Hostal El Malecon Huanchaco

... a base to see Trujillo, surf or fish or just relax... the fishermen had these cool reed boats that were incredibly thin, I was amazed how they survived in the sea out there, and certainly wasn't about to go join them to see just how wet they got! We were happy watching from the sidelines!<br><br>So after 2 days chilling we set ourselves up for another night bus to Piura, in the hope that we can then head straight in Ecuador that same day....lets see if it works!

... and the people hardly have the time to get on or off the bus. The collectivo´s (little vans) were fully pacted with local people. The site was definitely worth the trip, as they gave a rich and informative history of the Moche civilization in Peru. We could see 2 temples, with a village in between, where the Moche civilization lived. The temple of the sun (not available for visiting) and the temple of the moon (available for vist). Very informative and recommended ...

... a couple of turtles and hammocks... after a lie down for a hour , we decided to get a tasxi to chanchan, which was our reason for being here. Now, I hadnt read much about the ruins, Al had just shown me pictures...so I didnt really know what to expect, ... but after breakfast (well, I just had te manzanilla... camomille tea) we set off... we declined the chinese guide whose Spanish I could barely understand and wandered around the ruins for an hour or 2... it would have been ...

... the design of the walls and ventilation, plus the large pools where they dug down to a level in the water table where fresh water would seep through. I also didnt expect the city to be as vast as it was. Even though they have only fixed a small section, the ruins stretched as far into the desert as I could see. Amazing.<br>After the ruins I hoofed it on foot to the musuem about 3 or 4km away. Quite terrible the museum. Not really worth the walk, small and nothing that ...

... gift shop to have a mooch. There were the usual postcards and keyrings with the odd snicker bar thrown in (which by the way are really expensive over here!) and then we spot the love potion pots. These pots are designed to contain aphrodisiacs and are modelled with the karma sutra in mind. We made the decision not to purchase one of these but instead went for the graphic one of a woman giving birth, as a Christmas present for our parents. <br><br>Back at the ...

... Nottingham, which I thought was a bit bizarre. Normally people only seem to know about London and places with football teams.... including Chelsea. Hmmm.<br><br>I then boarded a night bus (yes, another) to the mountain town of Huaraz. It's situated at a lofty 3,100m in the middle of the Cordillera Blanca - the second-highest mountain range in the world. That's where I am now and, if you're lucky, I will update you on my recent adventures shortly. If not, then tough.<br ...

... You hear so much about it, and the Spanish couldn't have made off with all the treasure, right? But the Moche make up for the Inca. They musth ave alloyed their gold with copper, because when it was found, it was all green, but it has since been restored to sparkling splendour. I especially enjoyed the large necklaces on display, ten balls of gold shaped into human heads, an octopus necklace with legs spiraling off, a necklace of gold and silver peanuts. Many of these were shown next to ...

It is said by those who know these things that the northern coast of Peru is home to the longest left-hand point breaks in the world. I don't actually know what this means but its something to do with surfing and really big waves. Cowabunga, dude (I'm so down with the kids). I'm in Huanchaco, a very laid-back surfing town on the northern coast where the waves are very big. Sometimes, when I look out at the Pacific, it really looks ...

... and I took a photo of Claire and Nicki imitating one of the designs on the outside wall. There were also several hairless dogs parading around the place for our amusement. Back in the taxi and we drove north to the third and final site, Huaca Arco Iris. This was a similar pyramid to the previous, ad was fairly uninspiring, set in a rather scratty area of Trujillo´s outskirts. There were more hairless dogs too, some flaunting their mohikans, some ...

... seems more expensive. The fact the machine didn´t warm about its 3 dollar charge - as i made several small withdrawals to get low denomination notes - was a bad start too.<br><br>On all buses, ID details of each passenger are noted, a video is taken of everyones face and sometimes they take fingerprints too. I guess it makes robbing the bus a slightly more risky proposition for anyone already onboard...<br><br>Bring on Huaraz. Apparently it´s like a little Switzerland.