A glimpse of a bygone age in Callao as eleven elegant tall ships sailed into the once Spanish colonial port. Visiting over the weekend as part of the bicentennial celebrations of Latin American independence, they set sail from Rio de Janeiro in February and are heading to Ecuador next.

The fleet consists of: Capitán Miranda from Uruguay

Sagres from Portugal

Cisne Branco from Brazil

Gloria from Colombia

Cuauhtémoc from México

Esmeralda from Chile

Guayas from Ecuador

Libertad y Bernardo Houssay from Argentina

Juan Sebastián Elcano from Spain

Simón Bolívar from Venezuela, and the Europa from Holand.

While in Lima they attracted a crowd of almost a quarter of a million people, but if you missed them, you’ll have to watch out for the TV documentary that details the trip.

Photos by: Juan Jorge Arellano

Peru isn’t taking part in the adventure as its Navy does not maintain a tall ship nor do its sailors learn how to sail traditional ships.

Tags: callao, independence, navy, ship