Valley of the Pyramids

Trip Start Jun 07, 2008

Trip End Sep 14, 2008

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Where I stayed

Hospedaje San Lucas

(Chiclayo hotels)

Flag of Peru Chiclayo, Peru
Thursday, July 10, 2008

I spent my first night in Peru in Piura, intending to move further south the following morning. As I walked to breakfast, I saw crowds gathering in the central plaza for some sort of demonstration. Turns out that day had been designated for some big protest against the government, which among other things, prevented all the busses from running. Seeing all the police in full riot gear didn't get my hopes up, but by early afternoon the busses were running and I was on my way to Chiclayo.

Hard to believe it took over a month in South America for me to get to my first archaeological site. Chiclayo is located near several important pre-Incan ruins, and I decided to visit Tucume, aka the Valley of the Pyramids. It was constructed by the Sican people starting around 1100 AD. The pyramids aren't very impressive looking these days. In fact, thanks to erosion you'd hardly even know they were man-made if you didn't look closely

Protest

. This part of the country is desert and mostly very flat, which is strikingly different from the mountainous terrain I've been traveling through, but apparently the occasional El Ni�o really washes the place out. In spite of the severe deterioration of the pyramids, the site was still worth a visit. With the aid of a hillside viewpoint and some helpful illustrations, I was able to picture how it might have looked all those hundreds of years ago.

I indulged my pop culture cravings on my first night here by taking a taxi (60 cents) to the Plaza Real mall to watch Get Smart, or as they call it here, Super Agente 86. It was dubbed into Spanish, so I missed out on a lot of the jokes, but fun nonetheless. In case you're keeping track: $2 ticket, $3 for popcorn and a Coke.

Before leaving town I paid a visit to the Museo de las Tumbes Reales de Sipan, in nearby Lambayeque. The relics from these tombs of the Mochica people in Sipan date from 200 to 600 AD. The Se�or de Sipan really knew how to die, taking with him not just scads of gold and silver ornamentation, but women, children, miliary leaders, and assorted animals. Ah, the good old days. While in Lambayeque, I also made sure to sample the local pastry known as King Kong. They tend to sell it in massive blocks, which is my best guess as to how it got that name. Pretty tasty, but I was happy to settle for a bonobo-sized piece.

Don't forget to check out all the pretty pictures on flickr.