After a rather pathetic but refreshing couple of hours sleep in the Casa Bella, we emerged from our beds at around 10:30am and decided to take full advantage of our all-inclusive breakfast. We only really had time for an afternoon of sight-seeing and decided to book a tour around some of the most famous sites in Lima. The tour ended at the Lima Lorca museum, an enormous private collection of material culture of the ancient civilisations of Peru. The collection includes the infamous erotic pottery of the Moche (or Mochica), which made me especially excited as I recently did a presentation on Moche erotic pots for one of my modules…

At the unsightly hour of four in the morning, Ileft the rolling hills of Dorset, having bid farewell to the dogs and done a final panic check for forgotten items. As we sped along the motorway to Heathrow Airport in the newly serviced landrover, listening to Newton Faulkner, I contemplated the long journey ahead, starting with breakfast. We arrived at the Terminal three short stay car park and spent the next fifteen minutes wandering through badly signed corridors in the hope it would eventually lead to our check-in gate. Up until now, everything was running smoothly but that as all about to change. The flight centre, with whom we had…

In less than two days, prospective travel writer and archaeology enthusiast, moi, shall be aboard a Boeing 777. Destination: Peru! It is my second trip to this part of the world and this time I hope to spend more time writing and less time getting lost. Having said that, getting lost is part of the fun, particularly as I will be travelling with a close friend and organiser extraordinaire (commonly known as Emma). In July and August 2010, I spent four fantastic weeks in a town called Nepeña on the Western Coast of Peru, not far from the (rather fishy) city of Chimbote. I was to spend my days taking part…