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Peruvian Dog
We´d read about this ancient breed of hairless Peruvian dogs in many of the archeological museums we´ve visited. We finally saw our first one at Chan Chan. This is apparently the first breed of dogs to be domesticated in Perú. Ain´t it cute? Yet again, we are in waiting in an Internet café for our overnight bus at 10 p.m. But this time we have some King Kong to keep us company. King Kong is a sweet that is made up of layers of shortbread and filling (manjar blanco, piña, maní) that is typical of Northern Perú. Tonight we leave Chiclayo and head to the border with Ecuador, which we will enter tomorrow morning.
After leaving Huaraz on an overnight bus, we arrived early in the morning in Trujillo. Trujillo is the third largest city in Perú, but the center area (where we hung out) has a small town feel. Lots of old colonial buildings with bright colored paint jobs. We checked into our hotel at about 7:00 a.m. Luckily, they had room facing the church. Since it was Sunday, we got to listen to mass from our hotel room while attempting to nap.
That afternoon we visited the nearby ruins of Chan Chan. It´s considered one of the largest mud cities in the world. Despite being over 600 years old, parts of it are remarkably well preserved. It also helps that it doesn´t rain much in Trujillo. Chan Chan dates from
Walls at Chan Chan
The diamond pattern represents fishing nets. the Chimú culture (pre-Inka, circa 700-1400 CE). We took a colectivo that dropped us off at a dirt road. We had to walk 15 minutes to get to one of the main areas, Palacio Tschudi.
We hired a guide, Don José, and got lucky because he formerly worked on various archeological excavations related to the ancient civilizations of the area. Needless to say, he was quite knowledgeable. Chan Chan is made up of about ten seperate palaces and other constructions built throughout Chimú times. The Chimú was a coastal culture dedicated to fishing and agriculture. The palace was the housing for the elite and also served as a ceremonial center. The Tschudi Palace (named after the Swiss archeologist) is one of the latter palaces built and contains many representations of fishing nets, the sea, and marine life. Don José is also an artist, making woodblock prints inspired by the Chimú, Moche, and Chavín cultures.
In the late afternoon we went to the nearby beach resort of Huanchaco. Huanchaco is famous for its caballitos de tótora (reed fishing boats). These boats are different from the ones found on Lake Titicaca. These are smaller, seating only one person, and ride
over the waves like surfboards. One can see the fishing boats standing on end to dry in the afternoon, after a day of fishing. We walked along the boardwalk and had ceviche for dinner.
The next day, we took a tour through our hotel to the Moche ruins of Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol. The Moche culture dates from about 0 - 700 CE. They also built adobe mud buildings. Huaca de la Luna has been excavated and consists of a religious center built in six distinct stages. Many polychrome wall murals have been discovered at the site. Huaca del Sol has not been excavated yet due to lack of funds, but is considered an administrative center for the Moche. Unfortunately, our guide was just a teenager and was not nearly as informative as Don José. The discrepancy in the quality of the tours was quite noticeable.
That afternoon we took a 3-hour bus north to Chiclayo because we are in a rush to get to Ecuador (the end of the trip is drawing near). The main reason to come to Chiclayo is because it is situated near even more mud ruins and two interesting
museums. Yesterday, we visited the town of Sipán and the archeological site of Huaca Rajada (via a bus which smelled of gas. Mmmm. Gasolina). Some of you might remember the National Geographic articles from 1987 and 1989 on the Lord of Sipán and the Old Lord of Sipán. Considered by some to be one of the top three archeological finds of the XXth century, after Machu Picchu and King Tut.
Huaca Rajada was a funerary site for the Moche. It was built in six stages. So far, thirteen tombs have been discovered and excavated. We got to see the tombs of both Lords of Sipán, along with several other tombs of a priest and military elite. We lucked into getting a tour by one of the archeologists in charge of the site (he was involved with the initial dig). He told us a bit about the archeological process and the difficulties of funding. According to him, a single tomb requires an investment of about US$30 million. To date Perú has given no money for any excavations at Sipán. Only international corporations have the capital to fund such research. The archeologists have not excavated at the site since 2000 and
Ceviche mixto
That purple thing in the middle is an entire crab. are awaiting further funding to continue their research. It was amazing to talk to him and find out the "inside" scoop. The site has more tombs waiting to be discovered.
That afternoon, we went to the Chiclayo "Mercado de Brujos", or traditional medicine market. They sell a variety of dried herbs and other useful things. Our guidebook said there would be dried llama fetuses, but we didn´t see any. We didn´t seek them out, though. On the way back to the center, we passed the regular market, Mercado Modelo, and sampled some of the local sugar cane. The road leading out to the town of Sipán was lined with fields sugar cane. Happily, our batch was very juicy and delicious.
Today our adventures took us to Lambayeque (about 15 minutes outside of Chiclayo by minibus), to see the Museo de las Tumbas Reales de Sipán and the Bruning Museum. The Museo de las Tumbas houses many of the finds from Huaca Rajada (jewelry, textiles, oseous remains, etc). It is shaped like a pyramid and the exhibits mirror the archeologists excavations, layer by layer. The Bruning Museum houses artifacts from the Moche, Lambayeque, Chimù, and Inka cultures. The exhibits
here trace the cultural development in the Lambayeque area.
Good night everyone.
Ryan & Ana
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Nancy
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Interesting info
I leave soon for my second trip to Peru, and it will include sites you describe, very well, by the way. Good pictures.