Trujillo, Peru

January 14, 2008


The early morning blasting of the fog horn let me know that we were sailing thru dense fog into the port city of Salaverry for our visit to Trujillo, Peru. (pronounced “true-he-yo”). Too early to get up I lay in bed and enjoyed the more than usual rocking of the ship….I think I even drifted back to sleep thinking I was swinging in a hammock on some distant shore. And, indeed I was on distant shores…the shores of Peru.

Leaving the pier for a long day’s adventure at three major archaeological sites the landscape fascinated me. Were we in a desert? The gray sand made me think so. Not seeing a single tree made me think so. Even the high craggy mountain completed covered with a thin layer of sand made me think so. Soon, however, we encountered the Moche River valley and the landscape quickly turned from dusty gray to brilliant shades of green. Crops abounded with various patches separated one from the other with a “fence” or border of ripening corn. A vivid orange-colored flower that resembles a marigold filled field after field. Palms and other low trees shaded half-finished adobe houses. (We learned that these working people build what they can pay for but make the lower level so that they can add another story as they need it and as money allows. Unfortunately few have taken advantage of this advanced planning and thus most of the small homes have a finished lower level with iron re-enforcing rods protruding over the roof awaiting the second story.)These small individual home-sites and farms soon became large commercial “plantations.” If you looked in any directions all you could see were tall and thick stands of sugar cane. Acres and acres and acres of beautiful green grass slowing waving with the ocean breezes, each bordered and separated by fast-flowing and meticulously maintained irrigation canals.

After an hour or so of this every changing landscape, a tree-lined street greeted us at the entrance to the small village of Magdalene de Cao. Perfectly laid out the base of each tree was outlined in an ever-so-tidy circle of small white-washed stones. As I looked down at them from the upper level of our double-decker bus (Our bus driver did a remarkable job of maneuvering that big bus thru the narrow streets…streets definitely not designed for double-decker buses.) the thirty or forty adobe homes of this working village appeared very small. And, indeed, I think the houses were smaller than what we build….the people are smaller and thus they build their houses to their scale. There was one house that stood out from all the rest.

Since all of the houses had flat mud roofs this one particular house with a terra cotta gabled roof behind high adobe walls definitely dominated the landscape. And if its roof wasn’t distinctive enough, the glorious and abundant draping bougainvillea in vivid shades of flaming orange and intense magenta and deep crimson sealed the deal…a special house, indeed.

The village offered even more color. Standing at the edge of the small and charming village square was the equally small and equally charming church with its freshly painted walls of deep ochre trimmed in deep burgundy.

Named for the high priestess of the adjacent historical site, Cao, the people of the village of Magdalene de Cao work at the site or in the sugar cane fields.

As we soon learned, the Moche culture (was the culture named for the river or the river for the culture…I don’t know!) dates from about 100 AD to 800 AD…although the beginning of the end started around 600 AD. El Brujo (the Sorcerer) excavation began in 1990 and continues today. The central Huaca (temple) Cao pyramid is approximately 100 feet tall. Its walls are decorated with colorful reliefs that depict complex representations of scenes, characters and geometric designs. It was here that the grave of the priestess Cao was unearthed. Unfortunately, like so many ruins, looters, both ancient and contemporary, have pilfered much of the site and the large caches of gold and other precious material have been lost forever. Apparently temples were built on top of existing temples. Couple this with the fact that there was no written language at the time and it is easy to understand why there are many questions as to the exact nature of the culture, its rites and rituals. From studying the ruins unearthed so far as well as the drawings found on pottery it is known that much of the culture was based on human sacrifice. As the work continues, more accurate knowledge, will undoubtedly surface.

Later in the day we visited another Mochian site…the Temple of the Sun and The Temple of the Moon. Again, colorful carvings and complex walls, layered one on the other show great skill in depicting this complex way of life.

Our final destination was in Chan Chan citadel, the most important cultural nucleus in the Chimu Nation which existed from around 1000 AD to 1450 AD. It was in Chan Chan that we saw the remains of the largest adobe city in the world. What a vast and impressive place. Only one of nine huge “palaces” is open to tourists and it is complex and beautiful. Located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean the decoration of this enormous palace is dominated by depictions of the sea. Horizontal lines chiseled into the tall walls mimic the ocean waves while borders and bands incorporate stylized sting rays and pelicans. Even fishing nets are represented in large over-scaled lattice patterns found through out the maze of walls and rooms and plazas. Such an impressive place…so much to learn and know!

Throughout the day, I couldn’t help but be touched by the local people. As our large and sometimes clumsy bus invaded these small towns and villages we were constantly greeted by the smiling faces and waving of these colorful and hard-working people. Only the many hairless Peruvian dogs didn’t seem to care or notice that we were in this special place.

Tomorrow we are in the exciting city of Lima…my third visit! I can’t wait to explore more and more of this wonderful country of Peru.