We woke to another sunny mountain morning and piled on to the bus at about 8:00, after a breakfast of rolls and coffee. The bus drove once more through Huaraz and started up a (you guessed it) twisting, switchback gravel road through small hamlets and fields to a pass atop the Cordillera Negra. This mountain chain runs parallel to the west with the Cordillera Blanca and is a nice place for a final look at the high Andes.

We continued over the pass. Our road narrowed and dove into a deep canyon on the western pacific side of the range. The environment was dry and sagey, and the going was slow. My roadmap showed the distance from Huaraz to Yautan, the village where the pavement started, as 99 kilometers, but the bus required 6 dusty hours to get there. Our guide claimed the road would be paved by this time next year, way too optimistic if you ask me. The road hung on the north side of the canyon for most of the way and the view from the left side of the bus was bracing. There was very little traffic on the road, but we did meet the daily Chimbote-Huaraz bus at a precipitous spot in the road, and had to back up 100 feet or so along the high guardrail-less road to avoid a standoff. About 2/3 of the way down the canyon we passed through a funeral that was proceeding from a small village to a graveyard further down the canyon. The bus rudely disrupted the group, which had no choice but to walk on the road because of the narrow canyon, and I felt very unhappy that we were so disrespectful. In the early afternoon, we made a short stop at the largest town on the road, Pariacoto. Posters hung near the town center announced the arrival of computers and the Internet with pictures of huge radio telescope dishes pointed to the sky. “Talk with your friends around the world.” the poster promised. It seems like an encouraging sign to me that so many people attach value to connecting with one another across continents and cultures.

After another 15 Kilometers of dusty bumpy road the bus found some smooth blacktop, and we cruised out of the mountains and into a new world of grayish white sand dunes. Soon the terrain became utterly barren, with nothing growing from the sands other than scattered rocks arranged in a random but strangely uniform pattern. Further along the road we saw clusters of scrub bushes maybe 30 feet in diameter and spaced 200 feet apart again in an oddly regular pattern. In the distance were tall mountains that appeared to be made of sand. The air was the hazy and humid but rather cool for the desert, typical of the Peruvian coastline. I found the area fascinating to travel through.

We came upon an area of green irrigated fields at a town aptly named Buena Vista, and continued to our next stop, the 2500 year old site of Sechín (Seh*CHEEN). The bus stopped at a picnic area near the ruins in a pleasant grove of trees, where we ate a late box lunch. After a quick look at the on site museum, Sharon and I explored the ruins themselves. First we climbed the steep hill behind the ruins, and I had an insight of why this culture chose to settle here. The area around the ruins out to a distance of 3-5 miles was green and fertile, the land beyond was dry and lifeless. The Rio Sechín and other rivers spilled from the mountains across the dry floor of the Peruvian desert before draining into the pacific, giving the ancient inhabitants the opportunity to practice intensive agriculture with irrigation. There were a dozen other oasis similar to this one along the Peruvian coastline, and many hosted remarkable civilizations. I was reminded of other areas of the world where great civilizations had sprung up, the Fertile Crescent of modern day Iraq, the Nile valley, the Indus. All these places were green river-fed aberrations in an otherwise barren desert. It seems to me that there is something about concentrating a population in a limited fertile area surrounded by more hostile land that sparks an impulse to culture in humanity. I hadn’t really thought of history quite that way until this moment.

We climbed down the hill and examined the remains of the temple of Sechín. I had read about the carvings I was to find before I had left home, so I was somewhat prepared for what I was to find. The surviving outer walls of the temple were about 10 feet high and wrapped around the central enclosure for about 400 linear feet. Gleefully carved into the walls of the temple were heads, arms, legs, torsos, eyeballs, and other odd pieces of anatomy. Pretty much anything that could be hacked off a body was displayed on the temple. The heads were stacked neatly on top of each other, six high, The arms and legs seemed to be more haphazard. Wavy lines, probably representing blood spurted out of severed limbs and heads. Happy Sechín solders with clubs and pillbox hats were displayed looking proudly over the stony carnage. All this was rendered without the slightest hint of compassion or pity. YUK! I think it is usually a bad idea to judge the morality standards of older cultures by modern sensibilities, but I could not help thinking as I turned my back on this monument to inhumanity that the world is a better and happier place without this bunch around.

