Today is a driving day - we need to reach Chiclayo. We take our time taking down the campsite, but we are still able to leave a bit early at 8:40 AM. Not sure everyone slept so well on their first night camping on this trip. We, however, did sleep well and enjoyed watching the countryside light up with the first rays of the sun.
As we drove, we finally left the mountains behind us (for now) and entered the great South American coastal desert. It was now hot, but there is also a strong wind blowing in from the Pacific Ocean. We stopped for lunch, pulling off the side of the road, driving a short way into the desert. The cook group had a bit of a difficult time - the wind was blowing sand and dust into everything. The sandwiches had a bit of extra crunch.
We arrive in Chiclayo around 3:30 PM and first we stop in the town center to change some money. We finally find a bank that is open and we all queue up to change our TCs and cash. We do not want to change money with the guys on the streets - the rates are not that much better, and there is a good chance that you will get ripped off. We have a short drive to our hotel - only a few blocks form the plaza and check in.
We then go for a wander around the streets and check our email. The streets are pretty busy - a Friday evening. In the end, we have dinner at a local place - chicken and chips. It was very good and excellent value. Once back at the hotel we wash up and get ready to go out for a drink.
We go look for a bar, but have a surprisingly hard time finding a bar. In the end, Jacqui's eagle eye finds one and we go check it out. They charge a cover charge, so Jacqui goes into see what it is like. In the meantime, Paolo and Lars chat with the female "receptionist" and by the time Jacqui gets back, they offer to waiver the cover charge. The place is empty, but at least they have good music and beer. As we sit there the place starts to fill up with mainly (what looks like (teenagers) and a bit after 11 PM we decide to head back to the hotel. The receptionist seemed sad to see us go and we each got a kiss from her on the way out. For some reason, Jacqui is singing in the streets as we walk back to the hotel.