No Regrets!

Sun! It came out this morning, finally, while on a tour of historic Lima. First, Plaza San Martin, and then, Plaza Mayor, both public squares in the middle of town surrounded by ornate government buildings. Our coolest stop was Convento de San Francisco, which featured underground catacombs filled with the bony remains of over 25,000 people. Inside, we weren’t allowed to take pictures, which is always extremely aggravating (that’s half the reason I go to a lot of these places), but I snuck in a couple of shots anyway.

This afternoon, we met up with Aritza for lunch and finalized the rest of our itinerary for our stay in Peru. Aritza is very accommodating. I asked her if she’s like this with all of the tourists she works with and she just smiled and said that she was happy to help.

After returning to our hotel and watching a little NFL in Spanish, we walked down to the Miraflores beach just as it was getting dark. After snapping a few nighttime shots, we headed back. Just as we were turning to leave, a security guard approached. From his Spanish and gestures (including a hand shaped like a gun), we gathered that it was not safe to be walking back with our cameras and that we might get mugged. He escorted us across a bridge and up the hill to safety. We thanked him for his kindness and learned his name: Sergio.

There is security and police all over the place in Lima. You’ll see a cop hanging out on every other street corner, and every few seconds, a police car or motorcyle will drive by. We asked our tour guide about that today, and she said that the new government has gotten really tough on crime. The police presence is also a deterrent for terrorists, mainly one group calling itself “Shining Path.”

In a few minutes, we are heading out to Barranco, one of the trendier districts, to enjoy the Lima nightlife. Looks like it might be a late night. Had a bit of downtime, so I got a chance to work on a bunch of pics.