2020 Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage, Salaverry, Peru, Part 2 of 2

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!