Organic boats, clay ruins at Chan Chan and a spanking.
Our specific purpose of our visit was to visit the UNESCO listed ruins of Chan
Chan. I knew there was this pre-Incan civilisation in the process of
restoration, but not much more and nothing else about Trujillo. It was on the
list to research, but time slipped quickly by between decision and trip
execution and well; we’ve arrived and so we are winging it on scant knowledge
and a bed for the night. No excuse really,
Wikipedia and other
resources will quickly show that Trujillo is steeped in history and culture.
Trujillo was our first ‘real’ destination in Peru. The flight from Lima to
Trujillo was about an hour north. For us it was a much better way to get
there than a bus which would have taken over 9 hours, mind you the 2 1/2 hour
wait at the airport seemed interminable. We nearly blew it with the gate as we
did not realise that the ticket show gate 4 was not really a gate even though
it said Fila 4 (Spanish for row or line – is that not a gate ?). Anyway
regardless of what is on the ticket apparently that’s irrelevant, there is
always a change in Lima and it’s your responsibility to find out where your
plane is at all times. With the crowds and world cup soccer on and Spanish as
our second language we got to the correct gate –> 24 some distance away
with only minutes to spare: phew !
Trujillo is full of surprises and major annoyances. I’ll hit the
annoyances first: it’s the third most populous city in Peru, with every other
car driver thinking they are a taxi driver and every taxi driver honking their
horn; two jet-lagged tourists found it difficult to cope. A related issue is
that everyone has a great fear that their car is is going to disappear so all
cars are armed with a car alarm: try and sleep with one going off every 5
minutes and see how you go. Ear plugs are an essential travel accessory.
My third gripe is that restaurant food is generally potatoes, with potatoes, with potatoes, then with rice or quinoa. Especially those restaurants that have a bold label saying ‘turistico’ – in other words come in sucker. We soon learnt an essential travel tool is TripAdvisor or similar to determine good eateries. Simple research on vegetarian restaurants gave us a great one called El Patio Rojo just 2 minutes stroll from where we were staying.
My third gripe is that restaurant food is generally potatoes, with potatoes, with potatoes, then with rice or quinoa. Especially those restaurants that have a bold label saying ‘turistico’ – in other words come in sucker. We soon learnt an essential travel tool is TripAdvisor or similar to determine good eateries. Simple research on vegetarian restaurants gave us a great one called El Patio Rojo just 2 minutes stroll from where we were staying.
Anyway, enough of negativity. We stayed at a hostel called Munay Wasi which
was satisfactory and positioned well in the city. It’s a family run
hostel/hotel and fortunate for us some of the members spoke English and could
come to grips with our accent. Warning – there are many hostels called
Munay Wasi , so get your facts right with the correct address when it comes to
taxis and pick up services !
The architecture of the city was pleasant with a general effort to keep the place tidy and visually acceptable. We were pleased with the brightly coloured buildings, enjoying practising our photography creativity skills. I say this because many towns in Peru and indeed outside the city are unkempt and strewn with litter.
Hairless dog
The Peruvian hairless dog has a heritage since the Inca and earlier and it’s protected. Refer - https://www.pri.org/…/peru-has-new-love-affair-its-hairless… It’s a beautiful dog in many respects; athletic, non violent, intelligent and a token amount of hair.
Chan Chan
We negotiated an English speaking guide to take us around Chan Chan. Note that English speaking guides are dearer than Spanish speakers – that’s the deal in Peru, you are a tourist expect to pay more. There is no fixed price here though (unless we’re talking about Government facilities such as Machu Picchu), so negotiate or pay the extra ! At the end of the day, it’s not over the top but you do need to be wary just the same. I think we paid 25 soles per person instead of the normal 35, which equates to $10 Australian and there was 5 in our group on an all day excursion.
You could go to Chan Chan yourself, but why do that when so much can be
learnt; our guide was very knowledgeable; she had to study many years before
being allowed to be a guide and it showed with her passion and ready answers
to any of our questions. We went on a tour with an English speaking guide.
Taking us to Huaca de la Luna (Temple of the Moon), Huaca del Sol (Pyramid of
the Sun) as well as Chan Chan.
Chan Chan is nothing short of amazing. I expected a hectare or so of
area and a museum, when we got here we were overwhelmed – this place is huge.
