Lima, Peru's frenetic capital which according to Lonely Planet is overcrowded, polluted and dangerous ….Beach muggings, bus terminal attacks and smash and grab attacks at traffic lights are all mentioned to warn the unwary tourist. The three of us arrived in town warily looking around us and grasping our valuables tightly - In the event it transpired to be no more dangerous than the average South American city.

Adam had done the research and on the first night we found ourselves in the park of illuminated fountains ….. A large park with something like 15 themed fountains, all amazing in different ways. The highlight was an intricate fountain that you had to navigate without getting wet - Adam and Dan had a go and both got absolutely drenched ….. Heather avoided the challenge to protect her hair from getting wet and completely dissolving.

On our second day we ventured into downtown Lima the epicentre of danger and found a surprisingly interesting city centre with amazing architecture. The jewel in the crown was the Monasterio de San Francisco which Adam had discovered in his research, housed the bones of an estimated 70,000 burials - the bones are in classified piles within open crypts ….. Ghoulish maybe, definitely not for the faint hearted but strangely compelling.

We made our way to the nearby sea shore where Adam had a ceremonious initiation in the waters of the Pacific. Our last great discovery was an unusual cocktail - basically a Margarita but with a special attachment to the glass, a bottle of Corona was attached upside down and refilled the glass as you drank ….Cool.

Sadly the time had come for Adam to leave us, the two weeks he had spent with us had flown by and our goodbyes were said in the airport bar, appropriately finishing the chapter with raised glasses and maybe a few hidden tears. We spent one more day in Lima, Heather was not feeling her best and we were going through the motions, perhaps missing Adam more than we thought.