Day 62 - Trujillo

The hostel´s website forecasts that the weather will be warm, dry, and sunny. Apparently that forecast is correct 305 days a year. This balmy climate was the perfect place to catch my breath.

I started the day at Chimu site of Chan Chan. We looked at just two of the nine temples that are scattered throughout the city. At first glance, the piles of sand and rubbish look more like a garbage dump than a famous archaeological site. My guide assured me that Peru had more important things to worry about than picking up litter as we swerved around the bus-sized pothole. The site was much more impressive, and clean, though, once we entered the site. The piles of sand were actually the partially deteriorated walls of the ancient temple. Although the history of the society itself was not as interesting to me as the Incans', it was neat to see walls that had been built out of mud bricks in 1300 A.D. still standing and some of the carvings still intact.

After a nap and great lunch of homemade ceviche (raw fish soaked in lime juice), I went to the Moche temples of the Sun and the Moon. These stepped pyramids pre-date the Chimu site and the carvings inside this temple still have some of their original colors. It was fascinating to see paint and mud that have survived centuries of rain, wind, graverobbers, and earthquakes.