For a day trip we jumped on a bus and headed west from San Miguel to the port suburbs of Callao and La Punta. Both of which are located on a boot shaped peninsula of Lima.

There isn't really much to say about Callao. It looked to be a once thriving port city that has now become a less than desirable part of Lima.  We visited some markets in the area as it didn't seem so bad during the day light hours, but it's not an area to be after night fall.  According to our guide book, it's an area known for prostitutes and gang activity.


While in Callao, we made it over to the Fortaleza de Real Felipe (Fortress of Real Felipe) and took a guided tour of the fortress which was built by the Spanish in 1764.  At the time it was built, it was used by the Spanish as a fortress to keep Lima safe from pirates.






The Peruvian Navy is located in La Punta, the most western tip of the peninsula.  Everywhere you walk is a reminder of it's naval purpose; sailors walking from one point to another, new recruits gearing up for a scuba mission on the beach, the large Naval Academy and battleships floating out in the harbor.

One point of interest in La Punta is the Museo Submarino Abtao (Submarine Abtao Museum). Since 2004, this 1950's decommissioned submarine is a floating museum that you can take a tour through.  We descended down into the submarine for a 30 minute tour.  The sub was originally built in Connecticut and sold to Peru.  During the 48 years of its active life in the Peruvian Navy, it racked up over 5,000 dives.