Trujillo and Chan Chan

After another 3 hrs in the desert we reach the town of Trujillo.
The city centre is characterised by colourful colonial buildings.

Some of the best are found in the main square.

We elected Trujillo as point of departure to visit 2 of the most important ruins in the north of Peru’: The temple of Sun and Moon and the ruins of Chan Chan.

The temple of the sun was close as they were still carrying out major excavation, therefore we focused on the temple of the moon.

We sadly discovered that, like most of the ruins in north of Peru’, also this temple was sacked by huaqueros (tomb riders) before the authorities intervened.

(angry Ae apaec)

This temple is made of different layers. In fact the Moche used to build a new temple over an old one, probably after the death of the current ruler. It was almost a change of regime sanctioned by the construction of new temple and of course bathed in human blood with sacrificial rites.

Even though partially covered by scaffolding, we were able to admire the north wall of the 5^th temple. The wall was beautifully carved and painted with seven rows showing the different levels of importance in the Moche society, from war prisoners to the God of Gods, Ae apaec.

It is from the top of this temple that the ruler of the time used to address the crowd, performing human sacrifices in the attempt to stop the wrath of the God (likely to be the storms brought by el Nino).

Greeting us at this temple was a rare exemplar of hairless Peruvian dog.

Beside the lack of hair this dog is also known for its high body temperature (40 degrees).

This dog was thought to have therapeutic qualities to cure rheumatism by the Moche .

We then moved north of town to visit the ruins of Chan Chan.

This was the capital of the Moche’s realm.

It appears that the Moche used to rely heavily on fishing in the sea. For this reason the majority of the decorations on the walls celebrate fish and fishing.

The rhomboid carvings, for example, represent fishing nets.

These ruins spread over a huge area and yet there is only one guard to ensure security in the site.

Most importantly these walls are subject to erosion from winds and floods brought by el Nino.
We are told that the area has dramatically changed in the last 30 years. At this pace the Chan Chan ruins will probably disappear by the end of the century.

The tour ended with a visit at the town of Huanchaco.
The locals are still fishing using the same technique and the same small boats that the Moche used.
Today the fishermen are however sharing the waves with surfers coming from all around the world.