TREKKING INTO THE LAND OF THE CHIMU – NORTHERN PERU 2004 – PART 1

I inevitably return to the land of the Inca, often, in this journey through the cobwebs of my mind. It seemed like, every few years a deep yearning inside, pulled us back to the place where my life seemed to be renewed. There, in the late 70’s, I met and was completely overpowered by my life partner, a princess of the Andes. So, like clockwork, during our second year in Texas we had the brilliant idea of a trip. Guess where? This time with Uncle J, Lupe, Drew, and Thew. Also along for the trip home, to Arequipa, were Papi and Mami. And as always, our travelling companion Ange. She had long since outgrown any desire to travel with us, but relented, once again, to accompany her cousins. Secretly, I think Ol’ Ange liked travelling with us. These are my memories of that trip.

We were on our way during the last part of July, 2004. It was summer in Texas, but dead of winter in Peru. Dead of Winter sounds harsh, but in Peru, that is akin to summer in Northern Canada. It came to pass, that the 9 of us, met in Houston on one fine day, full of excitement and ready for adventure. Deysi, as always, had everything laid out and organized. She was a travel genius, and may well have organized trips of conquest for the Inca in an earlier life. Hell, she may have been the Inca! Late in the evening we boarded for Lima, Peru, and arrived the next morning at sunup. If I remember everyone was quite grumpy, save myself and Uncle J. We were the picture of calm.

Lima was always one of my favorite places to arrive in. I think, a few things combined, added to my enjoyment of visiting here. It all started, when I opened the doors to the airport and encountered the sights and sounds of Peru. The first was the immediate change of climate from the northern latitudes, to a mild Mediterranean climate in Lima. Next the hustle and bustle of the 100,000’s of people scurrying in and out of the shops. The din of the street vendors screeching their wares. Traffic buzzing around with no apparent rules. Add to all of this, the smells of the food being cooked on the streets; and the general cheer and happiness of the people. It was a carnival! By the time I reached a hotel, I was already in vacation mode. Now, let me at “a couple” of Pisco Sour’s and the fun could start.

I do not recall many events related to our arrival, this trip. However a couple do stick in my mind. Shortly after our arrival, our friend Ely’ (little brother Che’s sister in law), met us to show us around a bit. She was with us, almost constantly from our arrival in Lima to our departure for the lands of the north, two days later. One of the first things we did was to visit, Lupe’s (and Deysi’s stepmother’s) side of the family. Lupe’s ancestors had their roots in Central Peru, but over the years many of them had migrated towards Lima. She had lots of uncles and aunts. The time between visits to Peru was long, so when one of the family arrived, there was occasion to celebrate. That meant Peruvian food and Peruvian drink. Uncle J and I, wanting to appear appreciative, partook of everything offered.

The second evening after arrival, we were invited to Deysi’s cousin P, for cocktails and dinner. We had not seen P and Johnny (his wife), since our time in Cusco with C and the Kiwi 4 years before. P was now retired and living in a comfortable and popular section of Lima. It was great to see them. We caught up on stories, tales of family lore, a few fibs, and had lots of laughs. The food was very Peruvian. We were joined by their daughter Little P, also, now back, from Cusco and living in Lima. The chatter was lively, with Uncle J and I stumbling through the conversation in our grade 1 Spanglish.

At this point, Papi and Mami had already left for home, to Arequipa. We were headed in a different direction, however. This time, we had decided to make a visit to the northern lands of Peru, and see if anything was happening there. I guess, if we were expecting “not much” to see, in the northern half, we were about to be rudely wakened. For as many sights as there were in the south, such as Nazca, Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca, there were equally as many wonders in the north. So we set off. Deysi’s brother El Gordo and his eldest son Gordito, travelled to Lima, to collect Papi and Mami, and deliver them to Arequipa. The rest of us headed back to the airport and embarked for the Northern frontiers of Peru.

On this leg of our journey, we planned stops in Trujillo, Chiclayo, Sechin and Lambayeque. At each stop we discovered wondrous sights from ancient Peru. Each one, more mysterious and enchanting than the one before it. Geezus, was it never going to stop. My head could not take much more splendour! I will try to capture memories from each place we stopped. I am sure that you will find it long and tedious, but I will pause for air, and try to break up my ramblings as much as I can. Promise! No more than one article for each stop.

