Sun, surf and sand

Trip Start Sep 13, 2004

Trip End May 06, 2005

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Flag of Peru Huanchaco, Peru
Tuesday, September 21, 2004

At the bus station I met the Germans from the mountain, looking a lot better now that they were back down at Huaraz. We arrived early in Trujillo and spent a couple of hours playing cards in a not very nice but open at 6am caf�. I held out against my hunger and stuck to tea, it seemed like the best bet. At a more decent hour I headed off to nearby Huanchaco and the beach. It wasn't a promising start as it was extremely overcast, but by the time I'd negotiated accommodation ("25 soles? It's a bit more than I was hoping to pay. Oh OK then.") and refreshed myself after the long night's travel the sun had come out to play and I celebrated with a beer, my first of the trip. I walked lazily along the Malecon with the intention of getting to the end then heading to Trujillo for a bit of sightseeing, but part way along I met Carlos, the owner of a surf lessons shop, and passed the rest of the afternoon chatting to him in the sun and relaxing. Or more accurately, he talked and I occasionally put in a 'si' or 'no', my understanding of Spanish being far in excess of my ability to speak it

Beachfront at Huanchaco

. Anyway, he seemed happy enough to chat and I was happy enough to listen and watch the world go by. He/I talked me into a surfing lesson. Now, I like watching the sea but I'm not the biggest fan of being in it, so this was quite a brave step for me. I managed to nearly stand up once, but don't think I'll be taking it up as a hobby any time in the near or distant future. The duckings as the waves crashed in gave me a cold which lasted the next 10 days.

The next day I made it all of a couple of miles down the road to the ruins of Chan Chan. They don't look like anything at all from the road but are pretty impressive when you get closer to the sea shore. The city was built by the Chimu in about 1300AD. They were fishermen and knew the seasons by the sea's currents (although I would have thought sun/rain/cloud etc would ahve been a bit of a giveaway too). The temple complex was decorated with fish, fishing nets, pelicans and wave patterns. They designed the totora reed boats still used by fishermen in Huanchaco. They were pretty bloodthirsty, or their gods were anyway, and being a virgin around there wasn't a very smart move. (As one of my Spanish teachers remarked, such sacrifices nowadays would be a terrible waste!)