Next on the map was a place called Trujillo that we were to visit. To be honest, it was really a stop off point as we wanted to get to Mancora, a small beach town on the coast but it was necessary to stop there in Trujillo and to change buses to go any further. Plus, no one likes 24 hour bus journeys.

We went to the bus station in Huaraz and booked an overnight bus with Expressa 14 and fair play to the lady there, she put us downstairs on the bus, in semi cama which was a bit more comfortable than upstairs. Boarding the bus, you'd want to have the patience of Jobe as some of the people there have absolutely no manners what so ever, but sher its not their fault but their parents fault. They push and shove and treat you like s***e as they make their way through the crowds to make sure that their seat, that they have booked and are assigned to, isn't taken by some other eejit. Anyways, on we get, and our seats are at the back of the bus on the ground floor, so happy days, it makes putting your bag under your seat a small bit more safer, as if no one from behind would swipe it if your asleep. All was going well until we were just about to leave when some big hefty oaf hopped on at the last minute and landed into the small downstairs section of the bus where we were. Now, I had a quick glance around and from what I could see there was 10 seats, with 10 people in them, so there was no room. Where was he going to sit, I asked myself? But this being South America, there will always be a way. Where I was sitting, to my left in the aisle beside me, there would normally be a water dispenser but on this bus it had been removed and in its place was a small seat, like the extra seat you'd see in a tractors cab and of course, knowing my luck, this was of course where yer man was going to sit for the next 10 hours! Oh Christ, I thought I'd go insane! The 'seat' he was on was at my shoulder height so whenever he managed to balance himself and somehow manage to fall asleep, he'd fall right in on top of me, of course without any such an apology. A pure and utter nightmare of a journey it was but its these things I suppose you'll find when you venture out of the comfort zones of Europe and the western world. Its all money, money, money and if they could sell their own mother, I'd say there would be no doubt in the world that she'd be sold for a great price!

Once again, we were in a situation where we had landed hours earlier than expected in Trujillo, in the dead of night and after some quick wifi searching through the town at 5am in the morning, we found our spot for the night, waking up the poor old dear as we did, and got some kip. Trujillo unfortunately wasnt blessed to be 'garau' free, that ugly cloud that lingers over the Peruvian coast that I mentioned in my Lima post, so it was cloudy and grey the whole time when we visited, not a place that I'd be investing a time share property in! The one thing that is popular in that town in the pre-Incan city of Chan Chan. I thought that the name was a type of dance or the name of a song but infact its actually a city that was discovered buried beneath the sands that surround the town of Trujillo. We decided to take a spin out to it to see what all the commotion is with it, but to be honest, if your not a history buff, this wont set your world on fire. Its a massive complex with only some parts that are accessible, some having been renovated recently so the only way to get some kind of a feel for the place was to take the guided tour. I didn't want to pay to visit something I was only mildly interested in, all I wanted was to just to have a walk around on our todds but this lady insisted that the only access to the complex with was a guide, so we reluctantly agreed having come all the way in a taxi to see it. So to sum up things, I cant remember a thing about it, I was that uninterested but then again, I was still reeling from the illness that I had contracted whilst on the trek a few days before so maybe my version of events mightn't be the best to listen to. But one thing that I do remember was that when we were leaving, yer wan stuck out her hand for a tip, just like a f***in gorilla at the zoo when it see's a child walking around outside the enclosure with a banana in his hand. Again, reluctantly, we huddled for a minute to get some cash on what we thought the tip would be worth and after handing it to her, what did the aul'd b**** say only, "thats not enough"! I was gobsmacked, and I hope she heard the atrocities that I muttered about her under my breath as we left the place, dropping her another few soles (local currency) as we waved good feckin bye! Once again, manners. It costs nothing for the guilty party in these events but the victim that seems has to cough up!

The other thing that stands out in my mind about Trujillo was the chance to go to a normal shopping mall and get myself some new ear phones. Whilst I was in Lima, my ear phones died a death so I headed to a fancy schmancy shopping mall to but some new ear phones, Marley ones, by the way, which at $25 arent cheap but their bloody fantastic and I was happy as Larry listening to my tunes at full belt! In the course of a few days, I had managed to lose my first pair of them, I had never lost anything of material value belonging to myself so this was quite a shock. So once in Trujillo, I went on a hunt for the exact same pair and luckily I came up thrumps, my earphone purchases now costing me $50. And thats it really, Trujillo, nothing much to see other than clouds and dust so onwards and north west-wards to the beaches of Mancora! Lets get the t*** out!