One of the first places I remember visiting, was a place called Chan Chan. Right on the bare, desolate desert, not far from the coastline, lay an abandoned city, made completely from mud, clay and sand. It was immense. I understand it held room for about 100,000 souls. Of course modern man in all their wisdom, had run the Pan American Highway, right smack through the middle of the ruins. My heart cried our at the short sightedness, laziness and stupidity of someone at sometime, not adding a bend to the highway and bypassing the ruins. This is not our first encounter with short sighted thinking in Peru. After all, didn’t some “knob”, also, run the Pan American Highway thru the Nazca lines, at some point. Geezus.

This city was constructed around 800AD, by the Chimu people of Peru, and existed until conquered by the Inca (circa 1490). At the time of occupation, Chan Chan was the largest city in Pre-Columbian South America. The Inca was not a particularly nice guy, but did, however, allow cultures that he conquered to exist, in their own manner, after conquer. That is, so long as they handed up the appropriate amount of tribute to his coffers, each year. After the Inca conquest, the city seemed to fade and not much was heard of it after this time. For some reason the peoples of Chan Chan just drifted away from their former capital, to parts unknown. Chan Chan was then returned to the desert. Today there are large archeological efforts underway to preserve the ruins by coating them with tiny pebbles and clay. This in order to prevent further erosion.

The Chimu, were a culture very much dependant on the sea. Hence much of their decoration, murals and building facades depicted bird and marine life. Some of the birds were somewhat recognizable, as well as some of the fish. Others had this “other worldly” quality about them. With those you needed to stretch your imagination, to relate them to marine creatures. As I stated earlier, this city was built on the desert. At one point, I believe it held, nearly 100,000 persons, including itinerant farmers and merchants, living part-time in the large open air market. Water was supplied by one moderately sized artesian well, and resevoir. The reservoir was filled with runoff from the base of the Andes. Additionally, water was diverted from local rivers by canals to supplement water needs.

they maintained a reservoir full of water for the use of the inhabitants. The artesian well part still functions today. The day was sunny and hot. We tramped around the ruins taking in as much as we could. The kids were there “in body”, but I think their spirits were longing for the beach or at least some pool time at the hotel. Uncle J and I found particular interest in the burial tomb of one of the previous rulers. It seemed, as if, the custom was, when the ruler passed on, to dig a long burial trench. Into this went the partially mummified remains of the ruler, a couple of servants, some food and whatever of his wives, remained in the area. This so they could accompany the old guy in his next life.

I think, perhaps, he had them thrown in with him, so they could not spend his riches and find a “toy” boy to comfort them on his passing. Who knows, could have been, right? Well for sure, Uncle J and I didn’t make the rules, but, nonetheless, we sure suffered enough abuse for our thoughts. I do know one thing about Deysi and her sister Lupe. Without question, both would have been “long gone” before the “burying started”. I can 100% guarantee that they were not jumping into that hole, if either Uncle J or I passed on. Their butts would have been outta there and off across the desert, each of them with 15 suitcases full of their stuff! I imagine even suggesting such a thought to her. I can just hear her response, “are you crazy?”

One last comment regarding this splendid site. It seemed like the custom was for each of the rulers to build a new city in honour of himself, on top of the ruins of the previous ruler’s city. If, I had not, previously visited other places in the south of Peru, I would have said that this was the most magnificent thing I had ever seen. What remains of this splendid place are sand and clay walls, eroded over the centuries to between 4 and 6 feet high. This culture survived until near the end of the 1400’s. At that point, the Inca and his army laid siege, and cutoff the outside water supply. The aquifer was not enough to sustain the population, and they eventually gave up and faded into the desert. Much in the manner of all Peruvians, taking their secrets with them.

We had snooped around Chan Chan for a few hours and it was now time to give the kids a break from sightseeing. Just joking! So, we loaded them back in the van and headed for the next stop on our agenda. This being the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the moon. They were also located a bit south of our base in Trujillo. Luckily we had arranged a car and driver, so we could cram in as many cultural opportunities as possible. The kids were starting to whine a bit, but all in all, they held up quite well. Thew rode his dad’s shoulders most of the day, while Drew clacked away on his camera. He was quite happy as long as you gave him more film. Thinking back, I wonder if he even has “one picture” remaining from those days. You think?