We arrived in Trujillo at 6 AM and took a taxi to our hostel. Fortunately, they had a room available for us immediately, so we moved our things in, relaxed for a little while, and caught up on some blog posts.  At 9 AM, the bus came to pick us up for our day tour of archaeologic sites around Trujillo.

First stop was Huaca (meaning holy site) Arcoiris (rainbow). This was a temple of the Chimu people, who lived in the coast of Peru from about 800-1400 AD.

Next stop was Huaca Esmerelda.

After that, on to the Chan Chan museum, where we saw artifacts that had been removed from the holy sites.

Then on to Chan Chan itself. The compound was HUGE! One of the pics is a replica of the whole mud city (we saw that at the museum above). The one palace that we visited was 27 acres, and that was just one of 10 palaces (3rd smallest), not including all of the other buildings that were not palaces. Some of the decorations were beautiful.

After Chan Chan, we headed to the waterfront town of Huanchaco for lunch. They recommended a tourist restaurant, but we decided to go find somewhere a little more local. We found an eatery offering a set menu for 12 soles (<$4). Alejandro had the ceviche for a starter and a goat stew entree, and Cassie had a fish soup starter with a pan fried fish entree. Everything was delicious.

After lunch, back in the van to head towards Huaca de la Luna. We stopped off at the museum for a look at all of the artifacts that had been found in tombs in the ruins. No pictures allowed though.

After the museum, we headed to the Huaca de la Luna. It was stunning. Built between 100-700 AD, many of the figurines on the walls still have color! (None of these have been restored; they are all original)

The most impressive area was the outside of the temple, with 5 floors of these colored figures.

After the tour, we relaxed for a bit before heading out for a cocktail, followed by dinner to celebrate Cassie’s birthday. We had a great set menu of a salad, steak, desert, and wine for 85 soles per person ($26). We also had a starter of Ceviche de Lomo (steak ceviche, the chef recommendation and surprisingly delicious).