An unusually early rising this morning. Up by 6.30am and on the road by by 9.30am.
A bee or wasp must have come in the window while driving on Sunday. I felt a sharp sting on my thigh. Within half an hour there was a raised point where the sting penetrated, but by yesterday the leg was swollen excessively.
Today the leg has been hot and itchy, but the swelling is receding.
We said our goodby’s to Uri, the young Spanish cyclist and left the campsite, but got caught up in a parade procession, slowly working it’s way down our side of the main road out of Pacasmayo.
For the next hour, the drive south, following the coast about 15k away, the landscape was flat and apart from a few huge sand dunes, featureless. The road is good and we made brisk progress.
Chan Chan.
Just short of Trujillo, there is a staggering ruin that neither of us had heard of. From the highway it just looked like an endless series of decaying mud walls blending into the desert. It is in fact the ruins of what was once the the largest adobe city in the world. Covering 20 sq kilometers. Only 600m from the sea, but walled from it. There has been an attempt at preserving the walls, most at least a meter thick, by building canopies over some of the remaining intricate structures.
The walled city was inhabited by the Chimu people, who worshiped the moon and left no written records. The Chimu came after the Moche, and were ultimately subjugated by the Inca. They had turned the arid countryside into rich and fertile fields, bearing grain and fruit trees, using aquaducts and irrigation. They were also fishermen, as depicted in some of the wall art.
While having lunch in the back of Poki we were befriended by a number of visitors to the site. Several speaking English and one, Catherine, spoke it with a perfect English accent. She learned it at an English school, in Lima.
Scruffy stray dogs inhabit the site.
Trujillo
The next city past Chan Chan, was Trujillo. A smallish city but with a population of just under a million. It could not be described as an attractive city, though we only skirted it on a recently opened bypass.
South of Trujillo the countryside, becomes extremely productive. Like the area’s predecessors, the desert has been irrigated and boasts acre upon acre of blueberries, avocados, sugar and artichokes, among no doubt, others.
Chimbote, our stopover tonight.
Smaller centers are passed through, at a slow pace. If any government of council in NZ, suggests putting speed bumps to control traffic, there would need to be riots in protest. They are the most useless, costly impediments to progress that were ever invented. They must cost the country millions in slower transit times, not to mention excessive fuel bills and vehicle maintenance.
iOverlander, the must-have guide for overlander’s, guided us down back streets to the hotel Cuesta del Sol, on the southern outskirts of Chimbote. It’s a smart, immaculately clean, marbled structure three stories high and we are the only tenants. Sol70 for the night about £14. The receptionist looked at us, when we rang the bell at the locked entrance, like we were looking for some other address. however, once ensconced she very kindly offered us the use of her kitchen to prepare our evening meal and even made us tea.
Destination, Lima
Tomorrow we will take the road with some trepidation. There have been recent reports of police bribery and corruption, around Lima. Something we have yet to experience in South America, unlike Africa. Lets see how things pan out. Lima is just over 400k’s away.
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