Since the initial $100 USD I had exchanged was now almost gone, it was time to re-up via the online payment service, Xoom, which allows one to send money from one country to someone else in another.  In my case, this meant sending money from my US bank account to myself here in Buenos Aires.  I had discovered this great service during my last stay and while it wasn’t quite as good as the “blue rate” (the underground market) it was still substantially better than the official rate.  The only problem was that the nearest place to collect the funds was in Recoleta, which was about a 20 minute cab ride away.

Still, this gave me a chance to go back to one of my favorite restaurants in the area, Cumana.  The restaurant is known for its authentic take on classic Argentine cuisine such as locro, casuelas (basically a casserole but in a pot) and of course empanadas.  Since I knew I had a big meal in store that evening, I decided this time not to have anything too heavy and chose 3 different empanadas – cheese with basil and tomatoes, cheese and spinach, and beef.

Pipping hot, fresh out of the clay oven that dominates the small kitchen, these meat pastries of joy were fantastic, perhaps the best I had ever had.  I ended up ordering the chicken just to see what their version was like, and it was also excellent.

The MORE money store was a few block away down the main street of Santa Fe, and I noticed as I walked towards it that the trees were covered in the same purple blossoms that permeate Los Angeles around this same time of late spring.  It made for a very visually appealing walk along with the impressive architecture of the neighborhood.

The process to retrieve my money was very straightforward and I only had to wait for one fellow traveler to get his before it was my turn.  I showed my transaction number along with my passport; confirmed I wasn’t here on business and got my wad of 100 peso bills (the largest tender recommended to carry around)  I cashed $700, which equated to just under 10,000 pesos, which made for a visually impressive bankroll.

Not wanting to hanging around too long with such a wad of cash, I hailed a cab and headed back to the apartment.  After a couple of hours of catching up with various friends’ Thanksgiving well-wishes and a FaceTime chat, it was time for perhaps my favorite restaurant in Buenos Aires, iLatina.

Located in a nice mansion in a slightly dicey barrio just south of Palermo, iLatina was probably the most famous of the puerta cerrada (closed door) restaurants.  As readers from my previous adventures know, puerta cerradas are essentially underground restaurants in that they are in spaces, like this mansion, that aren’t zoned to be a restaurant.  This also allows the owners to provide a fairly substantial discount in their offerings since they don’t have the usual overhead of a traditional restaurants.

iLatina had recently ascended to the coveted number one spot on TripAdvisor’s top restaurants in Buenos Aires so it was no surprise that I noticed most of the tables around me were speaking English or at least not Spanish.  Specializing dishes from across South America, with a particular focus on Colombia (where the chefs and owners are from), they offer an 8 course tasting menu along with the requisite wine pairings.  Since I had already done this the night before, I chose to stick to by the glass this time around.

Before the proper courses though, there was a round of Snacks – mini versions of 3 classic Latina American street food, each about a bite full and all delicious.

Next up was the Bread Basket, a lovely assortment of various breads, from coconut and banana to focaccia and bread made with cacao.  Even though I knew I had many courses ahead, I couldn’t resist at least sampling each of these fantastic baked goods.  So good that in fact I ended up getting another order to go to have the next day.

Soon after, the first course arrive – shredded lamb in masa with a cilantro cream sauce, an update on a Colombian favorite.  The lamb was wonderfully tender and contrasted nicely with the smooth masa.  A great start.

The second course was lacquered shrimp with spicy pineapple and fennel.  I was encouraged to mix it all together for the true Caribbean taste.  The shrimps were perfectly cooked and the spicy pineapple added a nice punch.  Classic and delicious.

Next up a dish I never get tired of – ceviche, in this case Baru (an island just off the coast of Colombia) style, which includes the usual ingredients and adds lychee to the mix, along with some strips of pickled mango.  This was fantastic, super fresh fish and the lychee gave it a nice note of sweetness to cut through the acid of the citrus.

The fourth course was supposed to be a chupa (chowder) of grilled octopus but because of my garlic issue, the chef had instead made a pumpkin soup with sliced, caramelized octopus on the side.  My server suggested putting the octopus into the soup, which I had and was blown away how perfectly they went together.  The octopus rivaled my beloved El Mercado version in its tenderness and the soup was fantastic.  Since the ratios were a bit off, I asked if I could have a bit more octopus and they ended up giving me the entire course over again, which I eagerly consumed.

The final savory course was my “turkey” basically – pork shoulder that had been slowly braised in Colombian coffee with a sugarcane reduction along with grilled vegetables and 2 sauces – beetroot and artichoke.  The coffee flavor was unmistakable and paired nicely with the slightly sweet reduction.  The vegetables were perfectly cooked and seasoned, and tasted even better after being swirled around the 2 sauces.

(PHOTO NOT FOUND)

Due to a technical issue, the photographic evidence of the six course, a pre-dessert of cacao truffle with sea salt and olive oil, didn’t make it. Rest assured though, it was quite pretty and tasty.

The final course turned out to be nice, unintentional nod to Thanksgiving – a sweet potato sorbet with creamy goat cheese, candied lemon peels, sesame tuile and hibiscus meringue.  OK, so not exactly traditional Turkey Day dessert but delicious nevertheless.

The final dish of the evening is usually a ceremonial cup of Colombian coffee but for us non-caffeine drinkers, instead I got a cup of a pretty complex herbal tea and some petit fours of classic Latin American desserts.  These probably would have been even better with coffee but a nice way to end a truly wonderful meal.

By the time I was ready to leave, most tables had turned over and now predominately featured locals, which increased the noise level substantially.  I requested a taxi and one of the servers, who turned out to be from Minnesota, waited with me outside for it to arrive.  I wished her a Happy Thanksgiving, which made her pause and thank me so much for telling her that as she was feeling homesick.  My cab arrived and back to Palermo I went but with a quick nightcap before heading home.

I had passed by the intriguingly named Odin Artisanal Beer Tavern on my walk the previous night and always wanting to try a local brew, I thought it would make for a nice post-meal drink or two.  Designed to look at lot older than it actually was, it was basically an urban biker bar, with speed metal blaring out of the speakers and many patrons with numerous piercings and tattoos.  Still, I was there for the beer so I flagged over a short purple haired waitress with a nose ring and took at seat at the bar.

There were two local breweries being featured so I chose to get a sample of 3 different beers from there – 2 from Zeppellin – a Scotch Ale and a porter – and 1 from Buko, their Oktoberfest beer.  First up was the Scotch Ale, which..wasn’t great – a very weak version of what is normally a favorite of mine.  Unfortunately, the next, the Buko Oktoberfest was a disaster.  Just awful and I stopped drinking it after 2 sips.  The final “robust” porter was hardly that but thankfully at least at some decent, if uninspired flavor.  Argies really should just stick to making wine I guess.

It was now past 2AM and while I could have kept going, the bad beer and all of the food in my belly mandated I go home and get some sleep.  There was 100% of rain for tomorrow so I knew I would be able to have some downtime and relax.  I dashed home just in time before the massive thunderstorm took control of the skies, which made for a nice sleeping soundtrack.

