Chiclayo to Trujillo

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Once the hassle of the previous day was out of our system we headed to the Museum of Sipan which was the main reason for coming here.

An intact Moche, pre Incan civilisation tomb was discovered in 1987 of Lord Sipan and lots of priceless artifacts were recovered. The attraction for me was something so important was found so late in the century when most of the world’s treasures have been found. It just goes to show how much we don’t know and that there can be buried treasures right under our feet in a number places around the world. Since a kid I have imagined what it must have been like for the early explores to Egypt finding all these tombs and thought those days have passed but maybe there are still chances to unearth some amazing finds and the secrets of the past!

The museum was good and had lots of useful information, it was a shame it was all in Spanish as it got a bit boring trying to work out the signs after a while. Still, it was good introduction to all the other sites we are going to see.

Next up was Trujillo and to see more Moche sites and what was once the largest mud brick city in the world containing over 10,000 buildings.

We managed to arrange a cheap day tour for about 3 pounds which included an English speaking guide. The tour started at Las Huacus del Sol y de la Luna. (Pyramids of the Sun and Moon). The Moche who built these pyramids about 700 AD and are one of Peru’s largest structures. The larger of the two the Sun Temple consisted of 140 million bricks so you can get some sort of idea. They now look like huge sand mounds and only parts of it can be viewed in its original impressive form. (See pictures) the stylized friezes were very bright and colorful and they must have looked magnificent in its heyday.

Next up was Chan Chan for the largest mud brick city in the world. This place was huge and can only imagine how impressive the size of this place must have looked 700 hundred years ago. It was great to roam around the many rooms, it was like a maze and we would have been lost without our guide.

Our last stop on the tour was to see the traditional reed fishing boats. They have been used around this area for thousands of years and are still used today. It was good to see that tradition has not been overtaken by modern thinking and watching mostly old men caching fish for the day and then selling what they dont keep for the family.

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Photos

Peruvian hairless dog!
They are only found in Peru and are so ugly!

Peruvioan hairless dog
Their body temperture is higher than the common dog and are used to help people with arthritus.

City of Chan Chan
It had its own natural oasis in the centre which helped to ensure they had a constant supply of water.