What with the disaster taking place in Cusco and the impossibility to make it to Machu Picchu recently, our dear visitors from Maine bowed their heads and submitted themselves to our better judgment.   Well, we surprised them….we headed in the opposite direction!

Trujillo makes a most appropriate scene for the Marinera festival each year which is usually held the last week in January. It is summer, the weather is very pleasant, the local people are very hospitable, and there are lots of things to see and do. Restaurants abound including places like Chelsea, very British and delicious, El Romano Criollo, El Gran Chimú, and dozens of great criollo (Peruvian dishes) that prepare dishes typical of the area.

Trujillo is quite a drive by private vehicle, about 550 kms. north of Lima. You can fly there in about 90 minutes from Lima for $270 round trip, or you can take a bus with declining seats and air conditioning for under $60 dollars round trip for 9 hours, watch TV,  read, snack, and relax. If you are a tourist, you can even look out the window and be amazed at how much desert Peru has on the coast.

Naturally, the Marinera Festival is a special treat as you can witness more than 1,200 couples competing in age brackets from little tots to old, rhythmic fogies (Master category). The Chimú stadium is relatively small, and you feel like you are dancing with them. If you want more details regarding Peru´s most popular folkdance, its origin and legends, check the website at the bottom.

As to the city itself, it is rich in colonial architecture and there are dozens of original structures to visit and admire. My favourite spot is the main plaza, the Plaza de Armas, where you should sit in the evening after dinner and just watch the people walk by. It is very clean, and the old buildings are highlighted with soft spotlights. You can appreciate the Trujillo municipality, the Archbishop´s Palace, and the Central Reserve Bank (Casa Urquiaga). The old colonial window grills abound in the plaza as well as adjacent streets, and a stroll in the evening in the immediate area of the plaza is a must.

What will impress you most is the quantity of taxis. Competition is keen, and if you pay more than S/4 Soles, you must look like a tourist. There is no tipping. Tell the driver where, and he will quote you. There are no meters. We have given up on driving to Trujillo with the family car.

There is a small museum near the plaza called the Toy Museum. It is only three rooms in the upstairs of an old house, but fun. I spotted some old lead soldiers that might have been mine. (They don't EVEN sell lead soldiers to kids anymore!).

One place we still have to visit that is highly recommendable is a gas station, yes, a gas station on Nicolás de Píerola 607, about 10 blocks from the plaza, where José Cassinelli started his own museum of pre-Colombian art over 60 years ago.  It is said to contain more than 6,000 pieces, mostly ceramics from local cultures, and it is a worthwhile visit.

Also worth visiting is the Dulcería Doña Carmen on Jr. San Martin 814, a few blocks from the plaza. (10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.) Doña Carmen has been making homemade sweets since 1925 and I regret I didn`t know her sooner. She prepares the best “arroz con leche”, “arroz zambito”, huahueros, mazamorra morada, and a series of things you should order by saying, “give me one of those, and one of those and….” (Déme uno de estos, uno de estos, etc). The area is famous for King Kong, a loaf-like cake with layers of sweet dough combined with fillings of caramel cream, etc. There are stores right near the plaza as well as in Chiclayo where you will find Don Roque´s famous King Kong.

Just 20 minutes from Trujillo by taxi and along the coast, you will find Huanchaco. This is a small beach bum town with great surfing.  Fishermen still use the ancient-styled “caballitos de totora,” or reed boats, that were used by the Chimús 2,300 years ago. In contrast, you will also find hearty young people surfing to their hearts content. There is an old pier to walk out on, and lots of great restaurants serving mostly fish and other local dishes. One of the better ones is Big Ben, right in front of the beach.  Lodging is abundant and cheap.

Huanchaco enjoys some great sunsets, so try to be there after 6:30 p.m. to enjoy. Sipping a pisco sour and appreciating nature´s gift to the tourists is pure delight.

If you are into archaeology and cultural activities, there are ruins galore. The temples of the Sun and Moon, El Brujo, and of course, Chan Chan, one of the largest adobe cities in the world which housed the Chimús. They were conquered by the Incas in the 15th century when the enemy cut off their water supply. It is fascinating to walk around the ruins and appreciate the artwork that luckily was not destroyed by the illiterate Spanish conquerors.  It was also visited by the Chinese before the Incas ever appeared (Chan Chan means long city wall in Mandarin).  In the nearby department of Ancash, there are 105 towns with original Chinese names, and several old timers speak dialects of Chinese!

Just 10 minutes south of Trujillo in a berg called Moche, you will find the temples of the Sun and the Moon. These “huacas,” or holy places, were used for ceremonies as well as cemeteries and were occupied by various cultures that just built on top of the previous one and continued with their own cultures. For years, “huaqueros,” or grave diggers, stole tons of precious artwork which is now in collections all around the world. Luckily in the late 80´s, the tomb of the Lord of Sipán was discovered outside of Chiclayo and properly excavated, and the whole area has now been declared national patrimony and fairly well guarded.

North of Trujillo about one hour off the Pan American Highway you run into giant sugar estates. The Cartavio farm is home to three important “huacas” – the Huaca Prieta, the Huaca Rajada, and the Huaca de la Sra. De Cao. The latter has been excavated and a museum was inaugurated last year which gives you a better idea of the cultures that resided in this sacred area over 2,000 years continuously. The Spaniards even built a church there which was later destroyed and disappeared.

Continuing north to Chiclayo, about 1 ½ hours north, you will find a city bustling with commercial activity and surrounded by thousands of acres of sugar cane and corn, etc. Chiclayo is now the second largest city in Peru after Lima. Just north of the city in the town of Lambayeque, you will find two museums, the old Bruning and the new Royal Tumbes museum of Sipán. The unique structure of the Sipán museum has you walking up to the 3rd floor where you start your visit, and leads you down slowly to lower levels, imitating a real “huaca”. The precious metal pieces, the work done with shells and the weavings will leave you breathless. On the lower level, don't exit the building until you have seen a room where they have robotic figures dressed as the emperors guards and warriors that when activated by a caretaker, start to move and make gestures to an impressed public. The descriptions are ONLY in Spanish!

North of Lambayeque about 20 minutes you will find the ruins of Túcume. There are not a lot of artefacts to see, but you will appreciate the magnitude of the constructed area of these ancient tribes. National Geographic designated over 34 pages to the Sipán discovery, and there have been many articles featured ever since.

What makes all of these remains fascinating is the fact that no Peruvian pre-Columbian culture ever had a written language, and the work of the archaeologists has been difficult and enduring to allow us to appreciate the richness of these pre-Inca ethnic groups that never cease to amaze us.

If you are really ambitious and have time, a side trip to Cajamarca would be a delight. Cajamarca was the first place Pizarro and his soldiers appeared before an Inca ruler, Atahualpa, who, with his men, were so overwhelmed by the sight of bearded men on a strange animal called a horse, that they submitted themselves peacefully. Of course Pizarro saw a golden opportunity and captured Atahualpa. He offered to free him if his followers would bring in works crafted in gold and silver and fill his cell as high as he could reach. True to the character of Pizarro and his illiterate troops, they forgot their promise, killed Atahualpa, and began their long episode called La Conquista del Peru (the Conquest of Peru). We all know the rest of the story.

Cajamarca has beautiful countryside, royal Inca baths, and nearby farms like the Granja Porcón established by Peruvian Evangelists over 30 years ago, which is a small paradise.  Enjoy!

http://www.acap-peru.org/newsletter/2008-12/odds-ends-guardian-angel-found-in-chaclacayo.html