Rum, rum and more rum

Time for another bush camp...on what came to be known as Dead sealion beach (for obvious reasons). Another typical day of driving ended when we turned away from the endless desert wasteland we had been driving through and headed towards a rocky hill with a hole in it. Once closer, we could see that Bob could in fact fit through this hole, so we headed into the hill before popping out at a gorgeous secluded beach. The restaurants and beach chairs suggested it was a popular spot for visitors but we were the only ones there. After setting up our tents on the beach (yup, more sand in the sleeping bags) we became acquainted with our guard dog for the evening and her puppy. Dinner that evening was a yummy chicken curry (minus the chicken heads that went into the stock) followed by a game of Mexicans and discussions on the best method for roasting marshmallows.

Next, onto the small town of Haunchaco where we decided to put our surfing skills to the test. After floating around for a while, getting battered by the waves and only standing up once we called it a day and went looking for some well deserved street food. We bombarded the poor lady with a large order of chicken skewers which turned out to be the best street food we had all trip. Following this snack we headed for our real dinner with the surf instructors who rented us the boards. That coastal area of Peru is known for its seafood so in typical Loudon fashion, we watched the others eat piles of seafood while we had some chicken. It was a nice change to have dinner (and yummy cocktails) with some locals who could not only bargain a good deal for us, but also sit and talk about Peru from a non-tourist point of view. 

Archaelogical site number 3, The Chan Chan ruins. This palace was built by the Chimu civilisation and abandoned when the Incas took over. The kings of this civilisation were carried around on a litter and when they died, their entire household was put to death and the palace was abandoned, a new one was built for each king. This palace was huge but only inhabited by the king, his wife and concubines and of course his servants. The corridors varied in size depending on who used them, with the servants corridors being the smallest and without windows. The Chimu people worshipped the moon and everything was related to the number four because of the four elements. The ruins themselves have been preserved by covering parts of it with fibreglass replicas, so it looked slightly like an Indiana Jones film set. 

Freshwater pond

Intricate fish designs facing the direction of the ocean. They are also in four steps to represent the four tides in one lunar cycle

Part of the palace

The Kings tomb

Bush camp that night was in the middle of the desert so while setting up camp we came across a small snake. It disappeared quickly enough, but not as quick as our friend Kash who disappeared into the truck with great speed and refused to come out until his tent had been moved closer to Bob. 

Finally we hit our last destination in Peru, Punta Sal where we camped on a beach next to a small restaurant which had fantastic lemonade slushies. We spent our first night dancing and drinking mojitos in the nearby town of Mancora, then had a terrifying ride home on tuk tuks. Our truck driver Colin tried to liven up the experience by mooning the other tuk tuks as we rattled past them, but fortunately for them it was too dark. The next day was beach olympics created and refereed by Danny and Colin who made us take part in a number of embarrassing activities. We bobbed for limes followed by searching for sweets in flour, ran into the sea and through a small hoop while wearing a chicken costume and even played egg roulette with a couple of local kids who took great enjoyment in smashing eggs onto gringos (foreigners) heads. The next day we tried our hand at salsa. Lets just say the group lacked rhythm but we had an awesome time trying!

Successful beach olympics!

Eskie punch take 2

Action shot