I’ve never been to Trujillo, Peru. It's located on the northwestern coast of Peru and is the 3rd most populous city in Peru. It's in the La Libertad region, which reflects its political history as the cradle of liberty. Trujillo gained its independence from the Spanish in 1820.
I arranged a private tour with a great company called Trujillo del Peru, for about 20 of us. This is a great tour company - on time, responsive during the booking process, professional. Their two buses they provided included a driver and an English speaking tour guide. The guides and drivers wear company shirts so you can easily recognize them. Our guide on my bus was William. He clearly loves his work, and is full of knowledge about the area and everything we saw. He was born and still lives in Trujillo.
Our tour included visits to the La Huaca del Sol (temple of the sun) and La Huaca de la Luna (temple of the moon), Chan Chan, a UNESCO world heritage site, the city plaza of Trujillo, a visit to a restored wealthy home alongside the plaza, and a lunch visit to Huanchaco Beach, where these cool reed boats are still used for fishing (and tourist photos.....)
The two temples - moon and sun - are ongoing archealogical sites. These temples reflect the civilization of the Moche people, of the pre-Columbian era, and 1,000 years before the Incas. Moche lived here from 200-900 AD. They were a kingdom of autonomous cities sharing a common culture and were agriculturally based. They hunted, fished, developed elaborate and sophisticated irrigation systems and held ceremonies, including sacrificial rites to offer to the god that would bring rain, as this is a place where there is very little of it.
Chan Chan is another archeological site situated about a 30 minutes drive from Trujillo. It is the largest adobe city in the ancient world, and to walk through it would take about 3 days. We just saw a very small portion of it. This complex was created by the Chimu people, who were the grandchildren of the Moche. They lived here peacefully, much like the Moche, from 900-1400 AD. Many were artisans and this culture was similar to the Moche, but they believed in the power of the sun, moon and tides for their beneficial rains.
Reed boats with their nets
Inside Chan Chan
Pieces of furniture from the house on the Plaza de Armas
This chair has beautifully embossed leather works
This is the liberty statue in the middle of the Plaza de Armas
A hairless dog at Chan Chan. It's just sleeping....
The courtyard inside the house
Sugar cane
Don't you just love kids, bikes and dogs running along a dirt road?
Beautiful frescoes inside Temple of the Moon - look how well the colors have survived
This honeycomb sort of design reflects the worshipping nature of the Chan Chan society - sun, moon, ocean, tides. This is a netting design.
Long walking paths inside Chan Chan. There are miles of this.
A reed boat
Painting of what a Moche woman might look like.
Bedroom in the house
I saw lots of bugs!!!
Adobe and brick walls are the norm here
Salaverry Port - the gateway to Trujillo. It's a tiny little port and very barren.
More of the Temple frescoes.
The cathedral in Trujillo.
Plaza de Armas
More Chan Chan
This one is the Temple of the Sun. This is where all the administrative stuff was handled
Temple of the Moon
It's hard work handling a reed boat. And really uncomfortable to sit on.
Plaza de Armas
Pristine Chan Chan
A view of the Temple of the Sun from the Temple of the Moon, with the city of Trujillo in the background.
Huanchaco Beach
Ah, dinner last night on the ship. Salmon.
This was a water purifying station in the plaza house.
Close up of art work in Chan Chan
Corner altar at Temple of the Moon
That little pile of rocks near the center of the photo is where the sacrifice ceremonies were held
Close up of artwork at Temple of the Moon.
Now, this is a picture of a stack of money. You see, the bank owns this house on the plaza. It's good because there's lots of money to keep this house restored and cared for properly.
This frescoe tells the story of how the Moche society functioned.
The order of the importance of the gods, animals, etc in Moche society.
Snort wanted to try out a reed boat. He said it was too scratchy.
Plaza de Armas
This was my lunch at Huanchaco Beach. It was prawn ceviche. It was yummy.
Chan Chan
You can see how the layers have protected Temple of the Moon for so long and so well.
Local beer for lunch.
Artwork murals along the highway
Some drawings depicting how fish run up the Humboldt current and meet the warmer waters of the north. Chan Chan.
Dining room of house.
We did this same tour in 2017. I remember the garbage and stench leaving the port area on the way to Chan Chan, was it the same way?
ReplyDeleteLoved the reed boats at the beach and purchased a miniature one that hangs in our half bath. We too had civeche but did not fare as well and did spoil our visit to Machu Picchu somewhat. Enjoying your reports and others posting on this sailing.