After a relatively peaceful night’s rest and catching up some work, it was time to go exploring.  Santiago had told me about a new outdoor mall that had been built in the formerly abandoned train yard just a block away.  Having often used that as my crossing point from Palermo Hollywood into Palermo Soho when I was temporarily living there, I was shocked to what they done with it.

Santiago had noted that while it was considered an outlet mall, in Buenos Aires, that didn’t really mean much – maybe 10-15% discounts.  Given the majority of the stores were ones I could find back in the States, that didn’t really matter as I wasn’t shopping for anything, especially not at places like the Mannequins of the Damned

But first, I needed some food.

There was a small crepe stand close to the entrance and since I wanted something quick and easy, it sounded good to me.  The structure in what clearly seems to be a trend at least in South America, having seen it Cartegena, Lima and now Buenos Aires, was a former shipping container.  For such a setup though, it made a lot of sense to use something like that for their stand.

I ended up going with the classic ham and cheese crepe, which came in a handy carrying case, although it was way too hot at first to eat that way.  After a few minutes though, it had cooled enough for me to eat and walk around the rest of the complex.  I briefly checked out an interesting wine store outlet, which had a lot of familiar Mendoza wines I had enjoyed in the past.  I decided I would come back later to investigate it further.

A few hours later, I was back in a cab, heading across town to a new (well since I had been here last) restaurant called El Banqueano, which specialized in exotic Argentine game meats and fishes with a modern touch.  It was quite a nice drive, spanning across several of the key Buenos Aires landmarks, from the Obelisk to Teatro Colon.  As we approached one of the oldest parts of the city, San Telmo, the streets turned into rough cobblestone for the last few minutes of the trip.

The restaurant was very traditional looking cafe, dark with lots of red in the interior.  Since I had been able to successfully change $100 into a 14:1 rate for pesos (official being 9.2:1) thanks to Santiago, I decided to splurge a bit and get the 6 wine pairings along with the 8 course meal.

At least from the vague menu descriptions, I couldn’t quite tell the supposed exotic meal that lay ahead but it still looked good to me.

Soon after I sat down, the first wine, a nice rose cava from Mendoza, arrived as a welcome.  This was quickly followed by a choice of breads, one of which was called “mushroom bread” so of course I had to get that.  It definitely had an earthy taste to it and was quite good, especially with the Zuccardi olive oil that accompanied it.

A couple of minutes the first course arrived – “Textures of Tomatoes”  – a tomato sorbet, sliced herloom tomatoes with a tomato broth.  Between my IK dish and this one, perhaps I was starting to turnaround on my relative distaste for cold tomatoes as it was very tasty.  A good start to the meal.

Next up was a Sauvignon Blanc, also from Mendoza.  While a bit too bland for my tastes, it paired nicely with the second course that arrived moments later.

I had to ask my server twice what she had said as I think it was crocodile maki?  Yep, indeed it was.  River crocodile maki with a pure wasabi (as in not very spicy) emulsion with a seaweed sauce.  OK, now the concept of the restaurant was starting to make a lot more sense.  And damned if it didn’t taste just like chicken.  I eagerly gobbled up all 3 pieces in quick succession and could have had another 3 easily.

Next wine was a Chardonnay, also from Mendoza.  Unfortunately, like most from there, it was just OK but really was more again for the pairing with the next course.

The third course was an Atlantic white fish, affectionately known as a “trash fish” with a strawberry “caviar” and sauce.  Fortunately the strawberry taste wasn’t very pronounced and the fish was very tender and well-seasoned.  Not a knockout but a solid dish.

The next wine was actually a twofer of a Torrontes from La Rioja and, surprisingly, a class of chica morrada, a fermented beer-like drink popular in the Andes.  My server explained that one of the cooks is from Peru and this was his complement to the dish.

There are only a few items that make me wince when I see it on a menu, and unfortunately, the next course featured it – tripe as part of “All Parts of the Corn” – which along with the tripe had a corn sauce, masa cake and pieces of corn.  After confirming that yep, I hate tripe, I carefully eat around it and found the rest of the dish to be pretty good.

Finally it was on to the reds, with a very nice Pinot Noir from Patagonia.  I had enjoyed a couple of pinots from that region last time I was here and this one was excellent.  So good in fact I ended up asking for another glass, which they happily obliged.

The fifth course was the one I was most looking forward to and even exceeded those expectations – “Mushrooms of the Moment” – a wonderful combination of mushroom sorbet (!), sliced morels, mushroom powder, mushroom cracker with a mushroom puree.  I was surprised it was served cold but this was an absolute stunner for a mushroom fan like me.  Wow.

I assumed a Malbec had to be in the offering at some point and sure it enough one arrived next.  However, since it wasn’t from Mendoza, it didn’t have that robust earthy notes I love so much.  It was kind of a letdown to be honest and even more a headscratcher given the next course.

The sixth course turned out to be a brand new one the chef had been experimenting with – braised chivito (baby goat) from Mendoza with a chivito reduction sauce and kimchi on a black molasses bun.  This was crazy good, super tender meat with a ton of flavor and the spicy crunchy kimchi.  I asked the co-owner, the chef’s wife and sommelier, why she hadn’t paired it with a Mendoza Malbec and she said that truthfully it really should be with a beer.  I agreed.

The seventh course was a palette cleanser (no wine pairing) where my server challenged me to name all of the ingredients.  I ended up getting 7 out of 10 correct, nailing the lemon-lime sorbet, mint, parsley, basil, orange and grapefruit but whiffing on the sweet cumcumber, green apple (which was in a sauce that didn’t have the usual sour notes) and olive oil (which c’mon wasn’t really fair!)  Very complex and a great way to wash away the intense flavors of the last course.

The last wine was a real winner, a late harvest Malbec from Mendoza.  Not too sweet but with that wonderful slightly sticky quality, I was a very happy man and once again asked for seconds with this one.

The final course was a deconstructed version of an Argentine classic dessert – El Aljafor. I was encouraged to combine the various elements together to get the familiar taste of the original cake.  A fun and playful way to finish a great meal.

After the last sip of that wonderful late harvest Malbec, I somehow pushed myself away from the table, hailed a cab and staggered back to my apartment.  Tomorrow would be yet another epic meal day plus I had a critical errand to run to fund my adventures so sleep was a must.

As quickly as I had arrived, it was now time to depart Lima, at least for now.  After another failed Uber attempt, I hailed a cab and headed to the airport.  A few minutes into the ride however my cabbie told me that he can’t actually go into the airport and would need to drop me off on the side.  He assured me though it was a short walk to Departures from there.

It turned out to be a bit farther than expected but eventually I made it to the check-in area.  Fortunately, perhaps as a make-do, the travel gods smiled upon me with both a very fast check-in and security clearance process.  I had a bit over an hour before my flight so I headed to the VIP Salon, which was one of the benefits of my recently acquired AmEx Platinum card.  I had read the near-by SUMAQ VIP Lounge was always packed and not very good.  I was able to witness this in person because I had to print out my reciprocity fee receipt, which was required for entry into Buenos Aires.  It looked like not a fun place at all to be, with travelers crammed into the fairly small lounge area and no seats in sight. I had made the right decision.

