YYZ-LIM AC080
Executive First (J)
Boeing 767
Scheduled 5:35 PM / Actual: 6:00PM



The doors were closed immediately after we had boarded. We were on the same 1-1-1 seating configuration. There were 12/24 in J cabin. I had booked us into the back of the J cabin in row 7 for a bit more privacy, but other passengers moved around into the seats next to us, in addition to crew who slept behind us in row 8. I think that the best seats for a couple traveling together on the 767 are 8 J and 8 K, as they are the most private when the curtain is closed.

That’s the sign of a happy person:



There was no pre-drink given to us on the ground due to our late boarding of the aircraft.

There were no amenity kits waiting for us. I believe that they passed these out individually during the pre-flight service. As we were not there for that, we missed out. Eventually mid flight, we got the kits and a menu. The kits contained eye shades, ear plugs, socks, tooth brush and toothpaste. The kits were best described as a throw way aside from the functional items.





Dinner:

Appetizer

Smoked Atlantic Salmon with Cucumber Capriccio, Dill Mustard Sauce and capers.

Salad:

Organic field greens, Grape Tomatoes and Parmesan, served with Balsamic Vinaigrette.



Main courses:

Grilled AAA Alberta Beef Tenderloin, presented with Truffle and Porcini Mushroom Sauce, Celeriac Yukon Gold Dauphinoise Potatoes, Green Beans, and Cherry Tomato Confit.



Roasted Chicken filled with Butternut Squash and Cranberry accompanied by Madeira Mushroom Sauce, Manitoba While Rice and Roasted Peppers.

Sautéed Alaskan Black Cod offered with Lemon Butter, Spinach Risotto, Green Beans and glazed baby carrots.

Grilled Vegetable Lasagna with Mozzarella and Ricotta complemented by Basil Tomato Sauce

A selection of warm fresh Breads with Butter.

Selection of Cheese:

Camembert, Yellow Cheddar and Oka served with crackers



Choice of Desserts:

Warm Chocolate Pecan Tart
Sliced Seasonal Fruit.

Pre Arrival Light Meal:

Turkey and Gruyere Croque Monsieur Half with grilled vegetables



Freshly baked cookies.

The following wines were available:

Champagne:

Champagne Drappier Carte D’Or – Brut

White:

Paua Bay Marlborough Sauvingon Blanc, New Zealand
Henry of Pelham Reserve Chardonnay, Niagra, Canada

Red:

MAN Vinters Pinotage, Paarl, South Africa
Domaine Nicole, Coteaux de Bessiles, France

Port:

Dow’s Port, Portugal.

The Service Director Claude provided excellent service. Since we had missed the first drink order, they offered one drink order for whole main course.

There was a beautiful sunset on the way down.





I slept after the meal until the equator and was lucky enough to pull up the map as we crossed into the southern hemisphere.



We landed in Lima, Peru. Again there was no spot available for the arriving aircraft. We waited another 25 minutes on the runway while they sorted things out.

We cleared immigration without issue. We went to the baggage belt and for some strange reason our bags were the last two put out on the belt. I was thankful that they made it, considering they were likely the last ones placed in the hold due to our 30 minute connection in Toronto, but I was a little puzzled as to why they were the last ones out. I was thinking that they would be the last boarded, given our tight connection.



As we walked towards the Customs green / red light inspection, Ms World Traveller73 noticed that stuff was missing from the front and rear zippered area of her bags. She had placed underwear and scarves in this area inside zipped Hey’s soft luggage packing cubes. Ms World Traveller was not impressed – as she had lost some scarves from Bursa, Turkey that we had bought on one of our last trips. We had one of life’s brief lessons here as we figured out our options.

Not expecting much action, I looked around for baggage services to report the “misplaced” items, but there were no obvious counters, aside from an agricultural inspection and customs.

We went through Customs and attempted to locate a baggage representative on the public side. We eventually found a phone which connected us to ground staff. The AC check-in desks were all empty since they were likely boarding the return aircraft on the secure side. We reported the loss of these articles and the person on the other end asked us to meet him at the check in desks and to “hurry up” to get there.

We eventually met up with “Donald” who was wearing the familiar AC glacier blue shirt with navy blue vest uniform. He escorted Ms World Traveller 73 into the back on the secure side to “look” for the articles.

By some surprise, the articles were actually located on the empty belt. It was somewhat surprising, since I had written them off as stolen, never to be seen again. It was impossible by their design that they had slipped out of the cases. They had obviously been removed and perhaps with the threat that people were on the hunt for them, thrown out on the belt and abandoned when the search was on. With the bags in hand, she learned a valuable lesson about the opportunities in some parts of the world.

We had booked a Monograms Tour “Discovery of Peru” which was a 7 day adventure through Lima, up to Cuzco, a tour of the Sacred Valley and then 2 days at Machu Picchu. The tour involved local hosts so the travel was independent, with persons meeting us at each end to send us on our tours.

Lima was a city of contrasts. The area around the airport was quite desolate and impoverished. However the inner city around the Plaza de Armas was beautifully restored and maintained. I found it more enjoyable and better maintained than some of the other Latin American cities.





The cathedral just off the Plaza de Armas contained a catacomb that was supposed to have the skeletons and remains of 70,000 persons! It was spooky. I snuck this photo when I wasn’t supposed to. It was almost completely dark.