Peruvian Ancient Civilizations

Church * Huaca del luna y sol * Chan Chan * Huanchaco

We started the day early because church (believe it or not) was at 8:0 a.m. As we left the hotel, we noticed a military band and group of soldiers in front of one of the government buildings in the plaza, there was no harm in lingering, as we were certain church would not start on time. We were wrong! We walked into church 30 seconds late and they were already in the middle of the opening hymn. Good for the Chan Chan ward bishop. Of course, only 25% of the congregation was there, but no bother, by the end of the meeting the chapel was full.

We enjoyed nice talks from one of the Elders and a Sister that Eric remembers from his time In Trujillo. The singing was the best part (for those in the family that don’t understand Spanish well) - the hymn selection today was upbeat, and we even were able to stand for the rest hymn.

We weren’t able to hang around for the second hour because our guide wanted us to get going earlier than originally planned - she told us we had a big agenda for the day.

Our first visit was the museum at the Huana del Luna y Sol. The temple to the Moon and the Sun. We drove through the town of Moche to arrive at the site and noticed the canals that this civilization built

It was amazing the well-preserved artifacts on display. Most of the pottery had a sort of hollow handle on top and nearly all were intact. The colors on the pottery were brilliant and clear and told stories of the Moche people. No written language has been discovered yet for this people, so the history is interpreted through their art. One of the interesting pieces was a diarama of a worship service where the mummies of the descents are worshiped inside of a sacred space.

The archeological site is huge, but because of scarece resources only a small part is excavated - the Temple of the Moon. It’s a series of 5 pyramids, that are stacked on each other, each new one being built with the beginning of a new dynasty every 100 years or so. Many of the reliefs on the outside of the pyramid were in excellent condition complete with original yellow and red colors. We were able go with our guide through many sections and levels of the pyramid.

After our lesson in Moche civilization, we traveled just north of Trujillo to Chan Chan to learn about the Chimu people. Chan Chan is huge, and only a small part has been excavated. The area is full of old adobe walls that have, over the centuries, turned in short mounds of dirt. Every so often you could see the adobe bricks poking out from the dirt piles.

The excavated site in Chan Chan is the market square and government offices. Citizens would have come to this area to pay their taxes. Again, many of the reliefs were well preserved and interesting.  The exterior portions of the walls were made of an open criss cross pattern that allowed the air to flow freely into the living space like a natural air conditionaire. Here we had our first sighting of the famous Peruvian hairless dog. As if on cue, the dog was outside of the museum just as we walked in to see pottery made by the Chimu of the same hairless dog.

We had a late lunch in the seaside town of Huanchaca. Eric remembers visiting this town a few times as a missionary and overlooking the sea from the red and white chapel on the hill. Lunch was yummy! Ceviche for the first time in Peru for Charlie and Sydney and they bravely tried it and liked it! On the drive out of town we saw the one-man fishing boats made out of bundled reeds - one even heading into the water for some fishing.
We finished out our stay in Trujillo with an excellent Lomo Saltado dish that was perfectly tender and seasoned.

Trujillo Peru Mission

Trujillo

Temple * Plaza de Armas * Old town Trujillo * Dinner with Saldana Family

It was a long journey to Trujillo for Lara and Sydney; SLC - LA - Lima - Trujillo. Gratefully the flights were running on time and all the layovers were reasonable. We didn’t get lost or miss a connection so all in all the travel was a success. 

Eric had arranged a taxi driver to pick us up from the airport and it was comforting seeing a piece of paper with “Lara Maxfield” on it as we excited the very small airport. As we drove into town Lara had flashes of visiting Trujillo 25 years ago. What was noticeably different was the Temple that lined the main road from the airport to the center of town. It is beautiful and certainly the best building in town.

With perfect timing Eric and Charlie showed up to the hotel after having been in the temple doing baptisms at precisely the same time Sydney and Lara were checking in. It felt good to be reunited - even though it had only been a week apart, it felt much longer, certainly because of the distances. Our hotel is lovely. It sits right on the main square that is lined with colonial buildings and a big yellow church. It’s simple and elegant and probably the nicest hotel in town.

After a very short, unproductive nap (too many horns from cars outside on the street) we went out for rotisserie chicken and French fries - a Peruvian staple. It was perfect comfort food. We made arrangements with a local guiding company for an afternoon walking tour of Trujillo. We had our private guide - Judith - point out all the colonial facades throughout the historic center of town. Before its independence from Spain, Trujillo was a filled with colonial homes that reflected European architecture. Huge wooden doors with interesting door knockers, ornate metal balconies and window decorations. Colorful stucco exteriors of yellow, blue, green, and so forth. Lots of these homes have been converted into offices, social clubs, and interesting store.

Another highlight from our walking tour was a visit to a local indoor market. We especially liked looking at the interesting fruits and vegetables. There were avocados as big cantaloupes and dark purple corn. Also, on our journey around town we ran into several brides, a few right in the middle of their weddings in the churches.

The highlight of our day however was connecting with a family Eric knew from his mission - the Saldena family. Lara and Eric visited this humble family in Paijan 25 years ago in their simple 1 room home. They have since moved to Trujillo and appear to have improved their standard of living. Their daughters, son-in-law, and 2 grandchildren joined us for dinner. There was SO much meat! We were surprised to learn that on the platter of meat for us to enjoy was cow heart and chicken intestine. Sydney and Charlie were brave and tried both - cow heart definitely better than chicken intestine. The Saldena family was so excited to see Eric. They brought their picture book from 1989 compete with a picture of Eric visiting in their home.

Dinner was enjoyable as we talked and ate, but the best part was after dinner when we returned to their home for inca cola and a quiet place to listen to Brother Saldena play his guitar.  At one point brother Saldena played a song he had written himself about the gospel. His daughter was visibly moved. When he finished, she recounted that during her mission when it was difficult, she would remember this song her dad had written and sing it to herself to lift her sprits. We were struck by the humility and faith of this family and again reminded of the goodness of God and his love for ALL of his children on this earth.