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Published: October 13th 2018
Our LC Peru flight to Lima from Cusco touched down around noon. It’s a familiar airport to us by now, we have flown in and out from Lima a few times. We still recall having a leisurely (but interesting) dinner in the departure lounge a few nights ago, the first of a kind when we spent a relaxing few hours at the airport with no destination to go. No, this time we were not going to stay in Wyndham next to the airport. The driver from Radisson was waiting just outside the arrival lounge to pick us up. The last time we stayed in Lima, we briefly touched Miraflores when we visited Huaca Pucclana and the Larco Museum. We liked Miraflores. Not to mention that we loved Debora in Radisson. She rocks!
“You know, you are arriving at noon, so you have pretty much half a day to spend in Miraflores. I suggest, you take a tour of the Magical Water Circuit and enjoy the buffet dinner in the evening,” Debora suggested me earlier. And we both thought that would work out better. It was Saturday and Debora couldn’t make it due to her family commitments. I am glad that
at least we met her during our first half of the Lima trip! Atta girl, I must say! She made all the arrangements for us before she left! What a sweet lady! She had made the lunch reservation for us in La Rosa Nautica on the Pacific coast, but unfortunately we had to cancel it as Suman wasn’t feeling that great. Coming to think of it, actually it is a huge change in air pressure arriving from 12,000 ft suddenly to the sea level. So, we decided to take it easy and check out the beautiful Miraflores within our walking range. The Magical Water Circuit pickup was at 6:00 pm, so we had plenty of time to walk around and explore. I loved it, it’s a clean, modern part of the city where the nice houses and streamlined trees form the landscape of the city; shops and plazas are all filled with the locals as well as the tourists.
“Let’s check out Larcomar.” I told Suman,
“Sure, let’s check it out.” Suman agreed. We were told by the front desk girls in the hotel that Larcomar is a nice mall. Coming from North America, the concept of a
mall is always an enclosed or a high-rise complex to me and we were checking all the high-rise buildings close to the sea. We knew it is near the sea coast, but didn’t know exactly where it was. We were wondering who to ask. Suddenly we found a young guy crossing the road near one of the high-rises.
“Where is the Larco Mall?” I asked him.
“You mean the Larcomar Shopping Center?” The guy spoke fluent English.
“”Yeah, yeah…that is it.”
“That’s the one,” the guy pointed out towards an open air complex right on the beach. “What, is it a mall,” we wondered! “Let’s go check it out,” still suspicious we walked up to the area to check it out. Indeed it’s a big complex with many shops and eateries, - all in open air. There was an escalator running to the main level from the road, - open air! What the heck! I never saw an escalator in open air. What happens when it rains! Then suddenly I realized Lima doesn’t get rain! “No wonder,” I told Suman. In Canada, malls are housed in a controlled environment inside the closed buildings due to the
extreme climate. Sure, we have outdoor plazas in North America, but they are also sheltered during the bad weather. We got down the escalator to the main level, grabbed some snacks and a drink and sat in the patio in an open air restaurant. Actually, patio does not have any real meaning here as everything is pretty much open patio! Anyway, we picked up some odds and ends for our trip to Ica on the next day and walked back to the hotel.
*****
Luna was right on time! It was 6 pm and she came to pick us up for the Magical Water Circuit show. Oh, what a lovely young lady! With her pleasant personality and smiling face, she just won our heart. It was a minivan and the driver picked up few more guests from other hotels. Dusk has set in. The minivan drove through the Neon and halogen draped beautiful Miraflores suburb of Lima. The Van stopped near a park. Our tickets were already paid and we entered the park. We were total 7 people in our group. People came from different parts of the world - Brazil, Italy and a few other countries. This
is the part of international travel that I always enjoy, this is the easiest way to get in touch with many nationalities, many different cultures and mix and mingle. As usual, it didn’t take us long to become friends! We all were walking leisurely in the park and talking; I looked around…water fountains were everywhere in the park; they came in different shapes, sizes, and styles - all lit with vibrant colours from the changing flood lights. It was a mood of festivity all across the park, - couples, youngsters, tourists like us, families with children, they were everywhere and all were having fun! We walked around but kept in touch with Luna. No, we didn’t want to lose her sight! We came to a walkway through a tunnel of water called ‘Tunnel of Surprise; “go on,” Luna encouraged all to walk through it; and so we did - just like what the typical tourists would do. Fountains were everywhere, I haven’t seen so many fountains in one place. Musical Fountains, Dancing Fountains, Rainbow Fountain, Fountain of Harmony, you name it; we enjoyed them all.
“Now please follow me, stay close, there would be a huge crowd here,” Luna
told us. Yes boss! We walked in a group to a huge water show and we pushed and jostled among hundreds of people to position ourselves for a better view. A large number of fountains created a huge mist; Laser light with video projected on the mist was showing the history of Peru. I have never seen such a thing before. No wonder this theme park made its name in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest water complex public park. Simply wonderful! We ended our tour as Luna reserved our dinner table in a popular restaurant. The buffet dinner was great and it was supplemented by Peruvian Folk Dances which we enjoyed thoroughly.
All good things come to an end at some point. Well, it was past 9:30 pm and Luna had to drop off everyone to their respective hotels. Radisson was the last one when Luna dropped us and we said ‘good-bye’; we sure would miss her, such a charming and sincere girl. She sure made the lovely evening memorable for all of us. These treasure moments draw the path that we all walk down many years from now.
Well, the day didn’t
end there and more surprise was still waiting for us. We entered our special room in the hotel overlooking the ocean. Debora herself took initiative to assign the room for us. Wow, what a view …that reminded me of the movie ‘a room with a view’. Knock, knock…we heard a knock on our door. I turned around from the window and opened the door. A hotel employee handed us a platter of desserts, nicely packed and topped with a compliment card. The guy smiled at me. “Excuse me, you sure you came to the right room? I don’t think we ordered a room service!” I had surprise in my eyes. The gentleman humbly replied,- ”Yes Sir, I have been asked to deliver it to your room.” I picked up the platter hesitantly, without knowing who sent it as we don’t know anyone in Lima who would send us a complimentary dessert. We both looked at the card. Wow, wow, wow! What a pleasant surprise! It was a compliment from Debora herself. She missed meeting us today, but didn’t forget to show her appreciation. We were speechless! She hardly met us on the other day and that was also just for
a few minutes. But she remembered us and loved us with her sincerity! And that is what counts. This goes beyond her call of duty! I had a lump in my throat. Warm hearted souls like Debora, Luna - they are not ‘candle in the wind’; they glow to give lights to the others. They are the ones who brighten our days, they are the ones who make us want to live another day! It was a lovely day made possible by Debora and Luna. Hats off to them! Memories are forever! We will not forget you!
******
Next is Ica desert
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Keep Smiling
Mike Fossey
Life is full of surprises
And, wow, the water park was a surprise - as was that Radisson employee. Which one will you most remember in ten years' time? I'll bet it will be Debora!