The sail in was similar to my last visit in 2015, the
look of low hanging fog over the shore but my guess is blowing sand and dust
considering the huge sand dunes in the distance. In 2015 there were an
astronomical number of pelicans in the harbor...on this sail-in very few
pelicans were to be found. At the port gate, Ann, Cathy and I hired a taxi
driver, Carlos who took us on an archaeological adventure. We started out visiting the Huaca del Sol and
Huaca de la Luna, the Temples of the Sun and Moon at the Moche archaeological
site on the northern coast of Peru. The mysterious Moche culture was centered
here from AD 100 to 900. The wall art of the Moche people is outstanding and
really something to see. Next, we visited the well-preserved temples of Huaca
Arco Iris. From there we drove to downtown Trujillo and walked around the Plaza
del Armas. Beautiful colonial buildings found here include the cathedral, City
Hall, the offices of the National University of Trujillo, and homes, as well as
the Hotel El Libertador. The beautiful Saint Augustine Cathedral dates back to
the 16th century. Then it was off to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Chan
Chan complex, the capital of the Chimu civilization. Only one of the temples is
open to visitors and it is massive. The
complex was built around AD 1300 and covers approximately 20 sq km, Chan Chan
is the largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas and the largest adobe city in
the world. We visited the impressive restored Palacio Nik, a complex with
intricate designs...an amazing site. Our last stop, was to the picturesque
fishing village of Huanchaco where we saw the famous cabillitos de totora, or
“little reed horses”, small boats made of reed that the local fishermen
essentially ride like horses over the waves. They have been used by Peruvian
fishermen for many years and seem to work quite well despite their rather
insubstantial appearance. We walked the Huanchaco pier, did a little shopping
and returned to the ship...a great day!
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