Our host Javier at the Casa de ciclista in Chiclayo with his father, brother and nephew.

Our final stop in Peru was Tumbes, with is a very nice town about 20km inland from the ocean. It is totally surrounded by rice fields irrigated by water from the rio Tumbes.

Peruvian Icons on the northern coast. The trici-taxi and the fishing communities. Nowhere can they be escaped unless you cross the border.

For 450km from Trujillo to Sullana. Jose-tche a Basque Spaniard had shared the road with us. It was really nice to have the company and we had many interesting conversations in spanish. It was a refreshing change from the "where are you from... " type of conversations that we usually fall into with locals.

In the few very percarious towns in the desert fringe. The people collect algarrobina and make honey. There are a few potable water projects that truck in water, but the people still have to carry the water back to their home on the back of a mule.

Right up to the very north, Peru's coast is very, very dry. After climbing up to this plateau north of Talara we were surrounded by oil rigs for 50km.

200km through the Sechura desert. There were lots of dunes just like I imagined it but also long steaches with very trees whose roots must go very deep to survive.

In Piura and other parts of the northern coast Fujimori's popularity seems intacts. We saw lots of these posters in Piura.

Leaving our friends in Trujillo! Luna the dog seemed to take a liking to our trailer.

The small fishing village of Cancas 60km south of Tumbes.

The shoes I won for finishing fifth at the Trujillo Mountain bike criterium. Size 5 a little small... and the title sponsor of the race was the shoe manufacturer???

Congratulating Petcho the winner of the race! *

Señor bicicleta, our host Lucio Ramirez with some fans after a race in Trujillo. He has a plan of building race bikes for children who can't afford it to borrow so that they can race. Did I mention that he also has hosted 620 cycle tourists in his home.

Luna the dog's birthday party at the "casa de ciclista" in Trujillo. Our Hosts, Lucio, Araceli, and Angelica. They open up their house to every cycletourist who comes by.

Inside the restored palace at Chan Chan

The pre-Inca Chimu capital of Chan Chan just outside Trujillo is 20 square kilometers of ruins.

Huanchaco beach and their famous fishing reed boats. They can easily cross pass the surf and of course ride it back in. Hmmm... maybe surfing's roots paralled here as well as in polenesia? *

Lunch in the market (1 dollar) with our new friends (Jose, Juli and Fabricio) at the Casa de ciclista in Trujillo *

The Moche Huaca del Sol right next to the Huaca de la Luna not far from Trujillo

Huaca de la Luna is a Moche Temple that dates way back to the 1st to 8th century AD. Their temples were built of adobe mud bricks one on top of the other every 100years. So that some of the older temples that were buried were very very well preserved. This is a picture of some of the painted relief murals that have been uncovered.

Insolite....???

Peru's desert coast is mostly desert with an interesting mix of irrigated farmland, fishing villages and chicken farms in dark black tents. *

Camping on the moon? Behind a dune on the side of the road about 230km north of Lima.

One day after being in the Paramonga market I got a bad sneezing fit. The next morning I crawled out of the tent looking like this. One antihistamine seemed to help a lot and the next day I was fine. *