Salaverry, Peru (Monday, February 26)

Fog!  When we woke up this morning it was thick.  It broke only when we got close to shore, the first thing we saw being the foothills of the Andes. 

Also surprising, the early morning temperature was in the mid-60's due to the cold water Peru Current (also known as Humboldt Current); part of the South Pacific Gyre.

SIRENA docked on schedule and we were ashore just after 8:00 AM.

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Today's Tour:  ANCIENT PALACES, COLONIAL CITY & TEMPLES TO THE SUN AND MOON

This guided tour will begin with a short drive to Huanchaco Beach to see the famous Caballitos de Totora, where small crafts made of totora reeds are still used today by fisherman, just as their ancestors did thousands of years ago. You'll continue on to "Chan-Chan", home to one of the most spectacular and largest ancient cities built of mud in the New World.

Next you'll drive to Trujillo, Peru's second city. Founded by Pizarro in 1536, Trujillo still retains much of its colonial charm, and has a splendid backdrop consisting of the vivid green and brown terrain of the Andean foothills. You'll see the spacious Plaza de Armas, where the main Cathedral and City Hall stand, and the Libertador Hotel. Lunch will be served at a traditional Hacienda, with entertainment consisting of a "Peruvian Paso Horse Show", noted for the distinctive high-stepping, dance-like stride of the horses. There will also be a performance of Marinera, a distinctive folk dance from the region.

After lunch, you'll visit the amazing huacas (pron. wa-cas), or temples, built during the Mochica era (1-650 A.D.) on the left side of the Moche River in Southern Trujillo. The Huaca de la Luna required more than fifty million adobe bricks to be constructed. In front of the Huaca de la Luna you'll see Huaca del Sol, probably the largest mud-brick structure in the Americas. It was 372 yards long, 175 yards wide, over 130 feet high and had a series of terraces and slopes leading to its summit.

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We walked the length of what was clearly a working pier to reach our bus, at times needing to be careful where we stepped and more specifically, what we were about to step in.

The bus got on the Pan-American Highway going north for about 30 minutes to the shore front community of Huanchaco.

An aside about the Pan-American Highway.  Yes, it is a continuous network of roads from Alaska to Patagonia.  No, a family can't hope in their mini-van and drive it end-to-end.  There is a lengthy stretch of it in northern South America that would require an all-terrain vehicle and careful selection on the time of year (think dry season) to transit it.

We came to Huanchaco to see a demonstration of the reed boats its fishermen have used for 3,500 years.  The 'modern' boats are made of Styrofoam wrapped in reeds.  The original boats were constructed completely of reeds.  

Our guide tried to make the case that the reed boats were the origin of surfing, but given their shape and the seated position of the occupant, it seemed a stretch.  On the other hand,Huanchaco is a internationally popular surfing destination.  

We drove a short distance to the Chan Chan Archeological Zone - the largest known pre-Columbian city in South America.  Located in an extremely arid area, the city relied on water flowing from the Andes and city's proximity to resources from the sea.  For the people who lived here, food and water was guarded more carefully than gold.

This was an impressive site.  The religious center of the city was surrounded by walls over 30-feet tall built of mud bricks with a mud-based stucco façade.

Inside these walls were 17 temples each surrounded by 15-foot walls.  The interior of each temple had lower interior walls. 

altar room in which idols would be in each recess

altar room on left with priest's room on right

Carved into the walls were icons and symbols.  The ones below are squirrels and fish.  

Some walls were symbolic, often related to fishing and being on the sea. 

fishnet, with buttress to hold up wall

more fishnet, with ventilation holes to aerate interior rooms

waves

left wall - Southern Cross pattern (honoring its importance to navigation at sea)

wave walls

An inner and outer wall, the pathway between used for llamas carrying food.

This picture of the souvenir stands has no significance other than I liked the omnipresent light and shadow pattern created by the poles.

Our next stop was the Plaza de Armes, the center of Trujillo, where we saw the Freedom Monument, Trujillo Cathedral and several classic buildings.

Lunch was at a ranch that raised Paso horses.  It was an attractive location at the base of the White Mountain where we would be going to  visit the Palace of the Moon.  We were entertained by riders and dancers.

We passed the Temple of the Sun on route to the Temple of the Moon.  The former is not open to the public, archaeological work on it having not progressed far due to funding and the size of the project, Chan Chan and the Temple of the Moon having been prioritized.

Temple of the Sun (taken from Temple of the Moon)

Why prioritize the Temple of the Moon over the Temple of the Sun?  Archeologically, the former is probably more important because the Moche civilization believed that the moon was more powerful than the sun.  They could sometimes see the moon during the day but could never see the sun during the night.  They understood that a relationship between the moon and the tides was important to fishing.  The sun made things hot and dry.

We hiked up to the Palace of the Moon, the surrounding landscape so arid it seemed like the surface of the moon.

One of the first stops was the site of sacrificial ceremonies.  Two teams of soldiers would battle each other in the arena that included a symbolic rocky outcrop at one end. 

The objective of the match was to capture, not kill, members of the other team.  At the end of the contest the losers were stripped naked, given large quantities of a drink that tranquilized them, then beheaded using a ceremonial knife called a tumi. Their blood was collected and after various rituals, poured into the ground to give it life.

One of our guides was very passionate about the perception that this was barbaric.  His stance was that life was incredibly difficult in this arid land.  Life was the most precious gift that the people could give the gods in celebration of their continued existence.

We explored other parts of the palace, the size of it impressive both because it was done with primitive tools and by a subsistence economy that valued the work so much that it was willing to support a huge labor force.

It is believed that brick makers marked their bricks with their unique pattern.

The head of "The God of the Mountains"

Layered construction, increasing the size of the tomb within the palace every time a new king was buried there.

The Mural of the Myths (left side of above picture)

Winners (top) and losers (bottom) of sacrifice competition.

"God of the Mountains" - the image in lower right corner, not the person in reflection.

Throughout this post, I have commented on the arid conditions of the area and how the Moche civilization was able to survive in it.  The following is a picture I took of a picture that helps explain the geographic circumstances that made living here possible.

It was interesting that the Chan Chan and Sun/Moon Palaces were relatively earthquake-proof because of their mud brick construction. The 'give' between the bricks collectively served as a shock absorber.   

Unlike the tour in Guayaquil, Ecuador, that while interesting I did not find engaging, I found the Chan Chan and Moche portions of today's tour fascinating.      

Within minutes of leaving port, SIRENA was back in thick fog with the temperature dropping back into the mid-60's.