Woke up around 9ish got ready and went out to the common area of the hostal (Hostal Bonbini) and met up with a few people from the group Benny (our truck driver) and Amy & Scott from New Zealand who had also arrived the same day I did and headed out to get some money changed into Peruvian Sols. Had a bit of a chance to see some streets of the city as it was a few blocks to walk. Lima isn't the most pretty city, it's still got a lot of open construction due to earthquakes and they don't seem to want to finish the construction if its in a somewhat livable state. And if you take a wrong turn it can be quite desolate and dirty. None the less Lima is very vibrant with lots going on left and right but definitely a place to keep your bag close!

After we dropped off our money back at the hostel me Dave and Benny headed back out for a walk through the plaza in search of some lunch. Some of the roads were blocked off but were letting a few pedestrians through especially tourists. We were curious as to why so we went through the gates and ended up at the Peruvian Presidentes Palace, The Plaza De Aramas. Soon we learnt they were about to to the changing of the guard so we stuck around to watch it. Lots of yelling, drums and trumpets!

Ended up at KFC of all places for lunch! Haha! It sure is difficult to order a meal when your Spanish isn't the best! Not many people here speak English. Definitely a different menu as well but that was expected. After lunch headed back to the hostel to relax before the the trip meeting and dinner with the group.

At 6 Cade gave us the run down of how things work with the trip, things to expect, tips and things like that and got our copies of our passport for borders. We then got ready and found ourselves a cab to head to the waterfront for dinner. I laughed when I found out we were heading to Tony Romas! But it was probably the only place in the area that could accommodate 25 people. Dinner was great and I was able to begin to get to know some of the group better. It's itimidating to join a group that big when they have already travelled for 2 weeks together but they gave me a nice warm welcome and instantly made me feel like I had known them for ages. It was then that I realized that not only am I going to experience some amazing things but finish my trip with some great new friends.

Wasn't quite ready to go back to the hostel just yet so a few of us went bowling. Me, Stacy, Clayton, Heidi, Cade, Louise, Bex & Karen rented a couple lanes for two games of glow bowling along with some Captain Morgan which is definitely the drink of choice with the group if it's not beer. Headed back to the hostel around 11 and met with a couple people for drinks on the rooftop before hitting the hay.