Our South American Adventure

Rob and I returned from our vacation in Peru and the Galapagos Islands on December 6. It was a fantastic adventure! We visited interesting sites, met some great people, saw a ton of wildlife, and had some really cool experiences. We didn't have much internet access while we were there, so I'll spend the next couple posts updating about our trip.

We arrived in Lima, Peru's capital, on November 17. Here's a view from our hotel window.



Security was high due to the APEC Summit happening that week. We took a city tour to the Plaza de Armas which is the heart of historic Lima. This is where Francisco Pizarro founded the city, and where Peruvians declared their independence from Spain in 1821. The city's main square is surrounded by the Presidential Palace (below), and the Lima Cathedral which contains Pizarro's tomb.



We also toured the Church of San Francisco with an eerie complex of catacombs beneath it. The narrow tunnels were lined on each side with neatly stacked bones. After the tour, we headed to dinner where we tried ceviche. It's a dish that Lima is known for - raw fish marinated in a citrus juice. Yum!

That evening, we met the rest of our tour group — from Canada, Nicole and Alan; from Australia, Nick, Lisa, Nicole, Brett and Maria; from England, Peter and Margaret; from Norway, Bjorn and Henriette; from New Zealand, Anthony; from Poland, Marta; and from Arequipa, our guide Roberto.

Here are the rest of our photos from Lima: http://flickr.com/photos/ningyang1/sets/72157611187993238/