The flight, despite going directly over the Andes, was blissfully smooth and a mere 4 hours later, I had landed in Buenos Aires.  I steeled myself for a long wait to clear immigration given my past experience and was pleasantly surprised to see an almost entirely empty room.  15 minutes later I had cleared customs and found my AirBnB host, Santiago, waiting for me with a placard.  He spoke fairly decent English so I took advantage of being able to speak my native tongue for awhile with occasional lapses back to Spanish.

We soon arrived back to the familiar confines of Palermo Soho, where the streets were packed with people enjoying a nice evening.  After a quick tour of the apartment (very nice and spacious for a studio), I said my goodbyes to Santiago and took a short siesta.  Since it was 2 hours earlier on my body clock, I decided to take advantage of this by getting a nightcap and finally checking out this supposedly crazy club night called Hype.  But first, it was time to return to my favorite bar in all of Buenos Aires, El Rey de Copa.

As soon as I heard the familiar jazzy house music, it felt like I was home again and soon was greeted by the smiling owner who said it had been awhile.  I took a seat at the bar and chatted a bit with the new bartender, Santiago, who had previously worked at Franks, which I was planning to check out at some point.  I said I wanted something not too sweet and with a bit of smoke, having grown tired of the pisco sour taste and the like.

He ended up making a different take on a Negroni, with Johnny Walker Red and some mezcal.  There definitely was a nice note of smoke as requested and made a mental note to try this again sometime.  Not really wanting a true dinner but still hungry, I opted for their version of poutine, which in this case had fries, 4 types of cheeses and pancetta.

Definitely not the healthiest of things to eat, it was very tasty and helped absorb the large amount of alcohol I had consumed from my previous drinks.  The club, KIKA, was only 2 blocks away but I had to get there before 1AM for the free list.  I said adios to my friends and promised to return before I left.

There was a medium size line when I got to the club but the doorman waived me through, probably because of the novelty of being a tall gringo but I’ll take it.  The club was fairly small, with a decent sized main dance floor, a large VIP area with couches and a wraparound bar.  Full of all assortment of things, I opted not to have another drink and instead just watched the crowd.  It was unfortunately too dark for any decent photos and after about an hour, I had my fill and left.  Given the event lasted until 6AM, it was probably just too early but I wasn’t intrigued enough to stick around even remotely that long.  Plus, Buenos Aires is like a marathon, not a sprint, and I had a long way to go.

Since the weather was still pretty cloudy (why had the weather gods forsaken me?!?), I spent the morning catching up on work and relaxing.  Around 2PM, I finally dragged myself out of the apartment and headed up to Parque Kennedy for lunch.

It was a bit cooler than the previous days but still a nice walk.  I had passed by an interesting looking restaurant the previous night and since I wanted something simple given my epic meal planned for that night, it seemed like the right choice.

After trying to choose between a few items, I asked the server which was her favorite and she eagerly said it was the lomo soltado.  A glorious mix of Chinese and Peruvian styles, this version consisted of slices of beef tenderloin, red peppers and onions, all quickly cooked in a large wok, served with fries and rice.  It was stick to your ribs good and would be able to easily sustain me for the rest of the day.  I walked around the park, saying hola to the various gatos that permeate it, and then headed home for a siesta.

My dinner reservation was a bit earlier than usual – 8PM – but this being Latin Amercia, I was of course the only one there exactly at that time.  Restaurant IK had just been voted one of the top 10 restaurants in Latin America so I was very curious to check it out.  As shown by the picture above, the room was stunning, designed to look like a large fruit crate with tropical plants everywhere and a new age-y jungle soundtrack lowly playing in the background.

Given how much pisco I had imbibed on the trip so far, I decided to go with a local craft brew as my first drink.  It was a very nice and crisp amber ale that ended up going surprisingly well with the first few courses.

The Maitre d’ explained the concept of the restaurant that the 12 courses I would be served represented the 12 months of the year and would extend from the sea to the land to the jungle.  Everything would be cooked in a traditional Incan oven, which I happened to be sitting directly to through a large picture window.

The first course was an amuse of the sea, which featured 2 “octopus” crisps (actually just a potato chip made to look like an octopus) and some crispy fish skin.  The attention to detail on the “octopus” crisps was amazing as this close-up shows.

This was quickly followed by one of the more dramatic presentations of the evening.

The server jokingly said this course would make me work a bit for it.  At the very top of the tree was a crisp made of wild mushrooms.  The small branch extending from the fallen log was actually a piece of pretzel.  Finally, there was a quail egg (this time actually a quail egg), which had been cooked 63 style (which makes the yolk and white the same consistency and then encapsulated so that when I popped it in my mouth, it burst with a wonderful rich egg taste.

Next up was a duo the Peruvian staple, potatoes, cooked over coals.  When the lid was removed, a huge plume of smoke filled the air with that wonderful aroma and the potatoes had a rich smoky flavor.

This was soon followed by a tender, grilled piece of robalo, which had been perfectly seasoned, and a puree of celery and celery root.  This was probably the most traditional dish of the evening but still great.

As way of a palate cleanser, the next course was “a medley of tomatoes” – with several different types of tomatoes with a tomato water broth.  I’m not usually a fan of a tomato dish like this but they were all so fresh plus the broth was so good, I ended really enjoying it.

Next was a real standout, grilled asparagus salad with an asparagus sauce.  Not only was the presentation stunning but it tasted even better.  The grilled asparagus was still hot and when mixed with the cool leaves around it and the sauce made for a wonderful combination.

Next up was a trip way into the Peruvian jungle with an Amazon white fish baked in leaves with an aged balsamic soy sauce.  The pot above it was filled with jungle herbs that one would smell if having this dish in its place of origin.  Again, the attention to detail was stellar.

What was also stellar was the service as it was around this point of my meal where I overheard the crabby older English couple behind me start complaining about the food. I was baffled how someone would book a reservation (required for here) and not get the concept.  After going back and forth with the ever-patient server, they demanded to see a menu.  The Maitre d’ finally agreed to give them a set menu from which to choose.  The Worst.

I ordered a half bottle of a Chilean Cabernet after being disappointing with a glass of Malbec, knowing that I was about to start into the meat courses.  This one unfortunately featured sweet breads, probably of my least favorite gourmet items.  Still as far as they go, this was a good version, with a spicy chili rub that contrasted nicely with the smooth white bean puree.

The final savory course was braised pork belly with a “celebration of corn” – corn puree, corn fritter and grilled baby corn.  The belly was a bit chewy for my tastes but the corn medley was superb and a nice way to end this portion of the meal.

The first dessert featured a variety of Peruvian fruits – maracuya, cherimoya and custard apples, both sliced and as a sorbet.  This was another great palette cleanser – light and refreshing.

The next dessert had one of the other more dramatic presentations – “cacao in everything”, which consisted of a cacao ice cream with Greek yogurt, candied cacao nibs and a cream sauce made with the white part of the cacao.  While I normally shy away from cacao due to its caffeine content, I went for it and was blown away by this dessert.  A true Peruvian classic.

The final dessert was a celebration of the Andean culture, including the server throwing confetti in the air and little chocolate bon bons.  And if that wasn’t enough cleverness, they next brought over this guy.

