Chiclayo I

CHICLAYO I

- Lambayeque: Tumbas Reales de Sipan' museum
- Pimentel: beach

This time Cruz del Sur was OK. The bus from Lima reached the terminal of Chiclayo as foreseen at 8:30 AM (Sunday 24/06/2012)

Chiclayo, 500 000 inhabitants, the most dynamic Peruvian town I've seen until now. It looks as if they are rebuilding and reworking everything. The nearby 'Moche' ruins becoming a kind of second Machu Picchu attraction?

Chiclayo, Plaza de Armas

A helpful taxi driver demonstrated that my three prefered hotels were converted in shopping centers, and finally brought me to another place where I reached a firm discount and he his commission. Internet works fine here, the room is clean.

I took the collectivo to Lambayeque to visit the extraordinary 'Tumbas Reales de Sipan' museum, hosting the treasures found 25 years ago in one of their pyramids.
'Le guide du routard' travel guide book considers this as the nicest museum of Peru. And I agree.

Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipan (Lambayeque)

  

The outside of the building is a free fantasy on the architecture of the original pyramids. A soft outside slope brings the visitor to the entrance door on the top floor: Moche culture (they lived around 1000 years ago), models of their pyramids, their gods, nice ceramics, a theater. The floor below illustrates the archaeological work, the treasures found in the tombs. The ground floor shows realistic real size reconstructions of the tombs in the pyramid, and the original skelets.

The kings were buried with their family and servants, all must die when the king died. The organization inside the tombs (big cavities) respects the hierarchy and the role. Also a lama or alpaca was present in each of the tumbs..

Even if all is exclusively documented in Spanish language, the exhibition is that nice and well presented, such that most of it is self explaining.  Pictures are unfortunately stricly forbidden, cameras and phones are confiscated at the entrance.

Back with collectivo to Chiclayo and then another collectivo for Pimentel.

In Pimentel they still practice a fishing method with little bamboo boats. They just returned from the ocean and the fishermen and fisherwomen sold part of the catched fish. Nearly no tourists over there.

A nice basic restaurant on the beach (Restaurant El Langostino) in front of the pier drew my attention and I enjoyed a fishsoup and fish dish plus two Cusco beers.

Tomorrow I'll visit the pyramide from the museum (these are not from hard stone but from clay bricks) and I'll probably take the local night bus for Chachapoyas.

It will be more difficult to find internet there.




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