Chan Chan

The photo is of Chan Chan.

I didn't make it all the way to my next destination in one day. As I said, the main way to travel for backpackers is night buses, but mostly I won't take them. You can only go directly to Trujillo from Mancora if you leave at night. Most backpackers will tell you that you can ONLY leave at night, because that's the ONLY time the buses leave. But they have no imagination. You can always hop on a bus heading the direction you want to go, even if its only going to the next major town. Then you may need to switch to the next major town and so on. It takes longer than the direct bus, but if you want to get moving in the direction you choose, you usually can.

So I caught the bus to Piura, where I changed to Chiclayo. I got to Chiclayo mid afternoon and decided to stop moving for the day. Funny thing is on the way to Belgium this time, on the "flight progress" on the TV screen of the plane there was Chiclayo. When they showed the large world map, of all places in Peru, Chiclayo showed up and I had been there. It really was just a stopover town for me, but was nice enough. Mostly I remember the dinner I had of a half roasted chicken, fries and a frozen lemonade.

The next day I made it to Trujillo where I spent two nights before heading to Lima. I stayed in a place one block off the main square that was a wonderful little tranquil oasis in the middle of a bustling city. Charming rooms off a large courtyard which drowned out the city noises and for only 8 USD. Both nights I was in Trujillo I went to the movies. I saw 300 (for the second time) and Proof of Faith. During the whole day I had there I went to Huanchaco and Chan Chan.

Chan Chan is known as the largest mud brick city in the world. It was the capital of the Chimu people, another (as opposed to the Incas) pre Hispanic culture that flourished between 850 AD and 1470 AD. It was massive, and wonderful to wander around, because it was practically deserted. I have been to Egypt and liked it BUT all the ruins were WAY too crowded.

Huanchaco is the beach suburb of Trujillo that is very nice. It is famous for fishing boats made of reeds. They line the beach and I think are still partially used for fishing, but I think they are more used for giving paying tourists a ride. I had a nice seafood lunch there and quite a few beers, which prompted a nice long afternoon nap back at the hotel. Its a good thing I had seen Chan Chan on my way out (its on the same road) to the beach as opposed to the way back.

The north coast of Peru is often missed by travelers doing the normal Gringo trail in the south, but is well worth a visit.