A figure of an Andean folklore hero, I was told that he had been sent to give me some final gifts, which were attached to the clothespins.  These included 2 chili chocolate bon bons, a bag of sea salt and a bag of cacao nibs.  I enjoyed the bon bons while sipping the last of my wine but noticed that the room was now almost empty.  I called my server over, jokingly saying they had abandoned me.  He replied “oh no, senor!  We knew you understood how us Latin Americans like to dine and left you alone so you could enjoy the rest of your wine.”  I couldn’t think of a higher compliment or more perfect way to end this wonderful evening.

After 2 very long and tiring (but of course fun) days, I decided to take advantage of Sunday being the traditional day of rest. The only thing on the agenda was lunch at a Japanese-Peruvian fusion (known as Nikkei) restaurant Maido. I had actually passed it the previous night after leaving Rafael so I made the quick 15 minute walk to the restaurant in the now ubiquitous cloudy skies.

When I arrived, there was a bit of confusion about the fact I had changed my reservation but fortunately they had a seat at the sushi bar, which is where I wanted to sit anyway. I had initially thought about getting their Nikkei Experience but given I had a large meal set for my final night opted instead to order ala carte. While I was deciding, I received an amuse bouche of spicy crab, which was a nice way to begin the meal.

Wanting to take full advantage of the glorious seafood of Lima, I first selected the sashimi 12 cut catch of the day, which turned out to a lovely assorted of grouper, salmon belly, tuna, shrimp and octopus. While I normally eschew using soy, the sushi chef encouraged me to have some with it as it was a very high quality sauce. He was right although I still used only a bit per piece. Excellent.

Next I opted for one of the Nikkei specialities, salmon belly with aji amarillo. This is one of the best examples of the wonderful fusion between Japanese and Peruvian food, with the sushi quality salmon enhanced greatly by the yellow pepper sauce. Delicious.

It was now time for the main event, a 10 piece maki of crunchy shrimp, spicy crab, avocado and salmon belly with, yes, aji amarillo sauce on top. The crunch of the shrimp mixed with the lump crab meat and the soft salmon on top was a great blend of textures, enhanced of course by the great aji amarillo sauce.

My initial plan was to go get dessert somewhere in Parque Kennedy but thought I’d at least check out what they had to offer at Maido. I was immediately struck by the first item, named Egg and Nest. Given the impeccable presentations I had seen both from my order as well as those around me, I concluded it was a must to get that. As the picture shows, it turned out to be one of the most beautiful desserts I’ve ever seen. The “nest” was cotton candy with crunch strips of cacao as the cross branches and the “egg” was a sorbet of chiramoya – the “white” and a sorbet of maracuya (the “yolk”) with a white chocolate shell. It turned out to be surprisingly light given those ingredients and a perfect conclusion to a great lunch.

I made the walk back to the apartment, strolling more casually this time and enjoying the cool air. I opted to catch up on the blog, do a bit of work and overall just relax, allowing my aching feet to get some rest. Around 9PM, I was once again hungry but wanted something light and relatively healthy. I had passed a restaurant on the Malecon towards Parque Kennedy that looked decent so off I went. Called Alfresco, the place was fairly quiet with a few patrons, not surprising given it was Sunday evening. I decided to get the simple grilled filet of sea bass with steamed vegetables. This was exactly what I needed, light, fresh and delicious.

I headed up towards Parque Kennedy and along the way, I noticed a cafe that had pictures of some really nice looking desserts. Since my dinner was so healthy, I thought why not have something decidedly not for dessert. The winner was the vanilla cake “volcano” with hot dulce de leche inside. It was as good as it sounds.

After an aborted attempt to find the Bengals Cards game in Pizza Alley, I headed home to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be my last day in Lima and an epic dinner awaited.

Taking advantage of a relatively quiet morning, I got some much needed sleep and left my apartment ready to embrace the day.  It was time for some real ceviche, and it turned out a well-regarded restaurant, Punto Sal, was a mere 2 blocks away. Facing directly across the Malecon and the views of the ocean, I ascended the tight staircase to a table with a very nice view.

Although I knew I wanted ceviche, I asked the waiter what he recommended along with that. He suggested I try their mixed platter, which had not only ceviche, but also a tiradito (basically Peruvian sashimi), some wontons stuffed with shrimp and a causa of crab and avocado with a black olive cream.  A few minutes later this thing of beauty arrived.

Everything was fresh and delicious. It was a bit odd to have the sweet potato and corn separated from the fish but I just combined them myself to get that wonderful mix of flavors.  The causa, which is a traditional Incan dish of potatoes mashed with various fillings, in this case crab, turned out to be the start of the show.

After leaving the restaurant, I wanted to go check out the site from where all of these flying things dotted the cloudy sky.

Basically a motorized version of a parasail, they swooped seemingly all around me.  At the base of the cliff was the takeoff point, which had no shortage of eager customers waiting their for their turn.

There was a job to do however so I made a quick pitstop to the apartment to grab my iPad and headed up the street to Parque Kennedy.  The main street towards there was actually 2 roads split between a large dry waterway, which had been turned into a nice path.

Along left bank were various restaurants and even a clay tennis club.

Soon I made my way to the Parque Kennedy, a popular hangout spot, especially on a cool Saturday.

There was a large sunken amphitheater for street performers.  There wasn’t one there when I walked by but a crowd had gathered for the next show.

On the left side of the park was the infamous “Pizza Alley”, which at night turns into quite the party scene but quiet at this time of day.

The Circle of Miraflores, getting into the holiday spirit.

As I made my way to CompuPalace, I entered into some sort of art district, with a line of large markets and shops pedaling Peruvian art and wares. I got the distinct sense though this was purely for tourists, backed by the fact most of the signs were in English.  It turned out that CompuPalace was at the end of this stretch and what I thought would be something like a BestBuy turned out to be nothing of the sort.

CompuPalace turned out to be a very apt name as I entered a massively sprawling multi-story complex packed with individual stores, both retail and repair along with a crush of Peruvian techies. It looked more like something one would find in Tokyo rather than Lima.  Not wanting to try to explain the issue in Spanish and risk messing something up, I spotted a large Apple sign and asked if anyone spoke English.  They said no and told me to try this other place a few stores down.  That turned out to be a bust as well but one of the employees said he’d take me to another store where his friend worked.  He also wasn’t at that store but they told us to try this other one.  And so on.  This went on for 3 more stops before finally finding the right guy, Amir.

Amir guided me back to the front of the building, where he handed my iPad to a guy hunched over a small workbench.  He told the cashier to have her call him after they made the initial diagnosis.

I took a seat on the bench across from the storefront and waited for the results.  About 20 minutes later, Amir came back and explained that the battery had shortcircuited and needed to be replaced.  He said it would be about $50 and I said that was too much.  The guy on the workbench said he would make it $30, and I accepted.  That would never have happened in the States!

