Final Countdown

In just a couple or hours I shall be stepping abourd a plane and making my way back to England. This fills me with a mixture of sadness and excitement, (I can here a bacon sandwich calling my name from across the oceans). However, my month here in Peru has been one of the best of my life and I will miss Nepeña like a lost friend.

My last weekend was incredibly busy as on Friday myself and 4 girl friends made our way to Trujillo for a saunter and a large plate of meat. We satyed in a hostal who promised our bags would remain safe as they were in the protection of the good Lord (in fact they just sat in a corner next to the front desk in obvious view). We had a fantastic meal in a restaurant named "Rustica" which contained sever mermaids and an upside down car. The bathrooms presented its viewers with prints of topless celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise which was a rather nice surprise. The onlly unfortunate event was when a fellow archaeologist, Holly, ordered a plate of intestines thinking it was just normal meat.

On Saturday night we returend home and spent the evening in Nepeña´s fine club where I attempted (and failed) to dance a bit of Salsa. On Sunday, we made our way to the beautiful outdoor restaurant where I exhausted myself playing football and volleyball (as well as almost getting knocked out by said volleyball).

Monday was my final day on site and I was moved to the new sector where we uncovered some lovely sections of floor as well as several ceramic faces. The heat from the sun was especially vicious and I had to rest for a while as the mountains began to spin around me. At the end of the day, the majority of the group made their way to the bar where we played a giant game of uno which lasted an hour before people began to completely despair.

And so the next morning came and I was forced to say my tearful goodbyes. I am genuinely attached the people who I have met in nepeña and it was a great pain to tear myself away from them and the village itself. I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to dig with Carlos and Jorge at Cerro Castillo and hope to return next year and continue to excavate at such a new and exciting site.

This is my final adios,
Lucy

Just a Quick Note

Hi there,

This is just a quick list of (material or food-related) things which I am currently craving so soon before I depart back to soggy England:

Diet coke

Bacon Sarnie

Bath

Bed

This weekend I will be travelling to Trujillo to visit Huaca de la Luna again and also to do a little shopping. I am very much looking forward to buying myself some celebratory non-Peruvian chocolate but after the weekend I have one day left in the field and this is tragic. Today I found such excitements as the bottem of a clay statue (aka a pair of feet) and thrillingly a piece of fabric which still maintained some of its colouring and patterning which is rather rare!

Now I must depart alas as I am in desperate need of a shower (it is amazing how flithy one can get while out excavating)!

Adios, Lucy

Pots and Pisco

Hola!

This has been one hell of a week (and a bit due to not writing for a while) and I will only include the interesting bits! Last weekend I rediscovered my competitive side while playing volleyball and football at a beautiful restaurant on the edge of Nepeña which hosted a menagerie or random animals including pigs, parrots and (bastard) mosquitoes. It somehow escaped my mind that football does not require you to tackle people by kicking them in the shins then stealing the ball. I learnt one important lesson that day: to abstain from sports for at least 30 minutes after eating massive amounts of pork.

In the evening we donned our dancing shoes (trainers) and went to Nepeña´s only club which turned out to be a bit of a riot. The music was mostly salsa and also the slightly bizarre Peruvian electro pop which is shockingly catchy and terrible. We were reasonably sober yet somehow the next day the photos suggested otherwise...I am fortunate to own said drunken photos and will therefore for have useful amo against any of my fellow club goers if they wish to cause me grief (which by the way they do).

They next day we took a collectivo to San Isidro market but unfortunately due to our later than normal wakeup time we managed to miss said market. I bought some peaches just so it wasnt a complete waste of time.

This week has hosted the most exciting archaeological finds in Cerro Castillo. The workers have uncovered several complete Chimu (a bit later than the Moche) pots which are seriously cool. I have uncovered several bits of llama (bones) and ceramic sheards which have caused me great excitement. Also this week, I had a chance to take part in labs which involves washing the ceramic peices, marking them and taking photographs.

Sadly, time is up for most of the first group and they are as I speak travelling back to their various homes (or exploring other parts of Peru). Due to the fact I arrived at an awkward time I still look forward to another week and 2 days here. They were a fantastic group of people and they are sorely missed. However, the new lot are to arrive over the next week so it will be exciting to meet some new people.

I must aller as in a few mintues we shall be setting up the home cinema to view the rollocking adventure of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!

Adios for now, Lucy