Having had our fill of Sechín, our group boarded the bus and drove west the final few kilometers to the Pan-American Highway. We turned right and headed north through more coastal desert. We passed through the great fishing port of Chimbote and passed through a tunnel into more desert. Calling this area barren seems like an understatement. Miles to the east only loose blowing sand could be seen in the hazy twilight. In the far distance stark sandy mountains climbed thousands of feet. Plastic trash lined the highway near the road and blew out into the dunes to the east. There may be a lot of recycling money to be made along the desert roads of Peru, if someone can work out the economics. Staring out at the sandy spaces outside the bus window I began to notice shacks built along the highway, in what looked to me like wasteland. Some didn’t even seem to have real walls, just straw mats. I wondered what level of despair would drive someone to live in a place like this in an area so barren. What value could this land possibly hold for even the poorest of Peruvians. A few kilometers further down the road I think I began to understand. Rows of small evergreen trees, battered by wind and sand, watered perhaps by tank trucks, started to appear along the road. Sometimes behind the trees small fields of crops like cotton seemed to huddle behind the wind block trees. It appeared to me as though these people were attempting to homestead the desert and make it bloom. Pure tangible green optimism in the middle of nowhere, growing from nothing, redefining the possible. I suddenly developed a new respect for the people living in those huts. If I ever make it back that way again, I hope I can stop and chat, to understand better what they are trying to accomplish.

After a long day of travel, we pulled into Trujillo, a vibrant city of 800,000, about ½ hour after dark, and found our rooms at the El Conquistador hotel, near the central plaza. Sharon and I went out to explore and get something to eat with Judi and Larry. We happened to find ourselves walking along with a political parade supporting Alan Garcia, one of the candidates for president in the upcoming election. We settled in to eat at a restaurant called Del Marco. I checked out their Pollo Saltado and sampled the local beer, both very good. After a trip to a grocery store for water we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.

***

Some additional notes about this day: written by... Sharon McAllister

The first note in my journal for this day was that breakfast included a couple cheese slices courtesy of Larry. (Thank you Larry!) After several days of coffee, panocitas and juice, it was so nice to have a bit of protein with the morning meal.

A real highlight for me today was the opportunity to take some photos early in the morning of locals milling around while I watched the village of Monterrey "wake up". I simply love observing daylight's first kisses to the ground!

Before leavig Monterrey, I took some photos of native dress; and, then as we drove through the city of Huaraz, I photographed the fruit and vegetable market from the bus window. We spent a good bit of travel time on the bus, and passed stunning scenery as we climbed into the Andes from Huaraz.

On the other side of the mountain the scenery changed dramatically, although we did pass through an area about 4000 feet with lots of vegetation: sugar cane, bananas, apple trees, corn, avocado, passion fruit were all growing. Then, at about 3000 feet the scenery turned bleak. I was amazed to see how a river valley totally changed the environment.

Along the way, we enjoyed a box lunch of yucca, chicken rolled with spinach and a yellow sauce before exploring the ruins at Sechín. I skipped the salad.

Even having read about Sechín prior to our visit, I found the site shocking. I suppose birds of a feather flock together and after seeing the gruesome, gory scenes displayed on the walls surrounding Sechín, I decided I didn't belong with that group! One of the members of the group described the victims as having "bad hair" that was left loose and flying about. The line drawings really were quite stylized and body parts were tossed about in frightening visual disarray. One thing I liked…the altitude was 1400 feet and it was easy to walk the path up the tall hill that provided an aerial view of the ruins.

