Vacation from Vacation

Because sometimes being on vacation just feels like work (or rather, because I am staying with people who actually work), I decided to treat myself to a week at the beach with Nina and Joe. We left chilly Huaraz early last Sunday morning and arrived about 12 hours later in the city of Trujillo and its satellite of Huanchaco on Peru's northern coast. It was already dark but warm enough for sandals, and with some local beers and a good dinner we got ourselves all fired up for the beach the next day.

The beach, conveniently located right outside our front door, was lovely. Soft sand and a cool breeze made it easy to while away the hours just sitting in the sun, reading, listening to music, and watching what Peruvians like to do on vacation. Don't even get me started on the fresh seafood ready for the taking at any spot along the water!

Everything you could possibly need at the beach will find its way to you sooner or later.

Pelican!!

New best friend!!

A beautiful mural outside a hostel. Go hippie gringos!

Silhouettes of reed fishing boats that have been used locally since at least the 11th century. Now used to show tourists a good time.

One of my favorite beach activities: sunset beers.

Trujillo is home to some massive ruins dating from the Chimu people of the 9th-15th centuries. We took a day away from the beach to visit Chan Chan, the site of the empire's capital, which was massive, about 20 square km. Unfortunately flooding in the last few decades has left a lot of the structures looking more like vaguely wall-shaped piles of sand, but the sheer size of the whole place was still quite impressive. From there we went to Huaca de la Luna Temple of th Moon), one of two Chimu ceremonial structures that are currently being excavated. A guided tour (in English!) gave us some history on the site and the meanings behind the adornments archaeologists are still digging out.

Restorations of some labyrinthine ceremonial chambers at Chan Chan.

A view of Huaca del Sol from the entrance to Huaca de la Luna

Wall decoration at Huaca de la Luna with original color that's been preserved by being covered in dry sand.

After a few quiet days at the beach and some warm nights full of live music, including a singalong to "What's up" by the Four Non Blondes, we left our Huanchaco for a small town two hours north called Pacasmayo. Described by Lonely Planet as both "lively" and "forgotten," it turned out to be precisely that. There were plenty of Peruvian vacationers and locals alike enjoying the beach and the many shops and restaurants that stayed open well into the night, and the whole town had a cheerful and friendly atmosphere. The "forgotten" part came with the many run down 19th century colonial buildings dotting the waterfront and the overall lack of gringo tourists. The beach here was calmer and smaller than Huanchaco, with some delightful churros to be had along the boardwalk.

We came to Pacasmayo and found Jesus.

Some colorful fishing boats.

Sunset over the waterfront.

My first Inca Kola. Delicious!

While staying in Pacasmayo, we took a day trip further north to the city of Chiclayo, a major hub in for trade routes since the first Jesuit missionaries settled there, and home to a huge market where anything and everything imaginable can be found. We spend most of our day at the market, and I could have happily visited it every day for weeks. Taking up several square blocks, the market housed stalls selling everything from taxidermied animals and herbal remedies (part of Chiclayo's abundance in "witch doctors") to rolls of linoleum flooring, including food, clothing, livestock, local handicrafts, and electronics.

Joe stops for a haircut in one of the many barbers offering their services alongside stalls of fresh produce.

We spent our last night of vacation back in Huanchaco so we could visit a peña, a dinner/dancing extravaganza mostly populated with middle-aged couples full of local pride and the need to shake it. The live music started at 11pm and went well into the wee hours, and the dance floor was packed for almost every song. The only two times nobody went out were when the band played some sort of American swing medley and when they played an hilarious rendition of "Like a Virgin". The evening was broken up with a professional dance performance of the marinera, Trujillo's own dance. We befriended a couple of sisters who made sure we knew what was going on at all times and who were super excited to share their hometown pride with us. After dancing our hearts out and then sleeping until noon, we got in one last beach afternoon and caught the overnight bus back to Huaraz.

All in all, it was a very relaxing break from an already relaxed trip here in Peru. I've always loved the ocean, and the comfort and joy of being in a beach town will never miss. With every day I spend here I love Peru more and more, and am already plotting a return some time in the near (I hope) future.

A pretty accurate summary of the week.