7th March 2015 – Trujillo to Chiclayo – 2015-03-13 13:04

Today we only have 200 kilometers to drive to Chiclayo but first we drive into the city square which is just lovely. The square is huge and lovely and clean surrounded by beautiful buildings, a real oasis in the desert. We drive out of town to a place called Chan Chan which is the largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas and the largest Adobe city in the world. It housed 60,000 people at the height of the Chimu empire spanning 850 – 1500 AD. The city covers some 26 square kilometers and comprises 10 citadels. The citadel we visit has mostly been restored and has lovely detailed relief work on the mud brick walls. They believe that each new king would build his own citadel and once he dies he is buried in it and then it’s closed up. There are huge areas in the citadel for ceremonial purposes where they offeredÿ sacrifices to their gods. The Chimu people worshiped the moon God and built an enormous water reservoir so the moon and stars would reflect in It and bring them close to earth. The outside walls would be about 10 meters high and 4-5 meters thick at the bottom.The walls are trapezoid shape.It’s enormous and well worth the visit. From Chan Chan we drive north on the Pan American highway 200 kilometers through the desert, which takes us 4 hours. Although we reach speeds of 110kph at times we are only going 40kph behind the many trucks & buses on the road, so it’s a slow, hit & sandy drive. Blue B has mechanical problems and it looks like it’s blown a head gasket, so they limp into Chiclayo to do some repairs. When we arrive at our hotel our tour guide Lewis is waiting to take us to the Museum of the Royal Tombs of Sipan. This is a magnificent museum and is built in the shape of the pyramid where the tombs were discovered in 1987. There are reconstructions of several of the tombs and displays of the items found in the tombs including, ceramics in perfect condition, gold, copper and silver jewelry with turquoise inlay and ceremonial pieces, all very fascinating. The discovery of these tombs is likened to the discovery of the Tut An Karman tomb and Sipan is the most important archaeological site in Peru. Lewis takes us to a local restaurant for dinner where we have grilled chicken or beef with some tasty sauces, chips and salad. Today has been one of sightseeing and learning.