After a short early morning flight from northern Peru I arrived in Lim. In fact so early was the flight that I was the first person at the small airport in Piura - dont think that?s ever happened to me before! Shame there was nothing to do there for the two hours I had to wait for the flight, not a single shop to browse...thanks goodness for sudoko!

I had arranged a transfer from the airport to my hostel after reading lots of horror stories about express kidnappings and robberies in taxis from the airport into town...but other than an accident which caused a backlog of traffic the journey was fairly uneventful and I arrived at my hostel in time for breakfast.

The hostel itself was great, right in the centre of one of the main districts of Lima, spotlessly clean, free breakfast served to you by the staff, beds made every day...what more can I say...all for the bargin price of less than 5 pounds a night.

The area of Miraflores where I was staying in pretty touristy, lots of bargain shops, bars and cafes and plenty to keep you occupied. There is a whole street full of markets, selling all the usual artesan goods, but a great way to pass a few hours, bartering over 20p here and there for a wallet or a bag! Funnily enough they don?t seem as keen to barter here as in Ecuador though, you really have to work hard for even a small discount, even though that is what it is all about.

It is also really nice to be able to stroll down to the coast too. I didnt realise that I would be quite so close to the sea, but a 15 minute walk down the main street and there is the ocean. Having said that at this time of year it is a bit like looking at Bournemouth sea front on a day in November, as it is always overcast and pretty cloudy, but still there were some hardy surfers out there seeking the perfect wave. Me, I just visited the new shopping complex built into the cliff face, called LarcoMar. It?s a nice place to chill for a few hours, lots of designer shops and funky restaurants, and a cinema where I made the most of the cheap seats and watched Shrek 3 (in English) for just over 1 pound. Compared to the 7 pounds it costs at home, it was too god to resist.

I also ventured into the central part of Lima for the day. I started off at the Plaza Mayor, a really beautiful square right in the centre. Unlike Quito in Ecuador, Lima seems to have a lot more tourists around, and it was quite reassuring to be amongst them again. I went into the Cathedral, which is a stunning building, steeped in history, and is a building that has been rebuilt several times due to having been destoyed by earthquakes. The president also has a palace there and at noon every day they have a changing of the guard. It was pretty fun to watch, a big brass band thumping out tunes and a big police presence...although the policeman in front of me seemed more interested in picking his nose and spitting on the ground than actually bothering about any crowd trouble - nice! It was comical event though, as the soldiers werent exactly in time with their marching...it was a bit like watching an episode of Dad´s army with someone always two steps behind...but I enjoyed it anyway!

I also went to the San Fransisco monestary that was recommended to me, to see the underground catacoombs, full of bones and dust - interesting but kind of eerie too...Unfortunately on the way there I managed to accost myself a local who seemed to want to talk to me. He said he would wait outside for me and then we could go and have lunch, which was more than a little freeky...I told him I was meeting some friends later and spent the whole time in there worrying about how I was going to get rid of him when I came out. I even considered asking some other people in there to pretend to be my friends when we came out to help save me, but luckily when I came out there was some kind of protest going on in the square so I managed to slip away unnoticed through the crowds!

Suddenly there seemed to be protests going on everywhere as I wandered around some of the other sites, so I decided for the sake of safety to avoid the large crowds and head off for some lunch. I found a great little place serving a three course lunch for less than 1 pound - bargain! But then a very bizarre thing happened...while I was eating a woman wondered up to my table trying to sell me a chocolate bar. When I said no she left and went to another table...and then a little boy appeared and actually sat down at my table. I managed to get rid of him and when I looked up again the woman had positioned herself at someone elses table as he was getting up to leave. She then proceeded to gobble down the food he had left behind, and also shovel some of it into the mouth of her baby and the little boy, who was apparently with her. I was gobsmacked and the restaurant were giving her some very strange looks, but they just carried on around her and no-one told her to leave - amazing!

But I found my way back safely to the santuary of my hostel and spent the rest of the day relaxing and swapping stories with fellow travellers...most of them warning me how cold my trip was about to get as I head further south and into Bolivia - more thermals on my shopping list I think!