Lovely La Punta

My van parked in front of Villa La Punta in La Punta, Peru.

Not long after I got back from my trip to Cusco and the jungle, my van arrived at the port, Callao, but still no luck getting advanced clearance with Customs. It was not until the 21st of October, over a month after I arrived in Peru, that I finally got my van, just pathetic. I had already planned that once I was able to get my van, I would move from Miraflores to La Punta, which is adjacent to Callao, the port, where the van was located, and where I still had much business to attend to in trying to get my gear. So, I moved to La Punta.

I had reservations at Villa La Punta, really a bed-and-breakfast, not a hotel, at the end of the peninsula that is La Punta. Place was nice, even if a bit expensive, as cost S/.120 per night, or about US$40, depending on the exchange rate that day. My room was nice, private bath, and a ceiling that must have been 25 feet high. Also, hallway was open to the sky, and the breakfast area was covered, but open-air. Obviously, weather stays pretty nice in La Punta, all year long. Luisa owns Villa La Punta and is very nice, as were Vilma and her son Diego, both of whom live at the property. Villa La Punta is right across the street from the Peruvian Naval Academy, so I figured it was a very safe place to park my van, even if parked on the street. So the day I picked up my van, I dropped it off in front of Villa La Punta, then raced back to Miraflores to pick up the rest of my stuff. I was very happy to get my van, and La Punta was nice, and different from Miraflores, and I was ready for a change. I just did not realize how long I would be there.

La Punta is a pretty exclusive place, even if adjacent to Callao, which is a pretty scary place. There is much security, and you cannot even get into La Punta without passing through a checkpoint. La Punta is dominated by very nice houses, a yacht club, or two, a rocky beach and large intertidal wetland, a huge sea wall and park, many restaurants all serving lots of ceviche, and the Naval Academy. It is a nice place, safe and secure, and it turned out that I met a number of very nice people there. I was in La Punta so long, I made friends, I was basically a resident of La Punta, lovely La Punta.

As it turned out, I spent almost a month in La Punta, and as I mentioned, I made new friends. It was nice to meet people, to be able to hang out, drink a beer or two, to pass the time, and just to chat. I was very frustrated with what had happened in getting my van, and in dealing with trying to get my gear, so making new friends was a welcome distraction. Ricardo Bermudez, though a Peruvian, lived and worked in the US for many years, as did Luis. I enjoyed hanging out with Ricardo, and his lovely family, wife and daughter. Pizza Charlie is from Boston, he runs a small pizza business in La Punta, and Vaughn is a retired Ex-pat who is married to a Peruvian. Elmer runs a small bodega and it was always fun to stop by for a cold Cusquena and visit. I hope to keep in touch with the folks in La Punta, they were, are wonderful people. I also met many wonderful people who passed through Villa La Punta, including a wonderful young German couple (saw them twice, when they began, and ended their visit to Peru, good luck with med school!), a woman from Montreal, some Aussies, more than one couple from Holland, other Germans, a lovely young, Swiss woman, and more. It is too bad that my stay in La Punta was not about enjoying an extended vacation, and meeting some great people, it was about Customs, stupid people, difficult and very frustrating times. I was not happy, but did enjoy spending time with my new friends in La Punta. I do not like Peru, but there are a number of very nice Peruvians, including those I met in La Punta.
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