Christmas in Peru - Trujillo -

Following our fun visit to Chiclayo, we took a 3 1/2 hour bus ride to Trujillo, the third largest city in Peru and site of the soon-to-be dedicated Trujillo temple. We took a taxi from the bus terminal to the apartment of Elder and Sister Padilla. They are serving their fifth mission, he is 84, she is 80, and they are in great shape. He was an air traffic controller before they retired to Kaysville, Utah. 

Elder Padilla is the son of immigrants from Spain and they served a records preservation mission in Spain back when they were microfilming records, before digital cameras. They had been photographing the records in the the Trujillo archives and finished in October. They are now working in the mission office until their release in March. A delightful couple, we stayed three nights in their very nice three bedroom apartment and attended church with them on Sunday. The highlights of this visit are summarized below.

The almost-finished Trujillo temple. Landscaping is in and all exterior work is finished. If you look closely, you can see a big bird perched on the Angel Moroni statue.

A different view with the temporary construction entrance control shed.  They keep the sidewalks covered with plastic tarps to keep them clean until the dedication.  They also bring in loads of sand to cover the parking lot for the same reason.

The bird perched on the end of Moroni's trumpet.  Apparently it perches there every day just like the pigeons on top of the head of the general in the park here in in Huaraz.

With the Padillas at the temple.

The guest house or dormitory behind the temple. As you can see it is still not finished. It will house temple groups that come from out of town as well as missionary couples assigned to the temple.  Brother Anderson said it will be as nice as a four-star hotel.

Chan Chan - This archaeological site, located 3 miles west of Trujillo and about 1/2 mile from the new Trujillo temple, was the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America, covering an area of 4,942 acres. Chan Chan was constructed by the Chimú, a civilization which grew out of the remnants of the Moche civilization. The adobe city of Chan Chan, the largest in the world, was built around 850 A.D. and lasted until its conquest by the Inca Empire in 1470. This was just fifty years before the arrival of the Spanish. It is estimated that 30,000 people lived in the city. The walls were made of adobe brick covered with a smooth surface into which intricate designs were carved.

Some of the sand carving on the interior walls.

More carved walls.

This gives sort of an idea how extensive the ruins are. This is only one area of 12 or 15 of the same size.

A closer look at some pelican designs. This site is very close to the ocean.

At several locations in the ruins these green areas would appear. Some served as reservoirs for water brought in by canals from the river. Others were made by digging down to find natural spring water in the shallow water table below. We understand the ponds were also used for some religious ceremonies.

It is hard to give an idea of the height of these walls. Some were 30 - 40 ft.

It was difficult to convey an idea of the size of this site.  You really couldn't see the end of the walls, many of which have not yet been uncovered.

This one was easily over 30 ft.

At the exit we were greeted by this essentially hairless dog.

What better way to recover from two hours of walking in the sun than to enjoy a seafood dinner at the edge of the ocean. Besides the Padillas, we were joined by the Andersons who are video recording the construction of the temple. Pedro, our taxi driver and member of the Church, also joined us for lunch.

Group picture after church. The Padillas, Oxborrows, Andersons, and Kurt and Kathy Marler, Trujillo Mission President.

When we learned that Trujillo is the shoe manufacturing capital of Peru, we knew we needed to go shopping. Here are a few scenes from the commercial center.

A busy Monday morning. Notice the yellow items on the table.  You can tell by the way the people are dressed that we are on the coast--much warmer than Huaraz.

More yellow. We noticed the same thing when we returned to Huaraz. We learned that yellow is the color that is worn on New Year's Eve. No one seemed to know where the custom came from or why much of the yellow clothing is underwear!

Clothes for sale on the sidewalk (and in the street).

Near the street market was a mall with the traditional Christmas tree.

A close-up of the tree.

And here they are. All leather, padded insole for US$23.50 Marilyn loves them and we loved the price.  If we had had more time I'm sure I could have found lots more shoes to buy. 

Christmas in Peru - The Lord of Sipán -

The day after Christmas Juan and Jasmin took us to visit the Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum in Lambayeque, a small town about 15 minutes from Chiclayo.

This was a very impressive museum and is considered one of the 10 best in the western hemisphere. Every exhibit contained original, undamaged pieces and the skeletal remains were in very good condition, considering their age. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the museum, so we have included a few from other sources.

