Strategic Trujillo

The city of Trujillo is big, with a crazy mercado a few blocks from the Plaza de Armas and also big city things like cines and a huge department store. The people here are friendly and love to talk to you in normal-speed Spanish after you've told them you speak very little. It seems that the kangaroo and Kangaroo Jack is representing Australia over here!

Trujillo is near Chan Chan, an expansive adobe city in ruins. Niños and hundreds of years have badly eroded its walls so that on average they only stand two or three metres high. It has large plazas and distinctive diamond waffle walls representative of fish and the fishing industry, being strategically near the coast and inland forests. There are also many carvings in the adobe of things related to the ocean like pelicans, waves and fish, as well as a lake where ducks paddle amongst the lillies. On a tour, you will only visit a small portion of Chan Chan, but if you're tall or can jump high when you get to a platform like the one to see the tomb, it is ruins almost as far as the eye can see. Entrance is s/11.

Huaca del Sol is a big mound once shaped like a cross that used to act as an administrative building. But if you cross the desert a little way, where bits of ancient ceramics are littered like broken ochre colored shells on a beach, nearby is the smaller, more interesting Huaca de la Luna. Though also eroded by wind and los niños, there are parts that are remarkably well preserved. Carvings of faces and figures in the adobe are still clear and the original striking black and red paint intact. Entrance is also s/11.

Hospedaje El Conde de Arce

This little place, half a block from the Plaza de Armas, is easy to miss. It's a run-down thing, with ancient bathrooms and a the small courtyard. But it's okay at s/20 for a dorm bed, clean and quiet. Nothing special. Just adequate. Good if you're looking for cheap, central and a decent night's sleep. There aren't that many travelers here in the low season and the nearby coastal town of Huanchaco is a lovelier environment to base trips in the area.