Spent our first day in Lima, capital of Peru and home to 9million people - most of whom seemed to be in their cars and trying to get down the same street at the same time! After a tour of downtown we headed back to miraflores for a great lunch and sampled the local delicacies of cerviche (raw fish - delicious!) and pisco sours - a very tasty cocktail that went straight to our heads. We went back to our hotel for a siesta then out to dinner at a place overlooking the pacific ocean - a fantastic first day. Probably wasn't the best idea to have another pisco sour as a night cap as we had to be up again at 4am for our flight to Arequipa but we were met at the hotel & taken to the airport for the short flight & it just meant we had a full day when we arrived. We flew over the Atacama desert the whole way and it was amazing to see the odd settlement and green patch against the barren landscape. Arriving in Arequipa airport takes your breath away - not because you're at 2,800 meters but because there is a 5,800 meter snow covered volcano there to greet you. The city is beautiful - lots of old colonial buildings & greenery, a welcome relief from the noisy foggy streets of Lima. We had a tour of the city & visited St Catalina convent - a 15th century convent. Our guide took us through a remarkable history of a community that at its most populated housed 500 people which may have made up of nuns, servants and children whom were sent there for a way of being educated. Many of these nuns were sent there by their families who could not be married off - but only of course if they were wealthy enough. Our hotel is a converted colonial house, we are sitting in the large open atrium, the walls of which are made from volcanic rock, as are most of the older buildings in Arequipa. We are currently supping local beer or Malbec wine, depending on gender, preparing ourselves for more food. Maybe a deep fried guinea pig with chilli sauce.

6 Go Wild in Peru

All arrived safe and sound in Lima the capital city of Peru after a 12 hour flight from Madrid. Collected at the airport and transported to our hotel where we were met by a Full buffet breakfast which we all made good use of. About to embark on our tour of the city of Lima.