In Ruins


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South America » Peru » Trujillo
November 2nd 2012
Published: November 6th 2012
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Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and on Friday morning it was time to pack up the tents, say goodbye to the beach and hit the road for another long drive, my next destination was 610kms away in a town called Huanchaco. We drove mainly along sandy roads, through deserts and around giant rock formations; the roads are pretty dire in this part of the world so it was a bumpy ride.



The journey was broken by a stop in the town of Lambayeque – This small Peruvian town is the gatekeeper of the Museo Tumbes Reales de Sipan, the museum showcases the artefacts found at the nearby Sipan archaeological site. The museum holds the gold, jewels and fabric unearthed from the tombs of the pre-Inca civilisation Lambayeques. The main display was ‘The Lord of Sipan’, a Moche Priest found buried in a tomb surrounded by his wives, concubines, slaves and other articles of his wealth and high status. Cameras weren’t allowed inside the museum so no photos, but have a Google if you’re interested, it’s amazing the items that were found and restored.



After stretching our legs around the museum for an hour or so
Museo Tumbes Reales de SipanMuseo Tumbes Reales de SipanMuseo Tumbes Reales de Sipan

No photos allowed inside - lots of artifacts and pots....
it was back on the road to continue the drive to Huanchaco. To another camping spot, this time in the grounds of a hostel but the ocean could just about be peaked if you looked over the wall and stood on tippy toe…….

The following morning it was off out to explore the ruins that surround the town, Huanchaco was once the capital of the ancient Peruvian Moche civilisation, so the town is surrounded by archaeological digs and their finds, the day was spent exploring the Moche pyramids – the Huaca del sol and Huaca de la Luna – the pyramids of the sun and the moon. The Moche’s worshiped the sun and the moon and believed in sacrifices to keep the gods happy; the sites have uncovered clay work and drawings that showed how they lived, worshiped, settled disputes and died. Check out the Decapitator – the colourful guy with the grin – we was a vengeful guy and the Moches offered up blood sacrifices to keep him happy.

After the last few days down at sea level we're back up to the mountains tomorrow, off to climb a hill or two and hike through the Cordillera Blanca.


Additional photos below
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Moche Art Moche Art
Moche Art

Restored pictures of the Decapitator


6th November 2012

Amazing ruins
Great photos Gemma! Appears that the archeological dig goes on & on...You are getting used to sleeping under canvas by now too! The beach sounded lovely. Winter has hit the UK so am enjoying all the sunny photos from South America.

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