With bellies full of "bomba de manzanas" we took an over night bus from Huaraz to Trujillo. We found a hostel to leave our bags in and headed down town to find a juice bar! Trujillo has a lovely large Plaza de Armas with fine colonial buildings. As with every town in Peru we have visited, digging up the road and piling up rocks and sand was the order of the day. So, instead of noisey cars the plaza was full of men in trenchs, piles of mud and stone and bits of pipe. There were in fact some of the biggest footpath holes that we have encountered and in certain places a bridge had been installed to enable pedestrians to cross with minimal peril. How thoughtful. On a lighter 
note we found that Cafe Ameretto had particularly fine cakes and all in generous slices!Our hostel, Casa de Clara, is home of a tour guide and her British husband. We decided to take a tour with them to see some local ruins. These ruins however were pre-inca and made of mud not stones!!! Our first stop was Chan Chan, home to the Chimu people and the largest adobe (thats mud, to you and me) city in the world. The ruins consist of nine seperate compounds with 9m high walls cover
ing an area of 20 kmsq. Each one with a narrow entrance, which leads along a corridor and to a maze of passageways. Inside were rows of storage rooms, administrative buildings, temples, platforms and a central plaza for flag waving and general important stuff. Each compound also housed a huge raised platform that contained the burial chamebr for the king. 
Many of his noble men were buried around him. This inner citadel was surrounded by living quaters of the the kings servants and important folk. It seems when the king died, he was buried in his compound and a new one was built for the new king. Thats a lot of time building sandcastles!!! 
We went to vist just one compound and just before they covered the original art work with fibreglass copies to preserve it.
ing an area of 20 kmsq. Each one with a narrow entrance, which leads along a corridor and to a maze of passageways. Inside were rows of storage rooms, administrative buildings, temples, platforms and a central plaza for flag waving and general important stuff. Each compound also housed a huge raised platform that contained the burial chamebr for the king. 
Many of his noble men were buried around him. This inner citadel was surrounded by living quaters of the the kings servants and important folk. It seems when the king died, he was buried in his compound and a new one was built for the new king. Thats a lot of time building sandcastles!!! 
We went to vist just one compound and just before they covered the original art work with fibreglass copies to preserve it.Our next stop was the Huaca el Dragon, a small pyramid also built of adobe. The sand reliefs are in very good condition and samples can be seen in the photos.
We returned to our hostel where our guide and hostess made us a tasty lunch before driving us to Huaca del Luna (pyramid of the moon). Built by the Moche people, it is a huge construction with many different platforms and accompanined by the Huaca del Sol ( pyramid of the sun). The Moche seem to have been a very violent people and many pictures of slaves naked and with ropes around their necks adorn the walls. Also the remains of many sacrificed adults .The inner layout of the pyramid had changed a few times while in use and so many adobe walls with wonderful coloured 
pictures in relief have been perfectly preserved as they were hidden behind a newer wall. We also saw a collection of clay "bricks" used for construction. They are all marked with a special symbol, identifiying their maker. Archaeologists have also discovered a huge clayware workshop in the area between the two pyramids and works uncovering more still go on today.
pictures in relief have been perfectly preserved as they were hidden behind a newer wall. We also saw a collection of clay "bricks" used for construction. They are all marked with a special symbol, identifiying their maker. Archaeologists have also discovered a huge clayware workshop in the area between the two pyramids and works uncovering more still go on today.
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