsas: a pickled pico de gallo, a chimichurri, and a “spicy.” It was lovely. Then the entrees: My Alpaca Steak was so tender – it reminded me of veal, and cooked just right, very tasty; Jeff’s lamb was two large Steaks, also cooked just right and very tasty also. The lamb meat was a bit tougher than the alpaca meat, but both very worthy and we decided to come back again – even put it into the calendar! A large group came in during our appetizer course but they were in a different room. So it seemed we had the place to ourselves as we dined. When we finished the bill came, inevitably. It came to 159 – plus Jeff added 10% tip – so 174 PEN total, or $51.17. Definitely more tourist prices, but worth every penny.

We left, went back to our place, and finished packing. We checked out with our host’s sister. I will miss “Sue,” this place with the nice rooftop views. Loaded down, we walked the three blocks to our new place. At the door the doorman, Marcos, took our passport info. Jeff used our laminated photo-copied ones…since I still don’t have one in my possession! Marcos took these, thankfully without any questions, and we were checked in. He took us to our new place and a cohost, Javier, met us and handed us the key. We thanked him and he left. We unpacked and checked out the place, as always making a list of stuff to get. This place is huge compared to the last one and it was big enough! It has a living area, dining area and a “movie theater” area in one large ‘L’ room; a kitchen and laundry room; two bedrooms, plus an office room; and 2.5 bathrooms (because well, there are two of us😆). We won’t use one bedroom and the ½ bath. But the best thing for us is the view of the Misty Volcano from our living space windows!!!

Anyway, we set out for the grocery store first. We are closer to the little, local one, so we will probably frequent it more now. Newly purchased goods in hand we took them back to our place and were greeted by Marcos, who opened the gate door before Jeff could unlock it! We unloaded and went back out for more stuff. (I was moving a vase and it broke. so we will have to replace it. I had it in a picture and noticed it was already cracked. I just completed the job.) We went to the mall and a Chinese shop – checking out for vases that would be similar and getting the rest of our list. Then brought this back to our place, with Marcos opening the door for us. This is his thing. Unfortunately we can’t see him when we arrive at the gate, so we are always trying to unlock it. Oh well. We unloaded again, and went back out. But this outing was to get in more steps. We finished and finally went back to our place, settling in for the evening. We snacked on peanuts and watched the USA beat Bosnia/Herzegovina in the World Cup.