They told me it would take about an hour but I had noticed an intriguing bar next door so I headed there for a drink.  Given the name, I assumed the thing to do was to get a pisco cocktail of some sort but I was burned out on Pisco Sour.  I asked the bartender which was his favorite and he told me to get a Chilcano, which is pisco mixed with ginger all and lime juice.  He first had me taste the pisco by itself, which was quite strong, and then mixed in the cocktail.  It reminded me a little of a mojito but without the mint.

As I was sipping my Chilcano, I started asking the bartender questions about pisco – its origin, the various styles, etc.  Sensing he had an interested party, the bartender’s eyes lit up as he went into a detailed history of the origin of pisco – distilled from a large amount of fermented grape juice.  This included the reason there are a lot of different tastes of pisco – depending upon the altitude, climate and types of grapes.

He asked if I wanted a taste of some different styles and although it was only 4PM, I didn’t want to be rude so I said of course.  The first pisco was an example of a high altitude one from Arrequipa, which is where a lot of the pisco that is used in cocktails come from due to its neutral flavor.

Next he poured a taste of one of his favorites, which was a small batch pisco from the Inca region that had a lot more flavor.  It reminded me a little of a nice tequilla reposado, in that it’s a sipping shot versus mixing into a cocktail.

Because I mentioned I was from Los Angeles, next he gave me a taste of an artisinal pisco that is made in Peru but for a San Francisco based distributor.  This one was particularly good, with a much smoother finish and more floral notes.

Finally, he brought out a very small batch pisco made with Italian grapes, which he said is the most mild of the piscos.  This one tasted a lot like grappa but without the harsh finish. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed sipping all of these without having to wince.

I told him I needed to stop before I got too drunk and made my way to the door, stopping to take a quick pic of a model of the traditional pisco distiller.

I got back to the shop just as the technician was finishing up with my iPad.  He turned it on and looked as good as new.  I paid the cash and made the trek back to my apartment for, yes, another siesta.

I had a 9PM reservation at the formal restaurant from the same chef as El Mercado so I headed out into the cool night and mere 10 minutes later, I had arrived.

Located on a quiet part of the street, Rafael was bustling with what seemed to be the well-heeled social class of Miraflores.  The air was full of the wonderful smoky aroma from the large wood grill, and I was place in a great corner table overlooking all of the action.

I was pretty hungry and made quick work of the fantastic bread that had been charred on the wood grill so I was ready to dive right in to a main course.  After asking my server which he preferred between three options I had made note of, he assured me the lobster was the way to go.

The lobster had first been poached and then thrown on the wood grill, making it smoky and quite tender.  This was served with a gnocchi made of Peruvian yellow potatoes ala carbonarra, asparagus and covered in a truffle crustacean foam, which added a nice briny touch to the dish.  The sauce was so good once I had eaten everything else, I sopped up the remaining with the bread.  Delicious.

Since I had skipped getting an appetizer, I decided to get one of the lighter desserts on the menu – a “tumbao” of custard apple, cherimoya (both Peruvian fruits) with milk caramel and almond cream.  This was a fantastic mix of flavors and textures, with the slightly chewy custard apples (nothing like a tradition apple though) and smooth cherimoya.  A real winner.

After asking for the check, I was presented two final sweet bites.  A macaroon and a tiny ice cream sandwich.  A nice way to complete a great meal.

Since it was still early, I wanted to check out a cool bar and after doing some quick research, locked on L’Orient Express, which was known for its interesting pisco cocktails as well as a unique setting.

Unique was an understatement as the entire small bar had been designed to look like a bar car from the famous Orient Express.  I was lucky enough to get the last seat at the bar and after an elongated back and forth between Spanish and broken English, I finally discovered the thing to get here was one of the sours but with an infused pisco.  There were several infusion from which to choose but the bartender said cinnamon was her favorite so who was I to argue with that.

The cinnamon wasn’t that pronounced but still gave the sour a very different taste than the traditional pisco sour.  As I sipped my cocktail, I asked if I could have a small taste of the infused pisco by itself which the bartender happily obliged.  Now I could definitely taste the cinnamon plus the pisco had actually changed to a dark brown from the infusion.  It was delicious and I made a mental note of perhaps coming back there Monday for a final nightcap on this leg of the trip.

After a few months off, it was time to get back in the saddle again and head once more to my beloved South America.  This trip would be particularly meaningful as it would take me back to where it all began.  It was just over 3 years ago that I made my first trip to Lima, which started my love affair with all things South America.  It was also where I realized I should really start documenting my travels in a blog, which I finally did when I headed to Buenos Aires for the first time a couple of months later.

My flights were predictably bumpy but not too bad overall.  I was using the “free” one-way ticket that was part of my Cartagena trip and thankfully had business class seats as even those weren’t exactly roomy.

I arrived in Lima at just before 2AM and got to my apartment at 3AM.  The 3 hour earlier time on my body clock helped but I crashed pretty much as soon as I got into my bed.

I awoke to a very loud and bustling street just outside of my window.  The view was spectacular but I realized it wasn’t a wise idea leaving the window open as the noise between the honking cars, birds chirping and passerby chatter, it was a bit much.

My first stop was a long-anticipated return to the glorious El Mercado.  The casual grill-focused spot by one of the most famous Peruvian chefs, Rafael Oestering and built in a former car repair shop features a dish that was life-changing for me – the grilled octopus.  But first, a pisco sour of course

Until I had their version, I had always shied away from ordering octopus as it can be very chewy in the wrong hands.  El Mercado though boils the octopus twice, first in salt and water, and then with aromatics and Peruvian purple corn.  It’s then transferred to the wood-fire grill, which imparts a wonderful smoky flavor.  Adding to the smoky goodness, are mushrooms and Peruvian potatoes that are also grilled.  The result is simply one of my top 10 dishes of all time.  Tremendous.

Although I was quite satisfied with the grilled octopus, I noticed a new section called Sandwiches that given the low prices, I assumed were just small bite size ones, so I decided to try a couple of them.  First up was called “Bulldog Sandwich” – which was a delicious combination of pulled suckling pig and crispy crab with an aji amarillo (a Peruvian sweet yellow pepper.)  It was in fact tiny but packed with flavor.

The other one was called “Chicharron Asiatico” – which featured fried pork, lacquered shrimp, sauteed onions and once again the ubiquitous aji amarillo sauce.  After this incredibly filling small bite, I was done.

After a short cab back to the apartment, I decided to go walk around the neighborhood, starting with the Parque de Armor, which was right across the street.

This massive statute gives the park its namesake.

The park extends along a cliffside, which makes for a spectacular setting.

As part of my walkabout, I had also brought along my iPad, which I had dropped when leaving the Lima airport and was no longer working.  There is no official Apple Store in Lima but there were 2 places I had found that were essentially knockoffs.  The first one was shut down so I headed to the famous Larcomar Mall, where the other was located.

I normally stay away from malls as much as possible but the Larcomar Mall at least features a pretty stunning surroundings, hanging off the Pacific.  Not surprisingly, this store also couldn’t help me and suggested I go to something called CompuPalace, which was located just past Parque Kennedy.  That was going to be on list tomorrow so I made a mental note to add that to my agenda.

I decided to take the scenic route home along the coast.

