Day 1 down, haven't gotten lost yet!

Yes a triumph! We've been all over Lima, visited pyramids (very weather-beaten mud-brick ones, but they still count), church's (including the catacombs of the Franciscan Monastery - strange to see piles of human bones more than 4 metres deep), and visited museums (incredible gold and pottery artifacts - some of them with quite unusual topics; more on this later!); and I never got lost - not even once!

Well of course I was accompanied by the other Trekkers and our 2 guides all day; but still, I count this as a triumph.

High points so far:

1. Learning an incredible amount about the very complex history of Peru with it's many cultures that developed and flourished before the coming of the Spanish; who then set out destroying and despoiling these cultures and their monuments as much as they could. I've decided I wouldn't have liked Francisco Pizarro.

2. There is a dog that is more ugly than a Mexican hairless - the Peruvian hairless. See photo below. Nothing more that I can say.

3. STDs have clearly been around for a long long time. The museum we went to was the 'Museo Larco' - absolutely stunning. However in addition to many incredibly interesting somewhat conventional pieces, they also had a special exhibition of 'erotic pottery' from Peru about 1,000 years ago (stop reading this if you are less than 18 ... yes Alena, that means you!). I had no idea any culture would have the thought of effectively trying to replicate the Kama Sutra in ceramics, with handles and spouts (don't ask me why). In addition to a range of 'normal pieces' (there was one including a rug, and I've tried to photograph it from an angle that is suggestive rather than showing the rather surgical detail it had), there was a section on necrophilia (rather disturbing to say the least, I couldn't bring myself to take any photos) and also would you believe it ... on sexually transmitted diseases. Any guys that are thinking of playing around - please pay attention to the multiple pustules all over this guy.

It has been a very very educational day!