After lazing about on the beach for a few days we travelled to Chiclayo, a small city 7 hours down the coast. As we were checking into our hostel we bumped into two of our friends (small world) who had been in the city for a few days and got some tips on what to do in the area.

On the evening of our arrival we ate at a chifa (chinese restaurant), where we were sat in a small curtained booth. We didnt understand anything on the menu so blindly opted for the combo for two which turned out to be delicious. The following morning we set out for Tucume, a nearby area dubbed the ´valley of the pyramids´ where the Moche (pre-inca) culture had built 26 pyramids. They were not the egyptian style of pyramids that we expected, having been damaged quite severely since their creation but did provide a good view of the surrounding area. We made the collosal mistake of going round the site at midday when the heat was most intense (bear in mind the site is in the desert) and we both suffered from it. We recovered quickly back at the site museum and headed into the neighbouring town for lunch where we got some funny looks from local children who were obviously not used to seeing ´gringos´!

We then spent the afternoon exploring Chiclayo, spending a good chunk of time in the huge market although we failed to find the witchdocters market that is supposed to be in the area selling all manner of strange goods. We got more funny looks in the market with one lady just laughing at us as we walked past!

Today we visited Sípan, a nearby archielogical site with three Moche pyramids that have been excavated to reveal a number of tombs all full of replica skeletons, ornaments & pottery. The biggest find made was the tomb of ´the old lord of Sípan´ who was buried with his wife, concubines & personal guards as well as over a hundred ceramic pots and impressive copper & gold jewellery. The site museum had accurate replicas of all of the findings from the tombs that could be seen from close up.

Tomorrow we head for Trujillo further down the coast, the biggest city in Northern Peru.