Luckily our friend Pino lives in Lima. He took us out for some typical Peruvian food, local craft beers, and pisco sours (pisco is a grape brandy, and pisco sours are basically Peruvian margaritas). He also took us down to stay at his beach house at the famous surf beach Punta Hermosa.
We free camped at a park near Pino's place. The Presidente's inlaws live nearby, so there are a lot of cops around to ensure the safety of any wily free campers. This was a good spot to explore the city including the upmarket seaside suburbs of Miraflores and Barranco.
We also spent a day checking out the city centre. Lima was the most important city in colonial South America. It was the home of the viceroy, and the huge palaces, cathedrals and hotels are still here.
There is a beautiful Franciscan monastery with enormous subterranean catacombs. The building has been kept in good shape despite several earthquakes. We particulary liked the library and choir stalls built out of central american cedar (pictures are not allowed, but Kellie managed to sneak a few of the catacombs). There is also a museum at the original site of the Spanish Inquisition headquarters. Both of these sites were pretty gruesome, but a fascinating look into how the Spanish masters treated their living, and their dead.
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