Friday, October 10, 2008

Chiclayo: The bus ride & Tombs of Sipan



Location: Chiclayo,Peru

the 10.15am bus arrived at 11.00am, for some reason i though it was going to be one of those luxurious buses with reclining seats..nope.. it was a banger. air-conditioning consisted of a few rattly windows and holes in the roof made for some other project that must have been abandoned. the bus seemed to stop for any given excuse. and sometimes to let some people push their way on with all manners of strange bags, boxes and buckets. at one stage they stopped in a small town where some vendors came into the bus selling snacks and drinks and a small boy got on to shout a song in monotone with two sea shells in his hands to create the rythm.

after passing through some areas of beautiful palm trees and other tropical vegitation the landscape turned into the Sechura desert which only got flatter and dryer for the rest of the of the way to chiclayo. i could see a mirage on the horizon at one stage.
after four hours the drivers eventually stopped and reved the engine for about 30 seconds in the middle of the desert to let some of us "visit the plummer".. which i particlarly needed to do having foolishly drank a pint of pinapple juice before getting on the bus.

we finally pulled into "a" bus terminal in chiclayo at 5pm and with a little direction form the attendants i took a taxi "conocido" (known taxi) into the city centre. its not the first time i have been in a taxi that looks like its on its 9th life but this one seemed like it had been written off and somehow crafted back to the shape of a car with a few spare parts and a lick of yellow paint. i have seen a few other taxis like this too. and its no wonder when you see how they drive. its just one close call after another. but its quite amusing actually. one driver explained to me the system of how accidents are dealt with. "cada uno arregla su propio coche" (each fixes their own car)


on first impressions i like chiclayo! its not too big, not too small, the commercial zone has normal shops selling normal things and also , unlike the seaside resorts, its full of peruvians.


finally met up with my chiclayan friends who took me out on the town for a few bottles of cuzqueña beer... mmmm thats one tasty beer.


el museo de las Tumbas Reales del señor de sipan
(the museum of the royal tombs of the lord of sipan)

went to visit this place today which displays the fascinating golden artifacts and remains found in a series of ancient tombs in Sipan, peru back in 1987. which date back to the Mochica culture in the 2nd century AD. as far as i gather, the museum and surrounding buildings are built in the same shape as the original tomb complex which is situated about an hour from the town of lambayeque.


they also have a moving wax dummy display at the end of the museum which shows each of the ancient "characters" as they may have looked with some sound effects. cameras are forbidden inside the museum but the wax display is illustrated on this mural outside.



"Leche del tigre" (tiger milk)

the waitress broaght me a glass of this before my lunch.

apparently made from:
jugo de pescado (fish juice)
sal (salt)
limon (lemon)
aji (chili)

there is no tiger in it.

seemingly this was a complimentary addition to the meal but i had ordered pineapple juice beforehand and though for a moment that this might be it.. my tastebuds were in for a wicked surprise!


followed by another surperise:

Rocoto!
very spicy red thing found in the bottom of a bowl of "ceviche" which you are not supposed to eat. i asked the waitress for some milk to stop the smoke coming out my ears. strangely she brought me a cup of hot milk which is not ideal when its 27 degrees outside but anyway it did the trick.

"Ceviche" by the way is a peruvian dish. somewhere between a salad and a soup. the seafood one is yum!

1 comment:

Patricia Kavanagh said...

Hi Matt. Welcome to Chiclayo. I'm really interested in el museo de las Tumbas Reales del señor de sipan. It's facinating. I'll include it in my visual diary for college. Enjoy it there! I wouldn't be drinking too many of those 'tigers'