Dinner was at DeMarco's (Pizarro 725) - Ray ordered DeMarco's chicken (Pollo Saltado) and I ordered chicken with french fries. My large chicken breast was fabulously fresh. Ray ordered two beer and I had a Fanta. Judi ordered a pizza and Larry had "chocolate wound". Demarco's service was good, friendly and perhaps just a little slow. By the way, Demarco's has an extensive array of desserts and I highly recommend the food. The place was busy and filled with locals. Dinner cost for Sharon and Ray, including tip - S/.50 ($16 US)

A sea of taxicabs was everywhere. Pizarro Street was loud, noisy with honking horns and the political rally for Alan Garcia just added to the confusion.

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Sunday, May 28, 2006 written by... Ray McAllister

I woke up bright and early Sunday morning before I knew it chugged a bottle of water, then another one, after which I staggered back to bed. Sharon encouraged me into the breakfast buffet, and I managed to consume some coffee, rolls and breakfast meats, but inside I felt like I had been hit a Peruvian imperial class bus. Sharon and I eventually realized I was suffering from dehydration and exhaustion. I spent the next few days in a fuzzy state of mind. Let’s see what I can remember.

I joined the rest of the group on the bus at about 8:30 and we proceeded to our first stop of the day, the Huaca de la Luna an adobe pyramid located in the Southeastern outskirts of Trujillo. This area was developed by the Moche culture, the people responsible for the signature ceramics of pre-Hispanic Peru found in many museums. Nearby the Huaca de la Luna stood the remnants of the Huaca del Sol, once much larger than the Huaca de la Luna, but now almost completely leveled by the Spanish and treasure hunters. Ric mentioned the Spanish had redirected a nearby river into the pyramid in their mad search for gold. We found the the gray-brown adobe bricks of the Huaca de la Luna standing 150 feet or so high above us in the vague shape of a pyramid. We followed the path towards the top behind our Trujillo guide, Mercedes. Metal sheds and straw mats protected the top of the pyramid. Within we found excavated walls painted in red and white in diagonal, diamond shaped patterns. Painted fierce demonic faces snarled from the wall patterns. After 20 minutes of explanations lost on me we moved to a lower area and viewed a freshly uncovered wall of complex symbology. I had not seen anything like it in my research before the trip. Mercedes told us it had not yet been decrypted by professional archeologists, so for the moment it’s anybody’s guess what the scene is about.

After a quick stop at the gift shop, the group visited another ancient site close to the ocean, a place called Dragón or the rainbow temple. I stayed on the bus and slept while the rest of the group looked around. After this stop we headed for the beach resort town of Huanchaco for a buffet lunch of fresh seafood. After lunch we visited the beach, and was treated to a demonstration by a local boatman of the caballitos, small traditional reed boats used by fishermen in the area. For the rest of day we hiked around the huge site of Chan Chan, also near the ocean. This ancient city was distinguished by adobe walls decorated with sea otters and diagonal shapes, said to represent fishing nets. Along with human security personnel Chan Chan and the other ruins we visited along the coast, the sites are guarded by distinctive Peruvian hairless dogs, actually quite friendly to visitors. These dogs are found illustrated on 2000-year-old ceramics and were declared a national treasure of the Peruvian government in 1986. They are now kept at archeological sites to insure the breed is preserved, a living reminder of the past to complement the adobe remnants. After we arrived at the El Conquistador for the evening, I was too exhausted for dinner and went straight to bed.

