Lima

The first part of Lima reached from the port was run down like a typical port. Nearing the city centre and the colonial (mixed European – not just Spanish) squares, the best description is probably ‘crumbling grandeur’. However, in the centre of the city, some of the buildings and squares have been restored and are beautifully impressive.

Excursions took TSH and Diva to the university, a church and museums devoted to pre-Columbian and post-conquest art. All this was enjoyable but the pre-Columbian museum was particularly interesting and well presented.

Artefacts from this museum:

The impression is that the city has very high crime. Every house is behind a fence and there are spikes on all the fences to stop climbers. In the city centre, the water cannons and the riot police with shields were standing by. The guides insisted that the latter was ‘for show’ and the domestic security is due to older people remembering less settled times. They told the group that younger people know that the country is now safe and that they can leave their doors unlocked. TSH and Diva are not convinced by this explanation.

Peru allegedly has more than 3,000 varieties of potato.

There are thousands of birds – mostly gulls around the port area. TSH took some pictures of birds in museum gardens, including humming birds. No llamas yet.