'Lima is a city of many faces' said our guide Cesar, which could have not been more true. The up's and down's of both the city and the country are reflected through the architecture and the different neighborhoods throughout Lima. In certain places there are big old homes from the turn of the century, and then not far from those are the smaller, cheaper homes from the economic downturns of the city. Anyway, Peru now is on a new rise and people seem more optimistic about the future.

Our one day whirlwind tour of Lima did not do it justice, but we spent the morning visiting the important historical sights of the city and then spent the afternoon roaming around the Miraflores district, which is the new nice district of the city. There we wandered down the coastline until we saw a group of parasailors, and Ian and I decided to give it a try, which was definitely an awesome experience.

We spent New Years at a place called larcomar. It is pretty much a mall built into the side of a cliff with many shops, restaurants and bars. We made friends with some other Swedish back packers and enjoyed the national drink, pisco sour, a little too much.

Overall, I was much more impressed with Lima than I had thought I would be, and I thought it was actually pretty safe and really clean for a South American city.