***

Some additional notes about this day: written by... Sharon McAllister

The brilliant colorful murals at Huaca de la Luna delighted my visual sensitivities. So much so that I didn't notice right away that Ray was acting quite sluggish. One of the gals in our group, Sheila, asked me if Ray was alright and although I had noticed him sitting down whenever he could, it hadn't registered in my mind that he simply was not feeling well. So, after Sheila's remarks, Ray, Judi and I discussed his condition a bit. He said he felt exhausted and simply had no energy. He was also quite thirsty and commented how it was really strange to be feeling so tired now that we were at sea level and commented that he had felt so great up in the mountains. He was puzzled how this could be happening to someone who did so well hiking in the Cordillera Blanca just days before. Judi mentioned she felt the same way when she became dehydrated in Mali (West Africa). So, I mixed up a small packet of powdered Gatorade, which I happened to have with me in my daypack, into one of my water bottles and offered it to Ray. He drank up and felt a little better about thirty minutes later. This wasn't enough to fix the problem: the next several days were spent working to get him properly hydrated and back to his normal energy level.

We walked all through the ruins at Huaca de la Luna. Woven mat walls protect the ruins from encroaching sand dunes. Modern-day archaeologists believe the ancient Moche walls around the pyramids (huacas) were built intentionally to stop the sand. The tour entered from the rear of the pyramid where we passed an altar. Once inside the moon temple we saw intricate and colorful friezes from various Moche periods. The Moche practiced "redecorating" by filling in and covering up old walls, then building a new adobe wall to decorate. I enjoyed being able to see the variety of artistic styles and symbolism presented from the various time frames. The way the site has been excavated it is possible to make several side-by-side comparisons.

The most interesting section was in a newly excavated area, which had just been uncovered last November. I took some great overview shots of the murals and was very much anticipating the ability to get a closer look. Well, that entire area was blocked off from tourists and I was quite disappointed. So, I discussed with Ric, our tour leader, if it would be possible to head back to that area to take a few more photographs. He said yes, and that I would miss the opportunity for shopping. Well, that was a difficult decision; I simply love to collect pottery and the opportunity to purchase some replicas of the pre-Colombian Moche pieces was very high on my shopping list. Yet, push come to shove, I figured I would have another chance to shop, and would probably never come this way again. Ric indicated I would have about 15 to 20 minutes. Ray lingered behind with me. I set up my monopod, and grabbed some detail shots of the murals. Then, we rushed back to the bus.

Well, no one else was on the bus except for Dave, so I figured I would have some shopping time after all. Ah, an opportunity to collect some pottery! I purchased two pieces of pottery -- high fired ceramic Moche replicas with interesting shapes and designs. I could already envision them happily coexisting with the rest of our collection. Oh, and I purchased two stone necklaces! Well, I made it back to the bus again, and; although a few more folks had finished their shopping, I was certainly not the last to make it back. Judi had the unfortunate place of last in line in the little shop and was the last to board the bus; although, she did have the very good fortune of owning some great new earrings! Judi apologized for her lateness and no one minded -- everyone understood the situation inside the small shop. I had made my purchases outdoors where vendors had their goods spread out on tables; so I was able to complete my shopping quite rapidly. Back on the bus, we all had a good time showing off our purchases.

One note for others considering a trip to Trujillo's archaeological treasures: our guide mentioned that mornings are a nice time to visit this site because there tends to be a nice breeze in the morning and in the afternoon the heat of the sun and blowing sand can become quite brutal.

Mercedes, our guide, also encouraged us to drink Peruvian beer produced by the Backus Corporation because the company funds a non-profit foundation, which benefits Peru's archeological sites. So, drink up…. Pilsen Trujillo and Cusqueño brands and make a toast to archeology! The Pilsen is a great ale and I highly recommend it if you like a somewhat dry ale. Cusqueño is somewhat sweeter.

So, after a morning spent exploring Huaca de la Luna and learning about the Mochica culture, our next stop at El Dragón complex introduced us to the Chimú culture. The wall decorations here are bas-relief images on adobe walls and depict rainbows; hence the common name, "Rainbow Temple" or "Huaca del Arco Iris". The shopping offered here was not as fine quality as Huaca de la Luna, so I was quite happy I had purchased the two pieces I did. I did buy a few wall plaques with Chimú designs - one featured a stylized sea otter and the other a pelican. If Ray was going to miss-out on a stop, he made a good choice since he was able to see an expansive Chimú site in the afternoon.

