Lima, Peru

After arriving at the hotel around midnight, and a much anticipated reunion with my lovely Damian, we got some much need sleep before getting up relatively early the next day for a city tour of the Peruvian capital.

Founded in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador, Francisco Pizarro, it was from Lima that all Spanish territories in South America were governed. Few cities at that time could rival Lima’s power, wealth and opulence. However its glory days ended in 1746 when the city was virtually destroyed by an earthquake. Many of the colonial buildings were rebuilt and we got a first-hand look at several of them on our tour. The Plaza Mayor (where I took the photo above), is the 'heart of the city' and is flanked by some of the most important buildings in town such as the cathedral, the huge Government Palace and the Archbishop’s Palace. We visited the cathedral and the nearby San Francisco Monastery, with its catacombs containing some 70,000 human remains. We also visited the National Museum of Anthropology, Archaeology and History of Peru, which contains many artefacts from pre Inca cultures and times.

We spent the night in one of our hotel rooms, relaxing, playing cards and having a few drinks before our early flight to Arequipa tomorrow.