My first ruins

Pyramids, carvings, adobes, tombs, stone walls... crumbling rocks of all kinds have now become the star attraction across Peru, and I got my first taste of them in Chiclayo. 

At the top of the pyramid at Túcume

I stayed only a short while in the town, just long enough to have my first taste of chaufa (stir fried rice) at a small chifa (what they call Chinese restaurants, of which there are loads), and to see the loot from the royal tomb of Sipán and the pyramids of Túcume.

I have to admit, the treasures from the tomb were absolutely unbelievable: the amount of gold and silver buried with the Lord of Sipán, who was accompanied by the requisite group of sacrificial women and animals to keep him company in the afterlife, was incredible... and this guy wasn't even that important!

Probably the weirdest park I've ever seen

I also made the hot hike up the tallest pyramid at Túcume, to view the two dozen or so structures that were constructed across the desert.  That's where I met Vickie and Mark, a nice couple from London, with whom I decided to take the afternoon off drinking Pisco Sours, Peru's national drink.

Serenaded on our way to Túcume

Vote for me!