Punta sal to Lima

29/5/9 Punta Sal

Had a lazy day today. Spent the morning writing our last blog update then headed back to the beach for some lunch. Another oasis truck were staying at the campsite and we had a game of rounders in the afternoon. Amazingly we both got rounders but Phil had a groin strain from running in the sand..
After recovering from our exersions we hired some sea kayaks for the early evening and chased some pelicans from boat to boat before heading back to shore to catch some waves onto the beach. Liz just whacked into the beach whilst Phil made a bit more effort and managed to surf a few waves into the shore. Another beautiful sunset and shark steak barbecue ( Phil not too keen but ate up like a good boy anyway, up your´s Liz... ) followed by a few beers and bed to the sound of the waves......this is so tough !!!

30/5/9 Punta Sal to desert bushcamp

Had an early start as have a long days travel today heading South towards Lima. We stopped on the way to visit Museo Tumbas Reales De Sipan which is a museum of relics found in several temples of the Moche people which were alive during AD100-AD700. As the temples were buried in sand loads of relics were discovered almost as new. Lots of metallic, gold, silver and ceramic artefacts were found and are on display. They seem to have an obsession with very large, phalic symbols, not anywhere near the actual lifelike size !!!! Phil says yes they are !!!
We then made our way to a bush camp in the dunes orf the Northern Peruvian desert. It looked like a scene from Laurence of Arabia, really beautiful and just in time to see the sun setting across the dune. Lizzies cook group made a big curry...not so sure that was a good idea with just a shovel for a toilet facility !!!!
We have another early start tomorrow so early night

31/5/9 Desert bushcamp to beach bushcamp nr Casma

We had an early start (this is supposed to be a holiday!!!) heading towards Trujillo. We stopped on the way to visit the Chan Chan ruins. Chan Chan is a ruined mud city built by the Chimu people who were about from AD1000-AD1400 . The city is 25km square but the best preserved royal temple is the bit visitors get to see. The whole area is decorated with animal, bird and sea related symbols. They have reconstructed alot so you get a feel of what the city would have been like. We saw the tomb where the king is buried along with his wives who were all sacrificed when he died !!! Dont marry a king in South America!! Pretty amazing stuff
We headed on for lunch at a huge mall in the middle of the desert where we all skipped joyfully to the fast food restaurants for some much needed meat !!
After a fill we again travelled south and stopped off at the temples of the moon and sun built by the Moche people . The temple of the moon is open to visitors and we had a guided tour of it. There were many brightly coloured original frescos on the walls and multi layered walls buliding up to a huge temple. We all really enjoyed this visit as we saw the original walls which hadn´t been reconstructed. The Moche people used humans for sacrifice and beheaded the prisoners as sacrifice to stop the rain. We thought that could be a policy in the UK as it would empty the prisons . The temples look just like big sand dunes and were left untouched until someone walking found a piece of wall with painting on it. Martin would have loved to be that man !!!
We headed on to a beach camp in a beach side restaurant, Phils cook group added some chicken to last nights curry leftovers and we all had a good fill before a relatively early night on concrete floors !!!
Hotel in Lima tomorrow ....hoorah !!

1/6/9 Beach Camp to Lima

We were woken in the night by a foul stench through our camp. Most of us thought it was a dead animal but Phil woke up and thought it was him he could smell...as we haven´t washed for a few days...nice!!!
Today we had a pretty long drive to Lima mostly through desert and then heading into Lima through lots of pretty poor areas which looked like shanty towns. People are always smiling and waving at the big yellow truck though. We arrived in Lima at a great hotel with lovely hot showers and a comfy bed...all cleaned up and headed into the town for food and a few drinks . Only saw a small bit of the city tonight which is really impresive with lots colonial buildings and fountains lit up . Taking a tour bus while we are here to see more of the place and should get more photos up on our next blog.......Off for a beer, Phil´s beer belly is back!!!!!!! ARSE.

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