Once landed in Trujillo, we were bundled into a waiting taxi by a very eager taxi driver, with a car that looked like it was selotaped together and we drove the 20 minute journey into Huanchaco. I don't think the sight of a turquiose-blue ocean appearing in the horizon with ever get old. We had asked the taxi driver to bring us to a hostel called Chill Out, as recommended in The Lonely Planet. But, true to form, the Loney Planet was yet again outdated; the hostel was not only closed, but when we buzzed the buzzer just to make sure, a man answered and said "oh no, this is my house now, I'm renovating it". So much for the "pool, great food and good ol' Scottish welcome" we were hoping for. So again, we had to haul ass with our backpacks around town to find somewhere decent that wasn't going to charge us the price on one kidney. The taxi driver had given us a flyer for Plazza's hostel, so we went there; super friendly receptionist who smiled alot and spoke in rapid Spanish but she showed us our room, pretty decent-ish for the equivalent of about $6.50 per night. The bedside lockers were broken, the lamps didn't work and there was an ever-present concerning smell of urine from the bathroom, but we said "hey, it's grand for a few night's, we'll probably just fall asleep on the beach anyway".
So having arrived there, checked in and settled ourselves by 9am that morning, we immediately donned the flip flops and walked along the sea front and decided surfing was going to be today's main activity, seeing as the waves were more like the waves you see people actually surfing in as opposed to the waves in Mancora which just allowed people to gently bodyboard themselves into shore. Saying that though, the bigger, stronger waves made it more difficult to actually paddle out to them without getting knocked off or carried back to shore! With the help of a good teacher and a full length wetsuit (man, the sea is MUCH colder this far south!), we did pretty well, standing up and everything, and I even managed to stand up and ride the wave all the way back to shore, where a group of Pelicans were waiting there open-mouthed in case I brought with me the daily catch.
Huanchaco beach, adorned with traditional fishing "canoes" |
As reward for our Kelly Slater-style surf skills, we treated ourselves to the amazing Ceviche (did I mention it before? Raw white fish marinaded in lime juice, chilis and onions, delicious!!) before sunning ourselves the beach once again. We bumped into Connor and Jake, too Americans who were basically following the surf route of South America who we joined for dinner at a, you guessed it, American-style burger place called, predictably enough Surfer Burger. Amazing burgers though it has to be said. Condsidering the much quieter nightlife though and the fact that both American boys were under 21 meant that it was up to Kev and me to keep the bars in profit and we enjoyed a nice few cold brews as night fell.
Day 2, we figured we'd get up off our sandy bums and actually do some sightseeing. We took a local bus, again looking like it was welded together with pieces of an old Lada and arrived again in the city of Trujillo. From there we caught an even smaller bus (the size of one of those miniature people carriers), into which some screeching ushers manage to pack about 15 people to the settlement (I wouldn't call it a town!) of Moche, where there were two archaeological sights; Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol - to me and you, known as the Temple of the Moon and Temple of the Sun. Moche is very much a desert settlement, about 5kms away from the coast and it gets HOT out here. Huaca del Sol, a pyramid-shaped structure made from millions of Adobe bricks now resembles a giant mount of sand, but it's currently under excavation, so all we got to see was the outside as we drove by. Huaca de la Luna cost us 10 Soles to get in, and from the outside it just looks like an archaeological site surrounded by some corrugated iron walls / rooves to protect it from the wind and sun. "Great" i thought, "more tourist entrapment here to see a piece of clay that was once part of someone's water jug". But I was very wrong. Being showed around by our guide, we were taught about the Moche people, dating back to before the Incas even, who built this big temple as a human sacrifical temple; people were sacrificed in one part of the chamber (skeletons have been found with horrific wound inflictions on the bones), their bones were placed in another chamber as an offering to the gods, their blood was collected in a chalice and carried by the peoples' Leader up to a kind of platform at the very top of the temple where he would have drank the blood in front of the thousands of citizens in the courtyard below. Grim stuff, very much like Indiana Jones, but the piece de resistance is kept for the end of the tour, where you're shown an entire wall, 7 stories high that has been excavated from the sand to display the 7 different levels of the temple, the outside wall of each adorned with beautiful intricate stone carvings of animals, people, snakes, spiders and the personification of the executioner god, all coloured in bright reds, yellows, blues and blacks. Our American companions on our tour didn't seem too impressed, but we loved it. All this excavation is being done outside of government funding and is being funded mostly by smaller organisations and educational groups. Kudos I say, kudos.
Huaca de la Luna |
The next day we just ambled around Trujillo itself, which unexpectedly turned out to be really pretty, with it's large square surrounded by brightly coloured colonial buildings and churches, complete with the obligatory impressive statue and fountain in the centre. We were treated to the spectacle of local girls, in traditional dress, displaying some traditional Latin dancing. And randomly enough, everyone here seems to drive old Volkswagen beetles!! It's a feast for the eyes for any Bug-lover!
Trujillo Plaza del Armes |
That evening we returned to Huanchaco and had ourselves a beer (aptly named Trujillo) on the beach while watching what was one of the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen. Tucking into a cold brew while watching the sky turn from hazy blueish yellow, to burnt orange, to warm pink , to red and eventually to a purplish black was a great way to end the day.
Huanchaco sunset |
Where we stayed: Hostal Plazza's (so bad it HAS no website!)
How much?: 15 Soles (around $6) per person per night, double room, private bathroom
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