Lima, Peru

Lima is the capital of Peru and its largest city.

The modern city is a curious mix of the modern mega city with some 'islands of modernity', large but orderly slum areas and colonial architecture in the city center.

Metropolitan Lima is a metropolis of almost 8.5 million people. Many of these people have migrated from the Andes mountains to find work in Lima, without success. For this reason, there is widespread poverty in the city center and in the peripheral areas. If you fly into Lima, the first thing you see upon leaving the airport is these types of poor neighborhoods between the airport and Lima's historic center.

Lima is built upon a valley surrounded by an extremely arid desert. In the summer, the weather is usually beautiful, very warm and sunny, sometimes with rains around January. In the winter, the city is overcast and rainy for days at a time. The rain in the wintertime doesn't fall hard, but it gets everything wet. Temperature also falls to around 7-12 C⁰ (45-55⁰ F), which seems chillier when combined with the general dampness.

 

Salaverry (Trujillo), Peru

The Peruvian port of Salaverry leads the way to Trujillo, the nation’s second-largest city,  situated before the Andean foothills. Salaverry is located 15 kilometers (9.3 miles), approximately 30 minute-drive southeast of Trujillo city.

Trujillo is a city of rich colonial architecture and very important archaeological center of the pre-Inca era. Today much of its colonial charm is still retained in its old churches, balconied homes and courtyards with overhanging flowering baskets. Like most Peruvian cities, the Plaza de Armas is surrounded by the cathedral and city hall. Numerous colonial mansions have been preserved in the old city and are open to visitors. The fronts of many of these buildings have distinctive wrought-iron grillwork and are painted in pastel colors.

Marinera is a coastal dance of Peru. Marinera is a graceful and romantic couple's dance that uses handkerchiefs as props. The dance is an elegant and stylized reenactment of a courtship, and it shows a blend of the different cultures of Peru. The dance itself has gained a lot of recognition and is one of the most popular traditional dances of Peru. Ever since the 1960s, during the month of January, in the city of Trujillo, declared national capital of this dance by law N° 24.447, January 24, in 1986 and a National Contest of Marinera Nortena is held. In 2012, the Congress of the Peruvian Republic declared October 7 as Marinera Day in Trujillo City, which is celebrated with a parade and dance expressions.