Lunch at Big Ben, alongside the Pacific coast in Huanchaco, was a three-course buffet. It included a large array of choices: first course was cervice, main course was fish and the dessert was ice cream. S/. 67 ($24.11 US) for the two of us. I think we each had water to drink.

We enjoyed a short, pleasant stroll along the beach in Huanchaco and watched a man demonstrate using a caballito, which is a traditional one-man fishing boat.

After this lunch break we traveled the short distance to Chan Chan. Nothing prepared me to anticipate the large scale of this mud-brick complex, which covers 15 square kilometers! Although the site at Chan Chan we visited covered a large area, the ancient Chimú city sprawls for miles. Only a small portion is open to tourists.

Ray skipped out on dinner and a group of us walked over to DeMarco's. I already knew my meal was going to be Torta de Chocolate, "Chocolate Wound" on the English Menu. While we were at dinner some young musicians came into the restaurant and entertained us. It was a wonderful evening! After dinner, one of the members in our group, Esther, helped me purchased some re-hydration salts for Ray at a pharmacy. Ray began a daily dose of treated water. And, after about three days of this regimen, he began to feel like himself again. (There is some good information on dehydration/re-hydration here: http://www.answers.com/topic/dehydration ) I cannot stress the importance of drinking enough water at high altitude. I think the combination of the physical activity of the hike and a general lack of fluid intake simply caught up with Ray. The biggest symptoms Ray had were thirst and sluggishness/exhaustion.

We walked back to the plaza and photographed the plaza, the cathedral and some of the well-lit colonial buildings. I think it is a shame we did really have proper time to enjoy Trujillo's colonial architecture.

By the way, the first night in Trujillo most everyone in our 16-member tour ate at the hotel and had been very disappointed. So, someone had asked Mercedes where she might recommend for dinner. Top on her list was DeMarco's and almost everyone from the group ate dinner there! Janie, Ric's wife, had half a vegetarian pizza she did not eat; so I brought this back for Ray. He was not interested in eating, so I put it in the refrigerator we had in our room. He did gladly drink an entire liter of the water I had mixed with re-hydration salts.

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Come visit with Ray and Sharon at http://travelerstogo.com/ by posting your follow-up questions in the Carribean, Mexico, Central & South American forum. Sharon's alias is Sharon Mc1, and she is the destination moderator for that forum -- Ray's alias is alpacamack. We both love talking about travel!

Sharon recently wrote a practical travel guide for the Peruvian and Bolivian high Andes. It was a great deal of fun to write and she particularly enjoyed writing the restaurant reviews. Here is the link:

http://p104.ezboard.com/feuropetogofrm21.showMessage?topicID=40.topic

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Articles in this series include:

Being Optimistic in Northern Peru - 2006 -- This is an introductory overview to our northern Peru trip. http://www.worldisround.com/articles/304049/index.html

The Santa Cruz Trek - Cordillera Blanca - http://www.worldisround.com/articles/304050/index.html

A Day in Lima and the Drive to Huaraz - http://www.worldisround.com/articles/304051/index.html

Huascarán National Park & Yungay -- http://www.worldisround.com/articles/305785/index.html

Huaraz and Chavín de Huantar -- http://worldisround.com/articles/309031/index.html

Trujillo: Sechin, Moche and Chimu sites -- http://worldisround.com/articles/309039/index.html

Chiclayo - Sipán Archaeology & Museum -- http://www.worldisround.com/articles/309158/index.html

Chachapoyas, Kuelap & Leymebamba -- work is in progress and will be available soon

Celendín and Cajamarca -- work is in progress and will be available soon

Lima -- work is in progress and will be available soon

Trip planning resources -- work is in progress and will be available soon

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