We took off from Piura this morning, once again without Coffee of which really upsets me, and headed off through the Lambayeque desert towards Trujillo. The desert today was so completely dead, yet it seemed to have a life of its own, underneath the wind torn and Peruvian littered bareness. We continuously passed signs warning, ¨Zona de Dunas,¨ where the sand would ebb up onto the shore of the highway. This highway is legendary for terrible windstorms that can pull a truck of the road, ripping the axles from underneath, leaving it paralyzed without a trace in the middle of nothingness. It was like looking at a never ending tan table cloth, spread over the horizon, with nothing on the table except a few broccoli crumbles scattered in the distance.
Further into the trip, their was an oasis of major irrigation, as if one could pull anymore hydration out of this stone dry land. Sugarcane, Rice, Corn, and Potatoes could all be seen growing in perfectly straight lines, as sand dunes were kept out by lining the perimeter in bush. Further on, more bare bones of abandoned homes, now turned into a landfill with the occasional trash burning and mountains souring in the back ground, half covered in sand.
We did happen to stop off in a sand covered town, of which I mean, the entire town is made of stone and concrete that match the terrain of the state. However, beyond this dehydrated city lay a wonderful blue Pacific. We sat on the patio of the 100 year old hotel and had Calamari in Picante Cream sauce with fried Yucca as we watched the fishermen in their dinghies, the surfer falling out on the tide, and little children playing hop-scotch in the sand.
Riding down the highway in the desert can be quite tricky. The low air pressure in the Andes, sucked a sand filled cool wind from the Pacific, smoothly across the highway like a Dyson. The sand takes away from traction on the tarmac, and the wind wants to tip your bike over from the side. So the speed is kept at 80 kph and you tilt the bike around 15 degrees to counteract the winds resistance. However, when you are passing a truck, or visaversa, you must correct the balance to zero degrees while the air flow is stabilized, until the truck passes, and you adjust back to the 15 degrees against the current. This was the case for about 6 hours today. And, who would have thought the desert by the equator would be in the low 70´s?
We found a nice place in the city of Trujillo to stay at, just beyond Chan Chan and the Pyramid Ruins. I am going to finish with a chicken Empanada, chips, and Burt's Bee´s Wax.
A lovely sand dune in the distance along a very long baren Pan American traveled by a very linky Gringo on a very dirty mule. 
The desert....that is what this picture is of....a desert. I did see my first desert mirage in this desert today...it looked like a big lake...only there was no lake...it was a mirage (aka magic)
View of the pacific from the 3 star Hotel at lunch time. 65 miles north of Trujillo. Behind me, a big desert...lots of sand.
