Casino Real Hotel Trujillo

Since Banos we have done a fair amount of bus rides and not stayed anywhere too long. As a result I cetainly felt a bit tired as our bus rolled in Trujillo. I was pleased to be in a taxi within a few minutes and to be heading back to a Pacific beach town- this one named Huanchaco. We ended up spending three nights and a further day whilst awaiting our on-going night bus to Lima.

The first night featured a semi-posh dinner in what seemed a ...

... ruins, dating back to 100-800AD. We have heard them described as pyramids of dust. Whoever said that obviously never went inside...

You are greeted by a few Peruvian hairless dogs, each one uglier than the next. Shame, I wonder if they know what they look like. They actually seem like a really friendly breed, hairless twig of a tail wagging, coming up to you for a pat. All they ever get are shrieks of how hideous they are and ...

... there, but they didn't want Salina in the place so Sylvain and I set up camp on the beach in town, next to some traditional indigenous fishing surf boards. We had a good night sleep on the beach there although surprisingly chilly. We never thought we would be wearing coats and wool hats on a beach in Peru in August...

Up next Tortugas and the road to Huaraz

... to share their table. We talked a little bit and then they took me around to see a couple of museums. The museums were OK, but having a guide of the city was nice, especially because I had all day to kill anyway. After that I went to check out the city market. On my way there a guy behind me says, ‘Hay demasiados gringos aqui”. Besically saying, ‘there are too many white people here.’ I looked over my shoulder to see a guy who appeared ...

... from me, Peru is not noted for its coastline and for good reason. Itīs not that bad, it just isnīt all that good.

However, I dutifully toured some of the sights, most of which consisted of ruins - something Peru has in abundance (trust me, Iīve seen lots of ruins in the last 6 months and they lose their appeal surprisingly rapidly) but I found myself short of things to do rather quickly.

So what d you do when ...

... slept in. Lazy. At 7.25am, resigned to the fact that it was impossible for breakfast to be made and then for us to eat it before the taxi, we we asked for our 30 soles back, which was duly returned (we had paid for breakfast the night before). Soon one lady arrived and started busying herself, apologetically and frantially making sandwiches.

The taxi did not show up. By 7.40am we were getting very worried, so Andy and Nicki ran down to the main road to flag down a taxi ...

let me see, where w*s i....shen*n****ns is *lso the n*me of k*thy burkeīs dog.

I feel it necess*ry to cl*rify, given the em*ils i recieved th*t i w*s in no w*y involved in *ny shen*n****ns. I w*s merely *n innocent byst*nder though *ctive p*rticip*nt in rumour mongering the next d*y. Aforementioned shen*n****ns in the form of * ī"booty c*ll" were between consenting *dults, however there m*y be * question *round contr*ctu*l/ethic*l st*nd*rds.

It ...

... the visitors, but Huaca de la Luna was open to have a look around with an English-speaking guide. Archaeological work is still being done as more of the original site is being uncovered. We could see the murals and everything being preserved as to how it must have been at the time of the Moches. I was quietly bored as I followed the guide and the rest of the group around. The site didn’t grab my attention much until we were ...

... have the problem of shop owners turning away my notes because they didn’t have enough change for me. Of course, the main reason I was doing this was because the ‘lavada’ 50 soles note was mixed with the others and hopefully they wouldn’t notice my dodgy-looking note and give my twenty 10 soles notes in exchange. I was nervous as they took my money, counted and then in return counted my twenty 10 soles notes and handed them ...

... me up but even they couldn’t please the ticket lady. Seeing that I was holding everyone up, I gave in and gave her another note instead.

When I got to my seat in the club, I was upset and wondered if my note was indeed fake, trying to remember when and where I had received it. I then remembered that I had received it from the Huaraz bus station just a couple of days before when I paid for my ticket to Trujillo and had yet to break the note ...