It's not Peru's fault...

No place can control it's own climate. In my few days in Lima, I discovered a recurring theme: early spring in Peru is rainy. On my second day in Lima, I got lucky; the sun was out. I spent that day walking the streets of the Central District and capturing a lot of the cityscape. I came across the Convento Santo Domingo. It's a beautiful 16th Century church and working monastery housing Dominican friars in the heart of Lima.

It was open for the day, and I walked into the sanctuary, captured a few images and thought, "okay, that was nice." I just figured I would keep walking around the city, discovering. As I neared the exit of the church, a woman called out to me asking if I was interested in a tour of the convent. Why not? I'm so glad I agreed because, naturally, the area open to the public was only scratching the surface of everything the convent had to offer.

I wish I could remember her name, but my guide did a fantastic job. She showed me all of the convent's beautiful features. In some areas, photography was not permitted, but I captured as much as I could. Among the highlights:

- various sacristies and chapels

- the courtyard and cloister, surrounded by beautiful paintings

- a wooden carved ceiling that mesmerized me. There's an abundance of photographs of its details, and for that I am not sorry.

- a library that made me remember why I'd like to be a filmmaker/director of photography.

Also of note, before getting to the images, is that the Convento Santo Domingo proudly houses the relics of three Peruvian saints, Rosa de Lima, Martin de Porres, and Martin Barragán. Throughout the spaces there are various shrines and acknowledgements of them including a beautiful stained glass window (pictured), casts/molds of their faces based on a reconstruction from their skulls (slightly freaky, but cool, and not pictured):