Trujillo

acrobatic performer
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First there was the first night bus of the trip, then there was Chan Chan, and the Huacas. The story is still to come!

(Later)

Trujillo... let'se see. Writing this far too far after the event to be accurate, what can I remember?

Main reason for heading to this city (which vies with Arequipa for Peru's second city) was to visit the Moche temple: Chan Chan. It was also a good stopping point on the road, splitting two night buses between Chacha and Lima.

andrea and the otters
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More important than all the historic sites we visited was our discovery of Chifa menus. Vast (really) quantities of tasty Chinese food for 90p. Bargain. Haven't found any such good deals since. But yum.

A large but pleasant city, replete with nationalistic marches on Sundays (we were sternly asked to stand when the Peruvian anthem played) and lots of colonial architecture. Great sunshine but no sign of the beach, despite its proximity to the ocean.

Preferred the pyramid sites: Huaca del Sol and, particularly, Huaca de la Luna to Chan Chan in the end. Huaca de la Luna is still the subject of major archealogical work and has amazingly well preserved murals on mud bricks from 200 to 700 AD. You can see how each hundred years or so, the new chiefs built a whole new layer in and outside the pyramid, covering up the old with mud bricks and subsequent motifs.

carl in the desert
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Lots of fairly brutal customs. Apparently, two groups of soldiers would square up, the losers to be the subject of ritual sacrifice. Dosed up to the eyeballs, they'd be stripped naked and have their blood siphoned ready for the high priest to enjoy. Then be buried in the square with pots. What a way to go.