Today, I believe it’s Sunday, is our last day in Northern Peru, which is sad because the last 3 days have been great. This is an area of Peru few turistas visit, which made it feel a little exclusive. The people have been much friendlier, they still gawk at us but don’t run after us poking our arms to buy their crappy souvenirs.

We’re currently in Trujillo, known as La Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera, (The City of Eternal Spring), because of its very sunny and supposedly pleasant weather year-round. It’s 15C right now, and I’m not sure how any self-respecting tropical girl could considerthat pleasant. Amazingly, this is Latitide 8 and Cairns is Latitude 17, so 15C in summer is rather strange to me so much closer to the equator than Cairns.

Trujillo is the most important economic center of northern Peru and an inland commercial and transport centre for the surrounding farmland. In 1800, the city of Trujillo greatly expanded due to extensive irrigated agriculture, fueled primarily by the sugarcane industry. Today asparagus, rice and shoes are the area’s main products. Among the internationally known products of Trujillo, asparagus is exported to neighboring countries, Europe and the United States. The areas around Trujillo are among the largest exporters of white asparagus in the world.

This morning we went to the Moche ruins of Huaca del Sol y Huaca de la Luna (Temples of the Sun and the Moon). The Moche people are pre-Incan, and the two temples stand in front of a white hill. The Huaca de la Luna, though it is the smaller of the two huacas at the site, yields the most archaeological information. The Huaca del Sol was partially destroyed and looted by the Spanish in the 17th century, while the Huaca de la Luna was left relatively untouched.

We didn’t go into the Huaca del Sol, as it is not open for entry. The Huaca de la Luna was spectacular, especially all the vibrant wall murals. Coral and I really enjoyed this place.

We also visited a great ancient city today called Chan Chan. It’s been one of the great highlights of the trip so far. Chan Chan is the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America, and covers 20 km² of adobe brick mud city.

It was founded by the Chimor people in 850AD, who eventually left the city when they were conquered by the Incas in 1470AD. It is believed that 30,000 people lived in the city.

There are 10 separate sections to the city, which are refered to as citadels. They had all sorts of rooms for burial chambers, temples, plazas, water supplies and houses. Each of the 10 have huge walls on the exterior, and the construction is amazing.

They first used adobe brick, which seemed to be made of mud/clay, with small stones and sometimes feathers and straw. Then, the walls are all rendered to make them smooth. This rendering alone must have been a massive job - it costs a fortune to render a house today because of the time it takes! Little holes were also left in various parts of the wall to act as expansion joints in times of eathquakes, which are reasonably common here.

After the rendering lots of intricate designs were carved onto the walls. Because the city is just 1500m from the beach, the styles carved are predictable. Lots of fish and birds, particularly pelicans, and other small mammals. Many of the walls are covered with a fishing net design, which looks stunning.

The city is severely threatened by erosion rain and flooding. We visited just one of the citadels, the Tschudi Complex, as this is the only one significantly excavated.

We’re off to Lima, and then Cusco tomorrow. Exploring the Sacred Valley, and then Machu Picchu.