Around Trujillo

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Finding the local guide

There was a bit of too-ing and fro-ing as Lisa sorted out the local guide who would be showing us Chan Chan and the Temples of the Sun and the Moon today. The original guide did not seem to be available, but had recommended a stand-in for the occasion. All this became known after the original guide failed to show up at the agreed time and place - which all went to make the whole arrangement seem a bit amatuerish.

Eventually, a fortyish something woman did show up. Lisa began spruiking her up as one of the best local guides for the two sites we were going to see today, which caused me to wonder why she had bothered with the guide who had failed to show!

Chan Chan - Chimu adobe city

Once the guide had arrived, we were on our way to Chan Chan, and a remarkable tour through one of the many compounds of this Chimu adobe city. It seemed to me that most of the interpretation of the use of the site and meanings of the various motifs was extremely speculative. There are no extant writings from the period to assist in scholarly interpretation, but it would appear that there has to be a meaning in every symbol and motif. It seems inconcievable that simple explanations like circles were easy to mould should be preferred over complex explanations based around the worship of those heavenly disks, the sun and the moon. Similarly, diagonal cross hatched wall patterns have to be massive interpretations of fishing nets rather than simple decorative patterns.

We started the tour in a large courtyard close to the outer walls. There was an entrance at one end, and a raised platform at the other which was reached by a ramp. The decorative band of bird figures at the base of the wall had been restored, as had much of the vertical moulding in the little alcoves at either side of the entrance.

From here we followed a series of passageways to an area with a complex of small, enclosed areas. The approaches to this area seemed rather like a large waiting area before the offices of petty officialdom. These in turn were linked to a series of central courtyards, one of which housed a small, ornamental lake.

Finally, in the centre of all this was the burial chamber of the ruler, with room for a wide variety of the possessions he had accumulated in life.

On the way out, we passed storage areas and rooms with interesting acoustic effects, huts now used for equipment to run the site and so on.

Temples of the Sun and the Moon - Moche pyramids

Next, it was over to the other side of Trujillo. The Templss of the Sun and the Moon are located in the desert a couple of kilometres to the south of end of the irrigation areas, and Mark had to drive down this incredibly narrow road that ran through the houses and fields alongside an irrigation canal. It was only just wide enough for the truck, and there was no room most of the time for another vehicle to pass. At one stage we had to back up a short way to a wider section when a taxi was coming the other way, and it had much further to return to find a bypass.

The Temple of the Moon is being excavated, and there is a visitors centre as well as the other infrastructure associated with the archeological dig being undertaken in the areas between the two temples. We left Fran here, and walked up the few hundred metres to the temple, with the guide offering general explanations about the siting of the temples, and general features of its construction.

To get to the current entrance, we walked around two complete sides of the temple. The entrance is part way along the third side near the active excavation of one of the exterior walls. We observed this work from a distance. The wall being worked on has a rich collection of different motifs representing both natural and supernatural (one hopes) elements of the Mocha culture.

The temple has been build in stages, with each stage extending both the base and height of the pyramid. So subsequent layers have encapsulated the previous pyramid. It was not clear (perhaps I wasn't listening when this was explained) how much the internal layout was changed with each additional layer of work. The adobe bricks apparently have individual makers or family marks that identify their origin. Given the millions of bricks involved, it must have been a significant undertaking to keep track of who had provided what. One wonders whether this had equivalents in other religions and practices.

This temple had suffered from uncontrolled 'looting' of artefacts, and the evidence of this is visible in various places inside the building. Some restoration has been undertaken to illustrate how the original work would have looked, and there were quite interesting reconstructions in various places explaining the functions of the various spaces and rooms.

After the obligatory visit to the visitors centre, we were off back down the road to Trujillo. Here, we had a minor disaster. As Mark was trying to negotiate a bend and avoid one house, he went too close to the irrigation canal. The front wheels started to sink into the canal bank, and he began to reverse. In doing so, the back of the truck hit a house wall, and did a small amount of damage. Oblivious to this at the front of the truck, Mark continued on back to our camping area. When we got the chance to tell him what had happened, he was mortified, and immediately went back to the house and arranged to make good the damage for the owners.

Huanchaco beach - caballitos were here, somewhere

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Photos

Chan Chan - compound wall
Here is our guide standing in front of one of the compound walls. Detail of wall construction visible.

Chan Chan - detail of wall decoration
These decorations have been restored. These appeared to be some of the originals near where we entered this compound.

Chan Chan - wall decorations
Wall decorations representing pelicans and fishing nets.

Temple of the Moon
Unknown group near the current entry to this pyramid temple. Layer motif of 'the decapitator' visible at bottom, with a serpent motif in layer above. Each major layer of construction appears to have had its own motif.

Temple of the Moon - Entrance to Pyramid
This modern entrance has been cut through several distinct layers of construction, visible here.

Temple of the Moon - inside the pyramid
This is the view of the inside of the pyramid from near the top of the northern wall.

Temple of the Moon - Internal decoration
In many places the face motif in the centre of the diamond had been hacked away, but here it was intact.

Trujillo Outskirts
This was an irrigation canal near the town of Trujillo. Mark, the driver, was trying to avoid damaging the banks near here when he backed into the wall of a house.