After a much needed siesta, it was time to head for my first dinner in Lima.  Wanting to mix both new spots as well as ones I went to last time, I had asked arguably the best Peruvian chef in Los Angeles, Ricardo Zarate, who is from Lima, what restaurant I shouldn’t miss.  He had enthusiastically said Fiesta Gourmet so off I went, using Uber for the first time which couldn’t have been easier, and cheaper to boot.

I was escorted to a table with a nice view of the quite stunning bar and wine cellar (although in this case, elevated on the 2nd floor.)

Featuring mostly Northern Peruvian food, the menu was divided between fish and farm animals.  Most dishes were designed to be shared family style, including whole massive fish, like the Peruvian grouper, which could be ordered via various cuts.

Of course, given I was alone, this wasn’t an option for me.  As I was trying to decide between fish or farm, I was served a welcome pisco sour along with an amuse bouche of slow cooked, shredded pork on a Melba-like piece of toast on top of a quail egg.

Wanting to try a bit from column A and column B, I decided to get the hot “ceviche” of medium-rare medallions of Peruvian grouper with the traditional flavors of ceviiche but grilled instead of cooked in citrus.  The grouper was wonderfully fresh and indeed truly did taste like a ceviche, only hot.

Next up, I choose a side dish of just the crunchy bottom rice of their duck with rice cooked in a clay pot with peas.  While there were no pieces of duck, the rice still had a rich duck taste to it and the fresh peas were a nice bright touch.

While I probably should have quit, I was intrigued by a dessert I had seen sent to a neighboring table and thought what the hell.

This impressive looking plate consisted of a pile of Peruvian style donuts, made with sweet potatoes and a fig honey dipping sauce.  The donuts reminded me a lot of beignets without the powered sugar and the dipping sauce added some much needed sweet notes as the donuts themselves were fairly mild in flavor.

A quick Uber ride back home, I hit the sack ready for a big day tomorrow.

The day started far too early as I had a 9AM flight to Panama City. On the plus side though that meant I could have a full day exploring Panama City. A short 1 hour flight later, I arrived at the Tocumen airport, located about 20 miles outside of the city. I was taken somewhat aback when I did my usual routine of getting some local currency from the airport ATM after it spit out good ol’ US Dollars. So much for having to use my converter.

After retrieving my luggage and going through a fairly simple customs process, I was suddenly surrounded by guys in lime green shirts which designated them as official taxi drivers. Once again there were no meters and I was told the fee would be $35. Slightly more expensive than my $6 airport rides in Cartagena! The route used a toll road and for some reason, the toll collector wouldn’t let our car through. This was followed by ten minutes of angry shouting back and forth. Good thing I didn’t need to be anywhere fast.

It turned out the driver had already paid $15 for tolls and was arguing that it was impossible he had already used that up. Finally sorted, about 30 minutes later, we arrived at the Hotel Manrey, which was located within the central part of the city.

It was only 11AM by this point and my room wouldn’t be ready for quite awhile. I wanted to go check out the city but also needed some time to relax so I went up to the very nicely appointed pool and lounge. Around noon, I hailed a cab and headed to the Causeway, which was built with the rocks that were removed to create the Panama Canal. The Causeway connects three islands to the main city. I knew all of this because it turned out my cab driver was also a tour guide on the side. He also explained how after the US took over construction of the Canal in 1906 from the French who had been wiped out by malaria and yellow fever, Panama started to use US currency.

We passed such landmarks as Viejo Casco, the old part of the city; the Smithsonian animal sanctuary and the Frank Gehry designed Biomuseo – a multi-colored geodesic dome that was quite stunning. I didn’t go into any of said places though as I was hungry and my destination was towards the end of the Causeway, the famous Mi Ranchito. Known for its traditional Panamanian seafood, the restaurant was under a large palapa and once inside, it felt like I was more on a rural beach than on a concrete road across from glistening modern city.

One of the “new” dishes was what they called Ceviche Frito (fried ceviche) I was intrigued so along with that, I ordered a Panamanian beer my server had said was their best.

There wasn’t much of the way of what one would call “ceviche” but the fish was lightly fried and quite tasty. The pickled red onions on top I guess represented the citrus. Even better though were the very tasty yucca fries, a favorite of mine.

After a quick walk around the nearby dock, I was approached by a cabbie who asked if I needed a ride. My original plan with the Canal was to go there at sunset but fortunately my previous cabbie/tour guide had told me they close at 5PM. It was now 2PM so off we went. My cabbie offered to also pick me up when I was done and since I knew in the event he wasn’t there I could probably get another cab, I said sure. I told him to be back in 90 minutes.

The Canal was located in a more remote part of the city, which except for some modern touches like the tourist center, probably is about to close to what it looked like over 100 years ago when it first opened. I saw that the admission which included the usual movie/tour was $15 but I had been told to just go to the restaurant on the 2^nd floor. I tried to enter but was turned back as I didn’t have a ticket. It was as simple though as just asking for a free restaruant ticket. I got in the elevator and initially pushed 2 to go to there but I noticed everyone else was going to the 4^th floor, which said observation deck. In a bit of pure luck, just as I stepped onto the deck, a PA announcement came on saying the next ship was about to go through the Canal. I had heard stories of people only getting to see small ships go through and while the process is the same regardless, it’s much cooler seeing a big ol ship like this do it.

The ship was carried into the first lock via these electronic train engines that had cables attached to them. They were built specifically for the Canal and cost $12MM each. Once safely inside the lock, the process begins of draining 25 million gallons of fresh water, at a rate of 2.5MM per minute, to the other lock which is on the sea water side. This is done strictly by gravity and as the water goes down on one side, the ship basically disappears from view. The transfer of the water means that any poor fish swept up in the process get dumped into the other lock, which meant that as that happened, tons of sea birds swooped down to get their snack on.

Once the water is now level on both sides, they open up the 100 year old gates and the train engines push the ship to the next lock.

The entire process takes about 10 minutes and then send about 50 vessels a day through the Canal at a price ranging from $850 for a sailboat to $250K for a large tanker. I was in awe of the whole thing. My inner child was doing backflips.

The final stage is to detach the engines from their cables and send the ship off to the Pacific. The crew on board waved to us and we waved back as they left the Canal.

I got luck again in that there happened to be an even bigger ship waiting its turn so I watched the whole thing again. This time though, it was on the other side of the Canal so I got a different viewpoint, including a much better shot of the ship “disappearing” in the lock.

Satisfied by watching it twice, I left the deck and was pleasantly surprised to find my driver waiting for me. The ride to the hotel was very amusing as he kept trying to get me to stop at other parts of the city “you must see this! You want girls? You tell me, I get you girls!” All I wanted at that point though was to get into my hotel room and get in my siesta.

This turned out to be more challenging than anticipated as the first room I was given reeked of smoke. They gave me a free upgrade to a much nicer room but when I went to open my suitcase, I discovered that customs had graciously attached my zippers together with a ziptie so I couldn’t open it.  Fortunately, someone soon showed up to my room with a large pair of scissors and after a couple of minutes, my suitcase was free!

