Trujillo Trip

Last week, I was blessed to be able to take a trip to Trujillo, a city in northern Peru (see the map on the left). Trujillo is the third largest city in Peru behind Lima, the capital, and Arequipa, located in the south. Trujillo is home to many ancient ruins, a beautiful beach, and the annual Marinera Dance competition. Let me tell you a little bit about what I did while I was in Trujillo and you can feel free to use the map on the right to locate the places that I went to!

The first day of the trip was spent in Huanchaco, a beautiful beach on the Pacific Ocean. Huanchaco is about a 20 minute northwest-bound taxi ride outside of the city. Because it's along the ocean, you can get seafood at just about any restaurant in town. Huanchaco is also sometimes referred to as the "Playa de los Caballitos de Totora". Caballitos de Totora are small fishing boats made of long reeds. They were used historically by pre-Incan civilizations, but are still used today by some local fisherman. While in Huanchaco, I also enjoyed watching the many surfers take on the ocean waves and was amazed at the beauty of the sunset. All-in-all it was a great day!

Day two of the trip was filled with tours of ancient ruins found in and around the city of Trujillo. In the morning I went to the "Huancas del Sol y la Luna" (Ruins of the Sun and the Moon) which were adobe, brick temples build by the Moche civilization. The Moches were a pre-Incan group who flourished between 100 AD- 800 AD. Archaeologists are still busy at work uncovering more structures and artifacts at these ruins. In the afternoon I went to Huaca Arco Iris and to Chan Chan. Both of these ruins belonged to the Chimu civilization which held their regime between the Moches and the Incas. Chan Chan is especially impressive as it was basically the capital of the Chimu Kingdom during its reign. Today, it is called "The World's Largest Mud and Brick City". For more information on or pictures of these ruins and cultures, check out www.huacas.com or www.trujillodelperu.com

My final day in Trujillo included exploring the downtown, buying postcards, visiting a museum, and attending a performance of the Marinera dance. This traditional dance has been considered the national dance of Peru and every January there is a national competition of the dance held in Trujillo. The dance is performed by a couple dressed in traditional clothing and who use handkerchiefs as props. Sometimes, the dance is also performed with a horse and its rider. I was able to catch a show at a horse ranch on the outskirts of Trujillo and saw many variations of the famous Marinera.

Take a look at the map on the right to locate all these different places I was able to visit while in Trujillo! Now I'm happily back in Lunahuana and continuing to teach both children and adults. Thank you for your continued prayers and support! Blessings!