Getting the ring to Lima was almost as complicated as the proposal itself.
Tony had bought the ring in the United States, but while he was already living abroad, it was still back home in Charlotte with his family. He knew he wanted to propose during an upcoming trip to Lima, but mailing an engagement ring across the world was definitely not an option.
Then came an absurdly lucky chain of coincidences. The mother of our best friend, Chena, happened to be visiting her sister in Tony’s hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Tony’s mom passed the ring to her there, and once she was back in Lima, she quietly brought it to Carla’s childhood home — where we always stay when we’re in Peru — hidden inside a bag full of completely random things so Carla wouldn’t suspect a thing.
Tony finally had the ring.
And immediately started sweating.
The proposal itself came together much more last-minute. Tony booked Mérito, one of Latin America’s highest-rated restaurants, practically as we were boarding our flight to Lima.
Then found a photographer willing to take on a slightly strange assignment: secretly follow us around Barranco for the evening, paparazzi-style.
We started at Mérito, wandered through Barranco, crossed the bridge and made our way toward drinks at Ayahuasca — all while our undercover photographer trailed behind us taking photos.
There was just one problem: Carla noticed him.
She became increasingly convinced that the suspicious guy following us with a camera was going to rob us.
Tony, desperately trying not to ruin the surprise, agreed that yes, the whole thing looked very suspicious and suggested we get out of there.
We escaped to Ayahuasca for cocktails while Tony secretly sent the photographer ahead to the Mirador de Barranco with one instruction:
Have a beer and wait for us.
