Monday, 1 August 2016

A celebratory mood

This was my favourite evening of the holiday. In stark contrast to the hotel of the previous day, El Mapi was a winner.  For starters, we were upgraded to a suite, but it was the lively vibe that pleased me most.  Added to which, we were celebrating Louise & Ian's wedding anniversary!  We convened in the bar, claimed our complimentary Pisco Sours and loosened up to the sound of Latin American music.  The ambience was definitely backpacker - beards, headbands, trekking sandals and laughter aplenty!  Richard put his finger on it - it was like Everest Base Camp!  Not that I've actually been, but I've seen the film 'Everest' and I recognised a similar shared exhilaration - we had all scaled Machu Picchu!  Perched happily on bar stools we lapped up the local culture by drinking Peruvian red and nibbling Cancha, a popular local snack made from large-kernelled corn.  A striking African man opposite us ordered a Bloody Mary and the bar tenders put on their show.  Richard and Ian discussed the F1 racing showing on the big screen, whilst Louise and I put the world to rights.  After a while we reluctantly made our way to the hotel restaurant, as the meal was included in our package.  The place was mobbed with people on a mutual high - obviously everyone had a similar package!  We didn't do the usual British queuing and managed to grab a table.  I don't know if it was the convivial atmosphere or the wine, but we were cock-a-hoop about the canteen approach to our evening meal.  Our African man appeared and said 'Hey, you were the guys getting drunk at the bar!'  And he was right!! The food was very good and we ordered another bottle of wine.  Yep, we were having a real celebration. 

When I got to bed I could hear the party in full swing downstairs.  I was pumped up with alcohol, happiness and a personal sense of satisfaction of having ticked a big box in my bucket list.  I didn't even want to go to sleep, I wanted to prolong the enjoyable moment.      

Happy Anniversary!

Another beautiful sight
Embracing the local culture (btw - excellent travel book)

Cancha

 

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