The Lord of Sipan

Having arrived in Chiclayo (we arrived in Piura and decided to skip on through) late the previous night and spent half an hour running around the hotels trying to find a good and cheap one (since the hostel listed in the Lonely planet shoe string guide literally no longer existed) we had ended up in the Hotel Sipan. It was relatively cheap and we also got a TV and breakfast so we decided to stay there.

The Manager at the hotel was a really nice guy and having served us our breakfast (bread, jam juice and nescafe instant cofee) in his 70´s suit we headed off into town to see how we could go and visit the numerous archaelogical sites around the city.

First stop was the tourist info office and then we called at a few tour agencies (not that there are many in Chiclayo) and organised a tour for the following day. The Company we settled on was Moche Tours who were fine and at least we´d get an english speaking guide (although this did cost a little bit more)

That night we wondered around town and found a great little bar / restaurant down a back alley. It was called Sol Y Mar and it served great, and we mean great, ceviche (raw fish soaked in lime and lemon juice which sort of cooks it... well sort of !) Anyway, it was absolutely brilliant and the large dish, which was more than enough for two, was only 10 soles (that´s 1 pound 60 pence!)

We were by the coast anyway and the local speciality lived up to our expectations (e´ve learnt only to eat fish near the sea!!!)

The bar was great and we had a few more beers in there (being that we were the only gringo´s in the bar.... come to mention it... Chiclayo as a whole had very very few gringos so we really liked the whole atmosphere there!)

We arrived at the tour office the following day at 10am.... since Steph decided the tour left at 10.... it turned out to be at 10:30am .... he..he.... so after getting Steph to admit she was wrong (doesn´t happen often) we had a quick coffee and then headed off on our tour of the local sites.

There were only five of us on the trip so it was nice and cosy. A guy from Lima and an Italian couple and us made for some interesting conversations en route to our first site...Ferrenafe.

The Museo De Sican was a basic little museum but it provided us with a great introduction to the local culture and especially the Lord of Sipan and his burial.

He was buried upside down in the feotal position, however, he´d been decapitated and although his body was facing East, his head had been turned around to face the West (towards the sea).

His tomb, fortunately for us, was found in good condition as the grave robbers hadn´t found it so we were able to see which way he´d been buried etc. He was surrounded by ceramics, was wearing a golden burial mask and had lots of gold, silver and copper offerings buried with him.

The best thing about the museum was that we were allowed to take photos of the items recovered (which was something we´d find out, in peru, they don´t often let you do.... which infuriated me!!!)

Perhaps the best item was the fantastic burial mask made of gold, silver, copper and assorted precious stones etc.!

After the museum we headed to the Piramides De Tucume.

The Pyramids (or Huacas as they´re known here) had unfortunately been subjected to the elements, therefore at first glance, they don´t look particularly pyramidal!

However, with a good guide and a good imagination you could image how they must have looked.

The site was recently discovered and therefore a lot of the site was still being excavated.

As a result, we were only allowed to visit one of the pyramids and then walk up to the mirador to view the other surrounding pyramids. This was a bit dissapointing, however, I´m sure in future the site will be absolutely brilliant!

As we walked around the site we were visited by a few Peruvian Hairless dogs! Great little animals, however, not the prettiest that´s for sure. I couldn´t help but think how similar they were to the hairless (and also BLUE) dogs that the ancient Egyptians had.... coincidence..... a theme we´d happen upon quite a few times in our journey around the sites in Peru!

We headed to Lambayeque for lunch (at the obligatory Touristico Restaurant... which we hate.. although the restaurant wasn´t too bad!) and then it was on to the Gem of the Chiclayo Area........ the Museo Tumbas De Sipan.

This place was full of all the artifacts and items recovered from the Lord of Sipans tomb... which combined with those we´d already seen were absolutely fantastic !!!

What´s more... all the items were the real thing ! No replicas here !

Talk about Gold.... There was loads of the stuff... Gold Staffs, Masks, Bracelets, Idols, Offerings etc. etc. The place was absolutely fantastic and was by far one of the best museums we´ve ever visited !

It would have been nice to have spent all day at the place... inspecting the various artifacts and idols, however, we were on a tour so after an hour or so... it was time to head off back to Chiclayo for a shared large Ceviche and to our beds.

Tomorrow we head South again and have some more archeological sites to visit.....