Between all of the traveling, my room and suitcase mishaps and the heat, I finally hit the proverbial wall.  My plan to explore my ‘hood was quickly replaced with going up to the pool lounge area for a simple dinner and to watch the Rockets playoff game.  It also helped that it was a Monday and most of the bars/lounges around the area were closed and/or dead.  So, I climbed into my very comfy king bed and got some much needed sleep.  Tomorrow would be the last hurrah and the long journey home.

After the pure insanity of the previous night/morning, I knew I needed to downshift considerably for my final day in Cartagena.  I had yet to check out the Bocagrande area so I hopped in a cab and took the 15 minute ride past the walled city to this newer part of the city, dotted with tall buildings and casinos.

Bocagrande is also where the main beach of Cartagena is located so I picked a small sushi spot I had been told was good, which was right across the street from the beach.  Taketai had been built from shipping containers and as soon as I approached it, this was all too obvious.

The upstairs deck was unfortunately closed so I took a seat inside, which was thankfully had A/C as it was very hot and steamy without the sea breeze.  The view wasn’t bad either.

To start, I ordered the crab croquettes, which arrived after a mere few minutes.  Though small, they had a generous portion of crab meat inside and were quite tasty.

While trying to decide what to get next, I ordered a large glass of “limonada tradicional”, which was basically iced lemonade.  My thirst quenched but not wanting to have something too heavy, I opted for the fresh salmon sashimi, given how good the seafood had been in Cartagena.

And once again, it was very fresh, delicious seafood.  The salmon was buttery smooth and was just what I needed after several large meals plus one to come later that night.

After lunch, I took a walk down the beach, avoiding various hawkers and enjoying the now steady sea breeze.

Since it was Sunday, there were a lot of people at the beach and almost chair/umbrella combo was taken.

After awhile, I had my fill and took a cab back to my apartment.  Along the way, I passed the large Colombian Naval Station and a soccer match right in front of the wall.

After enjoying my last real time on my great deck, including writing the last blog post and my last siesta al fresco, it was time to head out for one last meal in Cartagena.  Carmen, inside the Anada Hotel, which was a former convent, had been recommended to me by several people, and I was intrigued by their 5 course tasting menu with wine pairings.

That pic was after my meal but I had forgotten to get one of the restaurant beforehand.  When I arrived, it was completely full so I was lucky to get the last table since I didn’t have a reservation.  Soon after I sat down, the first amuse arrived: a traditional ceviche with sea bass and leche de tigre.  Very refreshing.

The second amuse was a real winner.  The egg was filled with one piece each of shrimp, squid and langoustine with a squid ink sauce and topped with camembert cheese, delicious.

The first course arrived a few minutes later along with the first wine pairing, a Chilean Chardonnay.  12 hour cooked octopus with 3 onion sauce and potatoes.

This dish reminded me a lot of Peru, especially with the potatoes.  The octopus was wonderfully tender and the 3 onion sauce was delicious too.  A real winner.

The second course was quite unlike anything I had tasted.  Essentially a play on a gazpacho, it was a cold soup made with a local fruit called corozo, which tasted like a sweeter cranberry.  What really made it exceptional though were the bread dipping sticks that I was encouraged to use as my eating utensil.  Very creative. It was served with a rose, which made sense.

The third course was by far my favorite – grilled sea bass on a bed of coconut risotto (!) with lemon cream sauce.  This was outstanding.  The filet was perfectly cooked and the risotto was fantastic.  I ate every single morsel of it.  It was paired with another chardonnay but from Argentina this time.

The last savory course was pork two ways – tenderloin and shredded with a tamarind sauce.  During this course, I had started chatting with the couple next to me from San Francisco, who had ordered this ala carte and were telling me how good it was.  Not quite the level of the last course, it was still very good, especially the tenderloin, which was perfectly cooked.  It was served with, finally!, a nice Argentine Malbec.

The final course was a duo of homemade ice creams.  One was chocolate with mint, honey and uh, something else.  For some reason, although most everyone else at the restaurant were foreign and therefore servers were speaking to in English, every dish in my case had been presented en espanol.  So that combined with the 4 glasses of wine prior to this, made the final translation go a bit awry.  It was quite good though.

I staggered away from my table, said my goodbyes to the SF couple and walked through the beautiful hotel to get a cab.  En route, I saw hotel personnel knock on the door of a room to the surprise of the flustered male occupant. He was told that they needed the ID of the senorita who had just joined him in the room and that she would be an extra $100.  He distractedly said “just put it on my bill” and closed the door.  I could smell her perfume from quite a bit away once he slammed the door.

That I thought was the perfect note to go out on for the evening so I hailed a cab and went home.  I had an early flight to Panama City so sadly that was pretty much the end of my wonderful adventures in Cartagena.

My original plan had already been scuttled as I was intending to do lunch at a popular spot called Donjuan and then dinner later somewhere casual.  However, it turned out that it wasn’t open for lunch on the weekends so I pivoted instead to trying out the new Spanish/Colombian fusion place that a couple of people at Marea had suggested.  Given how good the food was there, that was all I needed to know.  Plus, it was located in a different part of town called Los Morros that I had yet to explore.

After a somewhat circuitous cab ride past the airport and back along the water, I arrived at the gates of the Hotel Las Americas, where the restaurant was located.  The first of a couple of odd things was how fortified the gate was.  It looked more like a compound than the entrance to a hotel.  The second thing was that since I didn’t have a reservation, they had to call the restaurant to grant me entry.  After a few minutes, the guard gave my driver the OK sign and dropped me off at the lobby entrance.

The lobby and surrounding area was hardly impressive, looking more like a hotel that had gone to seed than anywhere a fancy new restaurant would plant its flag.  After confirming that I was in the right place, I was told to follow the path to the other end of the hotel.  There things finally began to change and soon I was in a different lobby that looked brand new and a sign pointing to the elevator to go up to the 10th floor.

Erre by Ramon Freixa is the brainchild of a Spanish chef who spent time in several elite kitchens there, including Arzak and Mugaritz.  His goal is to combine Colombian ingredients (leaning heavily on seafood and vegetables) with Spanish cooking techniques.  It was a very nice room, filled with delicate touches that indicated someone had spent a boatload of money to get this up and running.

There were 3 different areas, two of which were closed since it was lunch, so only the main dining room was open.  I was ushered to a seat in the middle of the room, which had views of the water on either side.

Since the concept was old and new techniques, I decided to try one of each for my meal.  First up was the crab salad with sorrels, jicama and potatoes with a “roasted vanilla powder.”

It was a very beautiful looking dish and the crab was very fresh.  The jicama straws added some nice texture and while I’m usually not a fan of cold potatoes, with the powder sauce, everything worked very well together.

For my main course, I went with the “socorrat” with pork ribs and octopus.  The socorrate is the term used to the describe the best part of any paella, the crunchy rice bits that form on the edge of the pan that are normally scrapped up at the end of serving the dish.  I was expecting to get maybe a small plate of this, perhaps served table side for drama’s sake.  What I got instead was this magnificent beast.

In a stroke of pure genius, I was presented what was basically a person paella pan along with a spoon with a jagged edge to scrape up the sides.  While it was massive (look at the glass of water and the bread in the background for size comparison), it was also thankfully very shallow so it wasn’t quite as daunting as it looked when it had arrived.