At the entrance, we took this cute photo of Juan and Lidia on a llama replica.

The very modern museum

The Lord of Sipán is the name given to the first of several Moche mummies found near Lambayque. The site was discovered in 1987 and some archaeologists consider this to be one of the most important archaeological discoveries in South America in the last 30 years. The main tomb was found intact and untouched by thieves. Fourteen tombs have since been located and identified at the site. 

The Moche or Mochica culture flourished along the Peruvian north coast from approximately 200 to 800 A.D. They were followed by the Chimú civilization that lasted until the Incas (1400) and the Spaniards (1500's) conquered them.  Their pottery and metalwork (gold, silver and copper) are outstanding. 

This is what the pyramids that had the tombs look like today. Since they were built with adobe, they have eroded over the centuries.

This is an artist's conception of what the site may have looked like when it was prepared as a burial tomb for the Mochican rulers. Notice the ramps to all the different levels. This was a characteristic of their buildings. Apparently they did not use stairs or ladders.

A reconstruction of what the Lord of Sipán's tomb looked like when discovered. Besides the Lord, there was a warrior, a priest, two women, a boy, a dog, a llama, and a guard with both feet amputated (so he couldn't abandon his Lord). Most, except the animals, were buried alive at the time of the Lord's death, probably drugged. The many small pots contained offerings and food for the Lord's use in the next life.

What the Lord of Sipán would have looked like with all his gold, silver, copper and turquoise ornaments.  The gold piece over his mouth was for protection but also to alter his voice to sound more intimidating.

These are the ear rings he wore at ceremonies. The posts went through his ear lobes, which had been elongated since his youth to accommodate them.

A pure gold necklace that he wore.

A pectoral necklace that was also worn at ceremonies.  This was made from tiny seashells strung together and was very pretty.

A gold ornament worn on the waist with hollow balls with stones or seeds inside that rattled when the ruler walked. This was part of his effort to intimidate and impress his subjects.

An example of the excellent pottery.  Notice the huge earrings.

More artistic pottery.

Due to their proximity to the sea, much of their pottery has fish themes.

A gold mask.

Gold and turquoise pendent mounted on a wood base.

A nativity at the entrance to the museum, sitting on a truncated pyramid with a ramp for the animals to climb, in true Mochica style.  

This was really one of the most interesting museums we have ever seen. 

Christmas in Peru - On the beach in Chiclayo -

Christmas Day Juan picked us up about 10:30 and we drove to the ocean to spend time on the beach and eat lunch, another Christmas tradition of many.

The beach was already getting crowded when we arrived.  There were many umbrellas or shades available to rent.

There was a very long pier that extended out to deeper water, probably for the larger fishing boats.

We were immediately attracted to these reed boats. We learned they are made from the totora plant, which is only found on Lake Titicaca between Peru and Bolivia, on the middle coast of Peru (where we were), and on Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean. The people of the Peruvian coast have used totora to build their "caballitos de totora" (little totora horses), which are small rowed and straddled fishing boats, for several thousand years. The Uru people, an indigenous people predating the Incas, live on Lake Titicaca upon floating islands fashioned from this plant. The Uru people also use the reed to make boats, as do the natives of Easter Island.

Here is a full view of the reed boats. The fishermen sit straddled on them and put the fish they catch in the open area.

There were lots of these boats on the beach. They were probably being left out in the sun to dry in order to maintain their buoyancy in the water.

We started to notice that these boats were coming in from the water with their catch of fish and selling them on the beach.

A larger group gathered around this fisherman. It appears he had several different kinds of fish.

Here is a boat just coming in from the water, being helped by a friend.

Another catch.

When there is food, who shows up? Some hungry pelicans.

Could this be a "boat built for two"?

Ah yes, the moto-taxis--they are even more common in cities along the coast.  And there were a lot of them at the beach.

Following our stay on the beach, we went to a seaside restaurant and had an excellent meal of corvina (sea bass). Our beach adventure would not be complete without a sunburn story. See the following photo.

Marilyn sat under the beach umbrella most of the time we were at the beach, however her feet were just outside of the shaded area. She had sandals on and they offered little protection. This picture was taken 9 days after her exposure and the feet are still reddish, but she says they don't hurt anymore. Another Christmas memory from Peru!