From Lawson Mansions to Llamas: 21st to 25th April Into Peru. Beach time and ruins.

After the eventful border crossing to get into Ecuador, this one seemed to be going ok.....until it turned out that 6 of our party had been processed into Ecuador but the entry in their passport gave a different border crossing to the one inputted into the computer. Clearly, any dunce can see that the passport one must be correct; Why would the border office have another office's stamp? The first suggestion was that Kirsten and the offending 6 should go back to the border (with Colombia!) where the mistake was made. Kirsten asked for another solution. This involved Pete going back into a town to another office a few miles away. When he finally returned, flip-flopped and helmet free, waving official papers from the back seat of a motorbike taxi, we cheered. Ecuador borders, you gotta love em.

oops, that's a hole in one of the diesel tanks then

So, into Peru! Instantly, we see dozens of motorbike tuk-tuks everywhere, some highly decorated with trim, neon lights and the Peruvian version of a "Rod & Tracy" type sticker along the top of the windscreen. Everything seems to be advertised using an attractive woman in her lingerie or a bikini, be it tyres or stationery.

Completely contrary to my expectations for Peru, these being high, green hills, our first campsite would be a beachfront one. Nice. The sea makes for relaxing sounds at bedtime and beachside sunsets always a winner.

Yum, dinner!

This marked one week from Pete's leaving date so a beach bbq was in order. Pete splashed out on some cracking meats and Rogan worked on the beach games while we cracked out the booze, including the Kalashnikov 4% proof (trust me, it's a typo) vodka. Then followed beach limbo, which the bendy Frenchman from Guildford won and then we all played 'Box', which involves picking up a box with your teeth only, with Rogan cutting an inch or so off the box for each round. The final players got down to a flat piece of card in a hole in the sand as it all got a bit competitive. But yours truly won this one. Oh yes. The prize was pride.

After a few days here, we saw more of Peru's landscape with a long truck day. Dusty towns in the middle of nowhere, then green agricultural land, followed by sand dunes! Weird. We got slowed up briefly when Pete, frustrated with some slow trucks in front of us, encouraged Rogan to take a short cut round the wrong side of a roundabout......which it turned out was in full view of the police down the road. A 'fine' later, we trundled off, only to be stopped 100yards down the road by more police who desperately tried to find something else to 'fine' the gringo's for, whom they had clearly been tipped off about by the first set of law enforcement. Bless em.

Next stop Huanchaco, our campsite for seeing a few ruins. Our guide amused the heck out of me, saying "no?" at the end of pretty much every sentence, a winning grin, a fabulous hat, so wide it bounced when he nodded, and so much sun cream, he looked white. With him we saw the Moche ruins of Chanchan and then the Temple of the Moon (Huacha de la luna?). The latter was grand and I thought would make a great setting for a gig.....Rogan had been thinking paintball.

No?