Oct 3, Monday

Oct 3, Monday

No breakfast in this hotel / hostel, so as I was walking to the historical district I spied a little restaurant with clean tables and floor so that’s where I had breakfast.  I must say that there are days when I really can’t understand what some people are saying.   The vocabulary is different, and some people “eat” their words (like we do sometimes in French).    I could not make out any of the words the lady was using for breakfast items, so I simply asked for scrambled eggs (huevos revueltos) jugo de pina & café con leche.   Perfect !   At least she could understand what I was saying even if I could not understand her.   The tour was in the afternoon, so I had some time to walk around and see the sites.  Visited a historic house where Simon Bolivar once stayed for 3 months as a house guest.  That guy was all over the place !  (Just kidding,  I know history.)   Stopped at the travel agency to finalize the booking of a hotel in Lima for Tuesday.   Got my tour bus and off we went to Chan Chan.   Well actually we went to “Huaca de Arco Iris o Dragon” first;  another archaeological site, and quite impressive

Chan Chan is a huge site that covers approximately 25 square kilometres.   They have only started exploring the main site where the Senor lived.   Senor can mean governor, king, overseer, lord etc. Basically the head honcho who ruled the area.  No one really knows what their titles were.   Although this site was made of adobe like all the others, it is a very sandy mixture because the area is so arid.  The place looks like a huge desert and is located fairly close to the Pacific Ocean.   Most of the structures are still buried under the sand, but this also played a major role in preserving some of the drawings on the walls.   I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Can you see the people at the other end of the walkway ?

After we left Chan Chan, we went to the shores of the Pacific Ocean in a small fishing village, seaside resort called Huanchaco.   This is one of the places where they still use reed boats.

Got back to Trujillo and finally got to see the inside of the Basilica on the main square.  Doors were finally open and they were getting ready to say mass.  

The main square at sundown

Stopped to get some extra cash at a Scotiabank ATM, had chicken and fries at a local rotisserie, and walked back to my hotel.  Should probably have taken a taxi since it was dark by then (almost 8 pm), but I was carrying a grocery bag (juice, water, peanuts and cookies) so I looked like a local walking home after work…..   at least I hope I did.

Early start tomorrow;  have to be at the airport by 7:30 for my 9 am flight to Lima.