Day 24 Caral

I had planned that we should visit  this at the beginning of the holiday but things were not to be.  It was almost fated not to get there as on the second attempt I was not able to make it as I was not well but to day all was well.

We got up on time, found a minibus and arrived at the bus station where we had to pick up a bus that was going to Barranca some 3 hours north of Lima.  Supe was our destination to take a collectivo to the archaeological site of Caral. After waiting for 30 mins and the collectivo was not full we decided to pay for the empty seat so we could leave only to be stuck behind the Caral Marathon.  The site was 23kms away and the car was overheating and finally stopped with smoke coming out of the dashboard. We quickly left leaving the driver to sort out his problems and start walking.  It was not long before we came across a tractor and trailer so hitched a lift which was at least better than walking in the midday sun.  After a mile or so a car came by and we jumped vehicles and hitched a lift with the car.  The driver was a local hotel owner who was going our way and very generously took us all the way to Caral.

After we walked through the reception centre  we had to wait for the guide that we paid for but there was no site visible. After the guide arrived you walk up a slight incline and on top of the incline laid out before you is an impressive array of mounds (still to be excavated) and pyramids. It cavers a larger area and was well worth the trip to see one of the oldest cities in mans civilisation.  I do not intend to go over information as this can be found on the internet.
The site, at most excavated pyramids, has information boards in both Spanish and English to explain what the pyramid or area was sued for.  Bearing in mind that there was no written language a lot of what is said has to be knowledgeable supposition.

After looking around the site we walked to the near by village (40 mins) to get a collectivo as there are rarely taxis for hire this far away from a town.

The bus journey back to Lima was uneventful.