0145 Lambeyeque to Chimbote

12^th Nov

Very pleasant surroundings to wake up in on our first morning in Peru !  There was  conference going on in the main rooms so by the time we had breakfasted, showered, and packed up, no one was around so we just slipped out and found our way back onto the main road in Lambayeque.  I include the photos so you can understand some of our misgivings as we drove in last night !! 

First it was into and through Chiclayo, and I have to say that I presume there was a garbage collection strike in progress because I have never seen such a filthy town in my life, with highly smelly garbage strewn everywhere.  If there wasn’t a garbage collection strike on, then god help this place. Everywhere you looked it was horrible, and even as we moved out into the countryside / desert, there was still rubbish everywhere – Definitely the worst we have seen on the whole trip. 

A very varied day, scenery wise.  First of all we were in flat sandy desert, almost as far as the eye could see. Then we started to see some agriculture, with even rice being grown, so this was the start of a vast irrigation scheme we were to see more and more of as we headed south today.  We got to a little town called Pacasmayo that was about the closest we were to get to the sea all day, so we detoured to see if we could have a picnic on the beach.  Some hope !!  The beach was isolated so that only tuk tuks could reach it !  So we went up a steep hill where there was a statue of Christ, hoping for a nice view over the bay – And were rewarded with a lovely view in a cool breezy place overlooking the town and the bay, and no one else there.  It was only after we had finished our lunch that we realised we were parked outside the wall of the cemetery !!  View over the city was not much – pretty decrepit really – Even had two vultures nesting on one house’s water tank down below us !

Then it was back on the road south towards Trujillo, and I have to say that the rubbish issue was not getting much better – As we entered some villages we actually had to roll up the windows and put on the a/c because the smell was so bad.  Very sad, and it really did not make us feel like stopping anywhere.  There are a number of archaeological / Inca ruins along this road, but they are very hard to find, and there is very little in the way of signposting to them – That we could see anyway.  However we weren’t about to spend all day looking for them, and we were starting to not really be too attracted to northern Peru.  It maybe unfair to say, but they really do have a lot of problems here, and they are a lot more obvious than in other countries we have visited.  And the traffic here in Peru is totally crazy – The rest of Central and S America I have not really had a problem with, but here it is downright nasty driving in towns. Not because of any animosity or road rage, I hasten to add, but purely because they really do not have ANY rules that they obey here !!   Yet ironically enough, the police here have a fairly high visibility, unlike everywhere else since Mexico, and we got stopped 4 or 5 times today for paperwork checks.  Actually, once we were stopped as we came up a hill, overtaking a very slow truck on a double yellow line (like every one else had just done before us, I hasten to add). We were picked out by two cops at the top and pulled over, and one                          came over to Janet’s side of the car and rattled off some Spanish, presumably about crossing double yellow lines, but we both played dumb – “No hables Espagnol, Senor” said in a broad Aussie accent,  and by this time the cop was laughing.  He then turned to his mate on the side of the road and raised his arms in helplessness, and his friend waved us on, telling him to let us go – So he did !  He knew he had us, and we knew why he had stopped us, but it was all just too difficult for them !   Made us feel a bit better about Peru though !

Janet was fascinated by the mud brick houses along the road that only have one door and one window.  And there are a LOT of walls here – It almost seems to be one long wall beside the road, with houses being part of that wall.  And as for the trucks loaded with the remains of the maize plants after the cobs have been harvested – It can’t be very heavy because the old trucks load SO much on the back that the driver can hardly see out of the front windscreen !  And they are often broken down along the road as well, blocking more than just one lane !!

Scenery wise the irrigation scheme was making quite an impact in the otherwise very dry environment.  Sugar cane, mangoes, rice, even grapes, and several other crops we couldn’t identify were alongside the road, but there was a very clear line where the irrigation stopped, and sand immediately replaced the green.

Then the irrigation scheme evidently finished, and we got into flat, totally desert scenery.  Once again, not what I expected in Peru !!  Sand dunes, mountains (or high hills)  in the distance, but almost impossible to see because the high wind blowing off the sea to the west blew sand across the road and created such a haze that you couldn’t see very far at all.  It was just like Dubai, or Oman in the old days.  At one point we were stopped because a sand dune had blown across the road, and a front end loader was moving the sand from one side of the road to the other !!   Bit of a slow and pointless operation…….

Slowly the hills got closer, and eventually, not far from Trujillo we went over a small pass – Not very high, only a few hundred meters, but quite steep, and as they are building a dual carriageway on this section, quite a lot of roadworks.  Nice to have a hill for a change though, after the whole day on straight flat roads.   It is a long haul down to Lima – After 2 days in Peru it is still another 450 kms.  And after Lima we still have a fair way to go before we turn east over the mountains to Cuzco, so we need to keep peddling. 

For tonight we had heard about a Tourist Complex just north of Trujillo which boasts of a motocross track, swimming pools, a zoo, restaurants, soccer pitches and lots more – And allows camping !  Apparently it is really busy at weekends, but as today is Wednesday, it should be OK.  Once again, we find it easily, although this time it is right beside the highway, and for 30 sols, or about $10, we can stay here.  We also find out they have a laundry as well, which we are desperately in need of, so this is a good find !  After setting up camp, we wander round the grounds, and check out the zoo (a bit sad – The animals are not really in an ideal environment) and then settle in for the night.  Looking forward to southern Peru as this northern part is really quite rough – Although that is only a personal opinion and I am sure that if we looked harder there are lots of great things here. Just that we haven’t found them yet…….

 Photos are here https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0139LambeyequeToChimbote?authkey=Gv1sRgCPm8iZf61tyoXg#