Huanchaco and Lima

After Chacapoyas I got an overnight to Trujillio and went to stay in the near by fishing village/up and coming surf town/Peruvian holiday resort - Huanchaco. I really enjoyed Huanchaco because of the chilled out vibe, not too many gringos and I was in a really friendly hostal (Hostal Neylamp).

Below is the fishermans boats (Balsilla) made from reeds:

Around Trujillo there is a lot of sites to see. I went to see the Chan Chan adobe brick city which is near Huanchaco. You have to walk for a km or so off the main road through the ruins of the city before you arrive to the museum:

I didn´t want to pay for a guide on my own so I just wandered round the city alone. It is really interesting but I couldn´t work out if it had been rebuilt or just uncovered. I think rebuilt in some places which is a shame but I suppose it doesn give you more of an idea of what it was like. Here is some pictures from around the site:

The internal reservoir:

A crypt where the king and wives I think were found:

In the afternoon I had a surf lesson, private 2hrs. It was really fun and I managed to stand up and even managed to catch a wave on my own a couple of times. I will have to have some more lessons, maybe in Oz.

On Sunday I decided to go to Huaces del Sol y de la Luna which are remenants of the Moche culture (pre Chan Chan). I went wrong and stayed on the bus too long and ended up the wrong side of Trujillo. I started to walk back towards the right side but it was quite far and then I had an attempted mugging. Two guys on a moped blocked my path and held their hand up their top to pretend they had a knife, I knew they didn`t. They shouted for my rucksack but I just pushed them, fought free and ran after hurling some good English abuse back at them. I then got in a taxi and from now on I will ask when I`m lost.

The sites were astonishing though, the Huaces de la Luna is being excavated ongoingly and they can`t afford to open the Huaces del Sol. They both resemble huge mounds of sand but apparently Huaces del Sol stood at 43mts tall and was constructed in 3days and was were the government was. Huaces de la Luna was the religious building and inside there are numerous temples built on top of and around each other like a pyramid. Apparently they built a new temple everytime the king changed so the former temples were buried and preserved excellently. You can still see the wall paintings. Also, nothing in this site has been reconstructed so it is all original which I liked. Also, they don`t let you go around on your own so a guide is included in the ticket price and I had my own English speaking guide - bonus!

Some pictures from the site:

The adobe blocks had markings put into them to signify which family they belonged to:

You can see in this one two different temples:

Huaces del Sol in the background of this picture and in the front is foundations of the surrounding town which was (back in the time) huge.

Layers of temple:

Apparently they used to get warriors to fight and whoever lost was then sacraficed by the priests and the king. Interestingly they seemed pretty sure there were female priests. Below is the ramp for the king to enter the inside of the temple where the sacrofices would have occured and public members wouldn´t have been allowed.
Back in Huanchaco the sunset:

I spent my time in Huanchaco hanging out with various different people, it was a really friendly place. The first night I was invited to a girl called Sabina´s birthday party even though I only met her 5mins prior. The second night I hung out with a bunch of surfers and attempted to follow the conversation and then watched Motercycle Diaries with them all which I thourally enjoyed. The third night I had dinner with a mulitcultural group: 4 Canadians, 1 French, 1 Sweedish and an Italian. It was very pleasent. I really enjoyed Huanchaco, it was so chilled and had great seafood (cebiche - raw fish marinated in lime juice) and lovely people.

I left Monday night to go to Lima and find Alexa. I arrived early Tuesday morning so had all day to wander round the old town. I´m not a fan of Lima. It´s a big, noisy, ugly city where I don´t feel at all safe. The men are more pushy and annoying than anywhere else I´ve been. I had one particularly annoying one who spoke very good English but had no idea of what personnel space is and how not to invade it and who followed me for 15mins at least until I actually ran away. Here are some pictures of the prettiest bits in the old town.

The Cathedral on Plaza de Armas:

Comforting...

Government Palace:

Old post office:

The outskirts:

Alexa didn`t actually arrive until the 4th because of snowy England but we promptly moved hostels from crummy central Lima to the Miami like suburb - Miraflores. It´s hot and expensive here and I want to leave but I am excited to have a Bone...even if she is snoring!