Trujillo, day 2
10 Dec 2009 01:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wayfaringwordhackWe had a leisurely breakfast with our new German friends, C and M, then together went to the bus station for tickets to Lima for J and I and to Chachapoyas in the north for C and M. We met up with E from Wales at the Huaca de la Luna (the Huaca del Sol is right by it, but not excavated or open to visits).
This temple was made by the Moche, ancestors of the Chimu Empire, but they didn't worship the moon like the Chimor were supposed to have done. The Moche temple was misnamed based on the Central American ruins where there was often a bigger pyramid for the sun and a smaller one for the moon.
This pretty fellow was the Moches' god Ai Apaec:
The Beheader God, as our guide so charmingly named him. The Moche practiced human sacrifice to ensure the fertility of their valley.
With time, the temple got bigger and bigger at its base as the people built more and more levels. Row upon row of adobe bricks were placed over the previous facade to receive a larger load on top. Archaeologists have excavated the original walls, where the pigments survived.
According to our guide, the workers don't restore the paints; they just fix them with a clear sealant so they won't deteriorate further now that they've been re-exposed to air and sun. Nor are they repairing the bas-reliefs, just bringing them to light:
After our visit, we had to rush back to town for C and M to catch their bus. Luckily, there was a collectivo (bus-taxi) waiting in the temple parking lot. A much better bargain than a private taxi:
E, J, and I walked around Trujillo's city center and ate guinea pig and a kind of red corn pudding while waiting for our late-night buses...
Next up: Cuzco.
This temple was made by the Moche, ancestors of the Chimu Empire, but they didn't worship the moon like the Chimor were supposed to have done. The Moche temple was misnamed based on the Central American ruins where there was often a bigger pyramid for the sun and a smaller one for the moon.
This pretty fellow was the Moches' god Ai Apaec:
The Beheader God, as our guide so charmingly named him. The Moche practiced human sacrifice to ensure the fertility of their valley.
With time, the temple got bigger and bigger at its base as the people built more and more levels. Row upon row of adobe bricks were placed over the previous facade to receive a larger load on top. Archaeologists have excavated the original walls, where the pigments survived.
According to our guide, the workers don't restore the paints; they just fix them with a clear sealant so they won't deteriorate further now that they've been re-exposed to air and sun. Nor are they repairing the bas-reliefs, just bringing them to light:
After our visit, we had to rush back to town for C and M to catch their bus. Luckily, there was a collectivo (bus-taxi) waiting in the temple parking lot. A much better bargain than a private taxi:
E, J, and I walked around Trujillo's city center and ate guinea pig and a kind of red corn pudding while waiting for our late-night buses...
Next up: Cuzco.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 10 Dec 2009 07:11 pm (UTC)And, of course C and M are the best initials for friends. *wink*
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Date: 10 Dec 2009 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 10 Dec 2009 10:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 11 Dec 2009 12:27 pm (UTC)I know it will come as a shock to you, but we are ALREADY in Cuzco!!!
:P
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Date: 11 Dec 2009 02:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 11 Dec 2009 06:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 13 Dec 2009 04:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 13 Dec 2009 04:47 pm (UTC)