Excavation and restoration is a painstaking operation over 30 years a lot has
been restored but it’s no where near the city’s entirety. It is in
surprisingly good condition considering it was made of adobe (mud
brick). The whole city has an area of over 20 square km , it housed over
30000 people of the Chimu people in its hey day and dates around 850 AD.
It is worth reading about eg.
Ancient Origins: Chan Chan, Peru
or Wikipedia and its
cited references. I am so glad that we made the effort to come here.
No writing, like the Egyptians, pictures and the artwork tell a story and they
are everywhere in the complex. There are tales about every aspect of
life from crops, fishing to reproduction and war, our guide interpreted many
for us, and of course being a good student that I am; I suffer from exam
anxiety and cannot repeat any for you.
As the city risks being washed away in the next series of rain, whenever that
may be, a roof is needed to protect it. The bamboo columns are in
keeping with the colour of the adobe, quite strong and inexpensive. The
main risk is fire I’d guess.
The other ruins
There is more to Trujillo than the Chimu civilisation of Chan Chan. There is
also the Moche civilisation, these people were here earlier than the Chimu at
around 100 to 800 AD and left some decent mementos of their presence.
Huacas del Sol y de la Luna (Temple of the Moon) and Huaca del Sol (Pyramid of the Sun). The Moche
sites we visited prior to Chan Chan. What a taster we had with that entree !
Through these interpretative boards we get a glimpse of the hours of
painstaking work there is to restore and what the full colour walls would have
looked like. An archaeologist would be in a dream world here I’d imagine, I
certainly was.
Here we can see the reason why Chan Chan and the other ruins are preserved
well; the shifting desert sands, both a benefit and hindrance I’m guessing, as
getting it wrong could mean death to persons caught in an excavation collapse.
There was a great museum of the Moche civilisation here as well with many
samples of pottery and depictions of life. Fortunately there is enough to fill
the museum as much of it is
distributed
around the world, being here is of much greater value as we’re able to witness
the dwellings, irrigation and so one that puts into context the pottery and
trinkets. Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to photograph anything inside, but
there are plenty of photos on the web should you be interested.
No lie about the pyramid: it’s a big mound still hiding many secrets within.
Organic Boats
Huanchaco, surfing town just outside Trujillo has these quaint reed fishing
boats of times, where their use dates back centuries, the only
difference being are the modern touches of polystyrene flotation and synthetic
string.
The town is rather a bit like a run down hippy place and the water might be
popular with surfers but being murky brown didn’t induce me to swim in it.
Back to the City
Steph wanted to check out the city, so we spend the day walking.
I’m not a huge fan of churches in Latin America, non-Christian treatment of
the indigenous peoples. It’s devastating reading about the wholesale slaughter
and torture throughout history ( suggested reading:
Open veins of Latin America , Wikipedia
Peruvian Inquisition
) . European history is no better for that matter and so I avoid them as
well. There is no denying however that the artworks within and without are
special and at times a peek is rewarding for that purpose.
A massage, what a great ideal; we are somewhat worn out from traipsing around
Chan Chan and the overall fatigue of being on the go. What an experience – we
were beaten into submission, it’s a wonder our skin didn’t end up the colour
of Steph’s outfit. Somehow we managed to extend the duration of our torture by
another hour not having any idea of the Spanish language. Afterwards we read
that the Peruvians do not have the faintest idea of how to massage, I’d agree
with that generalisation. The massage consisted of finger poking without warm
up and a spanking, starting with a hair tear on the scalp then mostly on the
back and buttocks and barely anything on the arms, legs or face. Memorable
Whenever I travel I like to try the local food. This bean captured my
attention. Guaba, you eat the white fluffy flesh, it tastes like a vanilla
cotton candy.
Trujillo is regarded as Peru’s city of liberation. It’s the first city to
wrest itself from Spanish rule. In the main square there is memorial
sculpture to commemorate the event.
Markets abound in this city, one can easily get lost in shopper’s paradise all
day here.
A great couple days we’ve had here and a good start to our holiday. We’re not
suffering too badly with jet lag, I’ve copped a cough which will nag me for
the next couple of weeks but at least neither of us have had anything in
the way of stomach ailments or other maladies.
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