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Another day, another bus trip - this one just a short trip up the road to Chiclayo. We passed many acres of sugar cane and asparagus. The asparagus is white and picked before it comes above ground, it is all canned and exported and it is all irrigated by canals, because we are still in the desert. We stayed at a Hotel, right by the main Plaza. We arrived before lunch, so no exhaustion today so we felt it worth a try to catch a collectivo a short trip up the road to Lambayeque. At this town are two very interesting museums, the first we visited was the Brunning Museum. We thought we had struck it lucky when we were let in for no charge, until we got inside and were surrounded by hundreds of school children racing around the exhibits, with teachers trying to keep them in line and in order. All the boys wanted to talk to Paul and shake his hand, I don´t know why. They could all say Hello and where are you from? The museum had lots of pottery, and gold and copper jewellery.
Up the road we walked to the Museo Tumbas Reales de
Sipan and again no charge. Inside here we found the rest of Chiclayo´s children, young people and soldiers. It was a real crush and in here it was dark with only the exhibits lit. In the dark the girls got brave and would stand beside us until we talked to each other and then they would run off in the giggles. This museum has exhibits from the Royal Moche tomb that was found in the 1980´s, it is one of the few found complete in Peru. It is a really great museum and has all the gold, jewels, pots and photos of the dig.
We caught a 3 wheels motorbike, like a trishaw back to where we were to catch the bus. We waited and waited for one to come and it never did. There were these cars lined up and then Paul found out that was the way back. A car leaves when it is full, so back we go in comfort for a dollar or 2.
We had ourselves a really cheap day so we decided to go on a guided tour of the archealogical site of the Royal Sipan grave site the next day. We
felt a bit strange when a man came to collect us and couldn´t speak English because we had paid for an Englsih speaking guide and then we felt even more uncomfortable when he took us to his vehicle and we were the only people going on the tour. He stopped and gave people rides along the way. We got to the site and guess what? No guide. Again this is a huge complex made of mud bricks with ongoing digs being carried out. The actual Sipan grave is on dislplay along with 8 others of people who had to go with him, including his wife and soldiers and priest and young girls and a boy and dog and some llama and lots of pottery of food. Paul climbed up over the complex and I thought he would be arrested or something, but no, he got down in one piece. Back to town in our transport, collecting people along the way and dropping them off here and there.
Back in town Paul got half our money back because of there being no guide and then he had to pay this to the hotel for the key he lost somewhere on
the huge mud brick complex that someone will find in a few hundred years and think it is some kind of jewel.
We found a market the next morning and it was the closest I have felt to loosing my stomach. The road sides have been used for probably hundreds of years and the food stuff trampled into the ground is so gross. I said to Paul the roads could do with a steam clean and he had been thinking the same. There was a stall where we watched a man rub chickens down with a towel and then he pushed his hair back and wiped the table down with the same towel. Quite different to what we are used to. We had breakfast in a cleaner market and the lady was cooking in between vegetable stalls and the food was really nice. Paul had some sort of meat and I had fish, both served with rice.
We got closer to the boarder the next day.
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