And then the real kicker - the restaurant where the staff suggested we have dinner made us sick! We had been traveling for three months and had many meals from small hole-in–the-wall restaurants without any problems. Getting sick took us completely by surprise especially because the restaurant seemed like a nice place and was packed with customers. The culprit was either a simple salad of lettuce and tomatoes or the rotisserie chicken with a side of fries that followed. Minh was sick for a few hours, but I had the Inca’s revenge shooting out of me for two full days! Imodium pills did not help at all, nor did a diet of flat coke, toast, crackers and plain rice. What finally saved me were some bananas. I ate two bananas and almost immediately my stomach started to go back to normal.
After an uncomfortable and nearly sleepless night, we got on TripAdvisor and found the number one rated B&B. We checked out and hopped in a cab. I gave the cabbie the address of the new B&B and all he said in response was “Okay.” He neglected to mention that he had recently moved to Trujillo from Chiclayo and had no clue where he was going! He stopped about 5 times along the way to ask for directions, and each time he got directions that conflicted with the previous set. I was freaking out thinking that I might get sick again in the cab, but luckily we made it to our new hostal without a problem.
The new place, Hostal Centurion, ended up being a wonderful hostal with very attentive owners and staff. They gave us the bananas that finally cured me. They also made tea and sandwiches for us, and helped us to get takeout on the nights when we could not make it out of the hotel. After a full recovery we began to explore Trujillo and its nearby archaeological sites. After a rough start, we both ended up enjoying our visit. Here are the highlights.
The Colonial City
The colonial section of Trujillo is small, but very beautiful with lots of brightly colored buildings. You can easily visit this area in one afternoon. We started off at the Plaza Mayor where there is a large, beautiful yellow cathedral.
We then visited some of the city’s old colonial mansions. One of the most beautiful and best preserved is Casa Urquiaga, located on Calle Pizarro by the Plaza. It is bright blue with white window panels, and contains several lovely courtyards and brightly painted rooms with original furnishings. The mansion contains a desk used by Simon Bolivar, who lived here for two years after proclaiming Peru’s independence in 1824. There is also a room exhibiting pre-Columbian ceramics. We took a free guided tour of the house that was short but very informative.
We also visited the Casa Ganoza Chopitea on Calle Independencia, which has some beautiful original murals. The mansion now contains a café with outdoor seating in its courtyard. We met one of the owners of the mansion who told us a little bit of history about the place and showed us the two small lions carved above the main entrance. He told us that his family planned to open an art gallery in the mansion in the coming months.
Trujillo’s brightly colored buildings reminded me of the colonial section of Cartagena. Like Cartagena, Trujillo was once a walled city, having also suffered attacks from pirates. However, most of the wall was torn down to make way for a large boulevard that now circles the city. I wonder if the city now regrets that decision.
Huacas del Sol y de la Luna
Our hostal booked an all-day guided tour for us of the nearby archaeological sites that turned out to be fantastic! Our guide was very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English, and the cost of the tour was half the price I had been quoted by some of the tour operators in town. Our first stop was to the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna (Sun and Moon Pyramids), the remains of an ancient Moche city.
We were very impressed by the Huaca de la Luna. Inside the pyramid there are several levels of murals of a Moche deity called Ayapec. We were surprised at how bright the colors still are on many of the murals!
The northern exterior of the pyramid also contains several levels of murals that are well preserved. They depict images of serpents, felines holding decapitated heads of warriors, fishermen, and spider-like creatures.
There is also a level depicting victorious warriors leading the losers, who are naked, to be sacrificed.
Huaca del Sol is not open to the public, but we got a nice view of it from Huaca de la Luna. Unfortunately it was really windy so we got pelted by sand as we tried to take some pictures. Sand got everywhere, even in our teeth!
Huaca del Arco Iris
Our second stop was to the Huaca del Arco Iris (the Rainbow Pyramid). The Pyramid’s name is based on the rainbow carvings depicted throughout the friezes. The carvings are really well preserved!
Chan Chan
Our third stop was to Chan Chan, the remains of a Chimu city. Construction of the city began around 850 AD, and it is the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America. The site is very impressive because of its enormous size and interesting murals that depict sea lions, fish and pelicans, amongst other creatures.
Chan Chan is an adobe city and portions of it were severely damaged by rain. Replicas have been created of some sections of Chan Chan, but we were a little disappointed to see so many of them.
Huanchaco
Huanchaco was our lost stop on the tour. It’s a fishing village near Trujillo popular with surfers. It’s famous for its narrow pointed fishing rafts called caballitos (little horses) made of totora reeds. In the afternoon fishermen stack their caballitos on the beach to dry off.
Where we ate
We didn’t get to eat out much since I was sick the first few days. However, we did have a great meal at Chelsea. Though this place describes itself as an English pub, we thought it was fancier than a pub, and the menu included a lot of traditional Peruvian dishes.
Where we stayed
Hostal El Centurion: This hostal is the number one rated B&B on TripAdvisor, and the rating is well deserved!!! The owners were so attentive to our needs, especially when we were sick. The hostal is very clean and the rooms are bright, airy and very comfortable. The bathrooms are modern and were recently remodeled. For USD $40 per night we had a room with a queen size bed, private bathroom with hot water, and a small balcony. Continental breakfast was included, but we could also order additional items, such as scrambled eggs or yogurt, for a very reasonable price.
Do NOT stay at Hosteria el Sol! You deserve better!
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