Gran Bolivar Hotel Trujillo

... Peru. Driving for 2hrs hugging the coastline we stopped at a place called Purto Sal. We were there for 3 nights, camping on the beach....but with campsite facilities. The sea was top notch, as was the seafood. Very nice little spot and great to camp on beach, waking up to crashing of waves. <br>Today (Tues 10th) we´ve got a spit roast on the beach.......no not that kind fellas, easy! We´ve had a pig roasting on a spit since 9am and should be ready by this evening. We´re being ...

... about this. Having said that, I was struck by the picture of the Virgin Mary sitting where one would normally find a rear-view mirror. This was illuminated whenever the driver hit the brakes, presumably offering up a prayer to our continued survival ;-)<br><br>After crossing the border and a brief stop to change buses in Piura, we arrived in Chiclayo. Our taxi-blockade enforced stay in Loja meant we ...

... miles and was disappointed to see that most of the ruins had now been covered by tin roofs to preserve it from the wind and rain. There were more people restoring the ruins than there appeared to be remains and the chance of getting any pictures without a guy hanging on to the edge of a wall were remote. Peruvian archeolgists were massacreing the site with buckets of mud and water and wheelbarrows full of bricks were being ferried all over. I don´t think much of ...

... telling me it was dangerous and people had been robbed there with guns. I told him that I was fine and thanks for his concern but that I would be ok. I think he was a little insulted, but it was like 4 blocks to the main road, and on my walk in I had seen women with prams, old men, etc, so I doubted Id have any problems during the middle of the afternoon.<br>Nearby was a large mall. I decided to go have a look around and spent maybe an hour or two wandering around electronic ...

... been hard at work and have uncovered FIVE levels of complete temples at the Moon temple and ELEVEN at the Sun Temple. The other important thing to note about the Moche people is that they were the only ones known to carve 'emotion' into the faces of their statues and rock carvings. Everything is huge and intricate and totally impressive.<br><br>The next stop is the Chan Chan city which was the ancient Chimu city. This was the Pre-Inca ...

... work done, revealing centuries-old paintings that used to adorn the temple. Figures of Moche gods as well as various sea creatures are carved into the walls and painted in bold colors. There's something about old paintings that impresses me (Egyptian tombs had a similar effect two years ago when I discovered they had been painted) and I can easily imagine how imposing the temple must have looked thirteen-hundred years ago.<br><br>In the afternoon, we visit Huaca Iris, a smaller temple ...

... the Linea station Andy and I came in on that morning. I picked up our bags (mine, Andy&#8217;s, and Jen&#8217;s) and muscled my way outside. I was really tempted to pay the $4 for a taxi, but instead walked down to the bus stop for Huanchaco - Andy&#8217;s last stop on the tour and a nice looking beach. I found a great hostel there and met up with Andy on very lucky timing. We bought a couple of beers and walked up and down the short beach until we got tired and went to bed.

... its possible to make it. Yum. <br><br> A couple of days here winding down and then back to Lima for my flight on Thursday morning. I've done absolutely nothing but read a book, look at the Pacific and feed my face for the past couple of days. A perfect end to a really great month in Peru. Normally, I get quite itchy for going home after a few weeks away - I tend to get a bit sick of travelling about, living out of hotel rooms and ...

... of wandering down the wrong streets. Once we´d bought our tickets for the next morning we went in search of dinner. We settled on a restaurant called M???? recommended by Nicki´s Lonely Planet. It was bloody awful. The decor was tacky and there was a wide-screen TV showing some inane hidden camera show with canned laughter that all of the Peruvian families in the restaurant were tragically glued to. The menu was contrived, and a word with a waitress ...

... were surrounded by desert as we walked some distance to the main entrance to the well-known adobe city. Adobe is actually sun-dried brick which looks a lot like hardened sand. After buying our tickets, we were given our maps to guide ourselves us around. The guards there were totally amazed by Wendy's fluency in Spanish as she communicated with them like a local while I could only guess as to what they were saying. It was quite fascinating to view the ...