2007 Roadtrip: Trujillo, Perú

In Trujillo, we stopped at the Gran Hotel El Golf (Los Coateros 500, Urb El Golf) but it was expensive and they could not accommodate us for the entire Semana Santa. It looked like a resort where there would be lots of screaming kids anyway.

Our next stop was Hotel El Gran Marques (Diez de Cienfuegos 145-147, Urb. La Merced, Trujillo, Peru, fono (044) 249 366, e-mail: hotel@elgranmarques.com , web: www.elgranmarques.com) where we negotiated an unusual package. They gave us an executive suite which was a bedroom and a living room for about US$92 a day. That included the price of a "Body & Spa" package that we “had to” buy. The package included a Peruvian champagne and a massage for two at the hotel’s spa which we enjoyed immensely.
Although nine days in Trujillo was more than it warranted, it was a fine place to hang out during Semana Santa. We biked to Huanchaco twice and had a fine Sunday seafood lunch at El Mochica (Av. Larco 552, Huanchaco, fono: 461-1963) there. The weather was beautiful and warm.

The totora (reed boats) in Huanchaco are similar to the boats depicted on 2500-year old ceramics. Fishermen ride on them rather than in them and so are called "caballitos" or little horses.

We had worried about what the weather would be like in Trujillo while we were still in Lima. There were reports of El Niño rains and dengue fever in Trujillo. Fortunately, we didn’t have any bad weather there.

We biked to Chan Chan, a fantastic archeological site. It was built by the Chimu as their capital between AD 850 and 1470. The remains of the buildings are decorated with friezes of fish motives and designs that represent fishing nets. The importance of the sea reached “venerable proportions” for the Chimu, according to Lonely Planet. Dimitri loved Chan Chan.

The design on the walls is supposed to look like fishnet

Another day we went to Huaca Esmeralda and La Huaca Arco Iris (Huaca del Dragón)—small and not too interesting. A fun thing to do in Trujillo is to go to the central market. We got delicious fresh mango juice there.

A really great archeological site near Trujillo is Huacas del Sol y de la Luna. We paid S/.22 (around US$7) for the entrance fee and a guide.

The Moche people around AD 700 venerated the god Ai Apaeo and that's him, with 2 ears at Huacas del Sol y de la Luna.

Our favorite restaurant in Trujillo was only open for lunch. Restaurante Roman Rincón Criollo (E.E.U.U. 162, Urb. El Recreo, Trujillo, fono: 244-207, e-mail: spectrum@terra.com.pe) We were brought a complementary sarandaja, a bean dish with aji and parsley, that is often sold on the streets. We ordered picantes de camarones (camarones at this restaurant were whole and big prawns) and they were prepared in a slightly spicy sauce, a cau cau de camarones (a dish with shrimp tails in a tomato, potato sauce with palillo, a spice similar to turmeric and a mint-like herb called hierua buena), 4 Peruvian beers and 2 coffees for S/.116 (around US$30) with tip.

Our Trujillo restaurant reviews are in the next posting; click here to have a look.
In town, we toured the Urquiaga House with a lovely guide just to see what a 19th-century house looked like. The house was not too interesting but the guide was nice.

While walking around Trujillo we visited the Tourist Police and the Highway Police. All of them confirmed that there was nothing illegal about our bike rack on top of our car. The advice was to just show the police our foreign license with our paper permitting us to enter Perú with 2 bikes that we received at the border from the Aduana/customs.

The most unusual museum we have ever been to was the Museo Cassinelli (Av. Nicolas de Pierola 607, fono: 282222) because it is under a Mobil gas station. Admission was S/.14 (just under US$5) and it included a charming guided tour. It is a very small space, packed with ceramics from most all of the periods and most all of the cultures of Northern Perú. We even saw ceramics from Cajamarca where we’d be going next.