Callao is the port for Lima. In February last year on our cruise, Javon and I met a guy from Manchester and his Peruvian wife. I asked her what to do in Callao and she said that a friend of hers was a guide. I contacted Desiree and we arranged a tour of Lima and Callao.

This morning I got an email from Desiree saying that she had to go to Cusco and that another guide, Cecelia would be her replacement. We took the shuttle to a local mall and met her there. Our first stop was the Larco Museum. This is situated in some old houses with beautiful gardens. It cost $US10 to get in. The first couple of rooms were full of pots, 44,000 of them! They were in cases that must have been 10 feet tall and whilst impressive, were basically boring!! After that things improved dramatically. There was room after room of pottery, textiles, jewellery and other artefacts. Some were over 3,000 years old but looked almost new. Astounding stuff.

After a long drive through Lima, we stopped in Plaza San Martin. Our first visit was to the Gran Hotel Bolivar. Inside was an amazing dome, a 1920’s Ford and a stunning lift. Part of the hotel was the Cathedral of Pisco Sour. Unfortunately, we never got to go in and worship. Then we went across the road to the Plaza before walking along the Gran Via to the Plaza de Armas. There were some stunning buildings along the Gran Via, including the San Augustin church. In the Plaza de Armas you can find the Presidential Palace, the Archbishop’s house, Cathedral of St John the Apostle and some municipal buildings.

On our way to lunch we called in to a chocolate ‘museum’. They had lots of different flavoured piscos including passion fruit, chocolate and an eye watering chilli one. We had a bit of a kerfuffle over lunch then went to Miraflores, an upmarket coastal part of Lima. We saw a Gaudi wall and, in the Love Park, a statue called El Beso, the kiss, which looked like Shrek in a clinch!

Back at the mall Barbara and I did a little shopping then walked to a pizza parlour we had spotted close to the mall. Pepperoni pizza and Cusquena cerveza. At last.

We were back on board around 19:00 and after a welcome shower, had a drink of the day and went to Champion’s for the ‘under the sea’ quiz with Phil, Yvonne and Luke. We scored 16/20 which put us in the tie break. We lost. Who knew the whale shark has 400 rows of teeth?

A hot, sticky but ultimately enjoyable day. It turns out that we were lucky to dock, as the previous two days the port was fog bound.