The end of Ecuador, the start of Perú

We did indeed explore Loja, and there wasn't much there. It's the best place to cross the border into Perú from, though - and nearby is the small village of Vilcabamba.

A couple of deades ago scientists claimed its inhabitants were some of the longest-lived people on earth, and ever since then it's been a tourist centre (no doubt all the extra litter and exhaust fumes are killing people off quicker than ever...).

Turns out it was all a bit of a fraud - the villagers gave the researchers their parents' birth certificates rather than their own, or something - but it's undeniably a very peaceful, pleasant place. We spent an enjoyable day there, basking in the warm climate and eating yummy Mexican food in a nice restaurant. Even more exciting than that, I finally acquired a Panama Hat.

Some people just shouldn't wear hats (Anne Boleyn?) - I am one of them. I thought a Panama Hat would make me look distinguished, sort of "English-gentleman-abroad style", but actually it just makes me look a bit foolish. It's nice and light though, and keeps the sun off, so I've been wearing it around all the temples we've been to recently, trying to look a bit Indiana-Jones-y :). Cost me $8, which is a pretty good price I reckon!

Back in Loja, we caught an early-morning (7am) bus to Piura in Perú. The Ecuador / Perú border crossing near Macará is pretty easy - there's an international bridge, and you just go through police and immigration on either side. We got lots of exciting new stamps in our passports, and it all worked with the minimum of fuss.

There's nothing much to see in Piura. Northern Peru is littered with pre-Spanish, even pre-Incan cities and temples, but we thought we'd save ourselves for the best few. We only stayed one night, just time for an ATM to eat my cash card (grr, after a bit of poking around the manager and an ATM mechanic got it back out) and for us to catch up on American TV shows (we love the West Wing!) on our cable TV in the hotel (ooh, fancy!).

From Piura we got the bus straight to Chiclayo, where again we only stayed one night. Nearby are the ruins of Tucumé, a pre-Inca settlement. They were excavated by some famous Norwegian archeologist (I can't remember his name but I'm sure you know it) and are pretty impressive. Various adobe temples survive, and the site is in the middle of a desert, so it's very atmospheric. To get a view over the ruins we climbed a hill that the natives believed was haunted. Spooky!

Tucumé was just a taste of things to come however. Our next stop was Trujillo, where there are piles (literally, sometimes) of interesting ruins to poke around. We had a lot of fun in Trujillo ... more below ...