After 3 weeks of trekking, in the rain, we thought it was time for a bit of sun. Not only that, the thought of being back at sea level with humane levels of oxygen to saturate our thirsty lungs seemed seemed like a good idea. Trujillo just happens to be on our route to Ecuador so seemed like a sensible place to stop. The city was traditionally a trading post for coastal and jungle goods and is also home to the ancient city of Chan Chan, a major city of Chimu origin and later Inca rule when the Spanish arrived in the 1500's. After continuing to be a centre of rebellion, including numberous wars seeing the Conchuro Indian warriors, allied with the Incas, killing many Spanish conquisadores, Trujillo declared it's independence from Spain in 1820, making it one of the first latin american cities to do so. Good for them I say.
The beautiful pedestrianized street of Jiron Pizzaro lined with Rococco style colonial mansions
Once again we were greeted at the bus terminal by an uninvited and overeager taxi driver posing as a bus official. It seems to be the norm. Undeterred we jumped in his cab and headed to Huanchaco, a small sea fishing village turned surf bum hang out 10km from the city. Without a reservation he drove us to a hotel of his choice which happended to be cheap. It turns out that these guys get commision from the hotels for hand delivering dumfounded gringos.
Trujillo Catedral in the Plaza Mayor
For our first day we planned to do absolutely nothing. After so much trekking we thought we would enjoy it. In short, we soon got bored. The highlight was a seafood lunch of ceviche, a classic Peruvian seafood dish, eaten by locals for over 2000 years. It consists of raw seafood marinated in lime juice and chilli. We went for the corvina (sea bass) and cangrejo (crab). It was fantastic but eating the raw crab took some figuring out.
We booked a guide to see the the ancient ruined city of Chan Chan and the Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna (Sun and Moon temple). Chan Chan was the capital city of the Chimu Empire, an urban civilization which appeared on the coast of Peru around 1100 AD before being later incorporated into the Inca Empire. Totally unlike any of the Inca stuff we have visited Chan Chan is made of adobe bricks, basically mud which has been shaped and left to dry in the sun. In our opinion, the sun and moon temple were far more interesting. Set in a totally baron desert landscape the Huaca del Sol is by far the largest adobe structure in the Americas. It's basically a gigantic mud pyramid which is yet to be fully explored or excavated. Just 500 metres away is it's twin, the Huaca de la Luna. This temple is smaller but far more complex with incredibly well preserved coloured frescoes. The Peruvians think this was the most important ceremonial centre for the Moche culture between 400 and 600 AD. The perfect preservation is due to a bizarre process which the Moche's carried out of burying the temple before the 100 year el-nino and rebuilding another, slightly smaller temple, on top once the storm had passed, thus creating an adobe pyramid. It was quite spectacular and left us completely dumfounded. Again...
The Huaca de la Luna (Moon Temple). The frescoes were buried for 1500 years
Detail of the decapitated head fresco with original paint
The Huaca del Sol, an as yet unexcavated and unexplored pyramid.
The external facade of the Huaca de la Luna. 100 years separate each level.
Each one was buried to protect it from a devastating el-nino
The bizarre waffle like abode mud remains of the vast city of Chan Chan
Whilst we were in Trujillo it was the Peruvian presidential elections. Now, unknown to us beforehand, in Peru it is illegal to sell or drink alcohol 2 days before and 24 hours after the elections which took place of Sunday 10 April. The government say this is to ensure peope are thinking properly when they vote. We went out for a bite to eat and the place was like a ghost town with the odd gringo walking around scratching his head. We ordered a drink in a restaurant only to be told the law. On a plus note, we had 3 days of not drinking. Not by choice I might add.
Handmade tortura reed boats on the beach at the fishing village come seaside resort of Huanchaco
Next stop Ecuador...
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