This is what it looked like after I played around with it a bit, still huge but at least something I could mostly if not fully finish.  It was as good a paella as I’ve ever had.  The pork ribs were fork tender and the octopus was nicely charred nestling at the bottom of the pan.  But of course the real star was the rice.  It had just the right bite to it and I happily crunched along memories flooding back to paellas from my times in Spain.

Knowing I was way too full but noticing one of my all time favorites on the dessert menu, what they called Marco’s Perfect Carrot Cake, I made the executive decision to get it BUT eat only half and have the other half later as a snack.  This turned out to be smart on my part because the piece of cake was both massive and dense.  The little side of mango sorbet helped ensure I didn’t eat the entire piece too.

I needed to walk off my lunch so I took a leisurely stroll through my surrounding hood, which was aided at least at first by a massive winds.  This was great until I had to turn into it to head back and as their velocity increased even more, I was suddenly having quite a workout.  As I was walking back, I came across what appeared to be a birthday party for an older woman.  There were kids running around, music blasting and everyone was dancing.  Cartagena is definitely a city of haves and have-nots, with this group decidedly in the latter category.  Still, the pure joy and happiness that emanated from watching the party was universal.  I felt honored to have witnessed it, even from afar.

I headed back to the apartment for some much needed deck time (yes, I have a rough life, I know) and to catch one of only two remaining sunsets from my magnificent view.  I will miss this for sure.

I gave myself a bit extra time with a siesta since i knew I was in for a very long night.  I posted the previous blog entry and took off for the Walled City once again.  Donjuan was just off the Clock Tower so the cab drive pulled up in that main plaza, and I stumbled my way to it after that.

Known as a popular pre-nightlife spot for locals as the occasional tourist, Donjuan was owned by a famous Colombian soap opera star and featured many of his favorite dishes.  I had been told that the thing to get was the grilled octopus and since I hadn’t yet had that preparation, I was eager to try it.

The octopus was very tender and the char was perfect.  An a new twist, it was served with potatoes and bacon, which gave it an even smokier flavor.  Delicious.

While I was waiting for my next dish, I noticed that I had been seated next to a group of four American DudeBros.  After eavesdropping about their various adventures for the day, I asked them where they were from – DC and surrounding area.  For the hell of it, I decided to ask this in a quasi Swedish accent and told them of my time here so far.  They didn’t speak any Spanish but didn’t seem to be troubled by that as they had some local fixer helping them.  One of them was bragging about their conquests from last night and that they would be there soon.  Shortly thereafter, two mildly attractive French women joined them at the table and introduced themselves to me in English.  Well, I guess options are limited for those who don’t speak Spanish here.

Having learned my lesson on not overdoing it for dinner when going out after, I opted to stay light for my second dish and got the salmon tiradito (basically salmon treated with citrus but not quite a ceviche.)  This wasn’t quite as good as the octopus as it there was a bit too much acidity for my tastes.

Instead of dessert, I asked my server for his favorite Colombian rum.  He excitedly pointed to La Hebichera from nearby Barranquilla.  Unfortunately, compared to mi amio Zacapa 23, this was a somewhat pale comparison.  When I told the server that, he shook his head and agreed that was the superior liquor.

My original plan post dinner was to go to a place called BarBar but in doing further research, it appeared to cater to a much younger crowd.  Wanting something a bit more upscale, I picked La Movida instead, which was located across the street from La Vitrola so it would be a nice full circle for my trip.  I had been told to be sure to get there before midnight as a large line starts after that.  I had carefully plotted my route in Google Maps but for some reason, it had disappeared when I tried to load it.  Fortunately, by this point, I was pretty familiar with the basic layout of that part of Centro so I was able to figure out where it was fairly easily.

The entrance was in the back via the patio and after getting a fairly close inspection of my worthiness, I was allowed inside after paying the $10 USD cover, by far the most expensive I had paid but oh well.  The patio was already starting to fill up but the lack of cool air made me quickly go inside the main room.  La Movida is a tapas bar until midnight when it becomes a true club so there were still a few tables of people finishing up dinner.  I immediately liked the vibe and made my way to the bar to get a mojito, this time choosing one made with Zacapa rum for only a couple of more dollars.

Almost immediately after I got my drink, I started getting a lot of people pointing at me and giving me the tall height signal.  I smiled back and raised my glass “salud.”  A few minutes later a decidedly not Colombian looking guy came up to me with the same expression.  He was pretty short so I bent down to give him the salud and that cracked him up.

He asked me where I was from and when I said the States, he replied he was from Boston along with two other guys and 3 Colombian women from Bogota they had met earlier that day.  The one he was with looked up at me with big eyes and yelled “WHY YOU SO TALL??”  The main guy, who was also named Steve, introduced me to their group and asked who I was here with.  When I said, no one ,he said “well you are with us now.”

I chatted with their group for awhile and we all danced as it was now really starting to fill up.  I noticed a taller guy motioning me over and when I approached he said “are those fuckers making you take pictures like a fuckin monkey?”  I smiled and said I didn’t mind it. His name was Forrest, an Expat from Holland now living in Bogota, here on business for the week.  He introduced me to his friend who was from Miami, and I had a nice chat with them after he graciously bought me another round.

I bounced back and forth between those two groups, taking more pictures with “giante rubio” and forced my way back to the patio since now the main room was insanely packed.  The new DJ was playing a fantastic set of deep, funky house and there was a saxophonist along side of him – very cool.  As I walked through the patio, this boisterous and very drunk Colombian saw me and told me “you are too short for this country, go away!”  I mimed like I was leaving and he pulled me over to introduce me to his amigos.  “You need a shot” he said and wouldn’t take no for an answer.  I obliged and he said “another one!”

This time I was able to escape for at least a little bit when a few minutes later, he got on top of a chair with the shot, motioning me over.  “You’ll make history with this one!”  Well then, I guess I had no choice.  He excitedly poured the shot into my mouth with phones all around me recording the action.  Yes, it was that kind of a night.

The hours rolled by with me rotating back and forth to all of my various new friends when I noticed a guy almost as tall as me on the other side of patio.  I did the traditional tall guy nod and came over to say hello.  Turned out he was from New York and had moved to Cartagena 3 months ago to do high end property rentals.  Amazingly, he said he spoke no Spanish, which made me wonder how in the heck he did business here.  He said loved it here and gave me his contact info to hook me up on my next visit.

It was strange after almost 5 days of speaking almost no English, at La Movida that’s basically all I did.  I both wished I had discovered this place sooner but at the same time glad I didn’t as it forced me to be a lot more like a local, always my goal when traveling.  I could see the hermetically sealed environment of the earlier DudeBros (who not surprisingly also ended up at La Movida), hitting on fellow tourists versus interacting with real locals, and made me realize I want no part of that.

Trying to stick to my usual goal of getting home before sunrise, I said my various goodbyes and headed back to the apartment, enjoying the now cool sea breeze from my cab and smiling about all of the insanity I had just endured.  There was one more day/night to go and with an early departure Monday, I knew that this would be pretty much my final taste of the great Cartagena nightlife so it was a nice way to go out in style.