Salaverry, Peru

Today the ship docked in Salaverry, Peru. At breakfast, we decided to spend the day with some of our new friends, Frank and Philomena. After breakfast we met them at the bottom of the ship. The four of us then negotiated with a few cab drivers who spoke little English. We chose to go with a man named Francesco who drove us to the sun and moon pyramids. Unfortunately the sun pyramid is closed to the public but the moon pyramid is open and serving. We got a nice tour guide who wasn’t feeling well. She had to take a few breaks, but was full of information and answered all the questions that were asked. She told us that the ruins were a temple for the decapitation god. She said that when the Moche people had bad weather they rounded up the most elite warriors and made them battle each other with clubs. She said that the losers were prepared (beautified) for sacrifice and given a very strong alcohol that would cause hallucinations. She said that they were then led into a special room with ropes around their necks where they would be beheaded. Then they would put some blood in a cup and present it to the priest, who would then drink the blood in front of the population. She said the Moche people only did this twice. The first time, coincidentally, the bad weather stopped. The second time the bad weather didn’t stop so they stopped worshiping the decapitation god. However, you can still see images of the decapitation god depicted on the walls of the worship facility. Unfortunately, much of the pyramid was destroyed by Spanish grave robbers.

Images of the decapitator god made by the Moche

Walls of the ruins

An artwork found in the ruins

After that, Francesco took us to Chan Chan, where we were told that there were no tours available at the time. We decided is wasn’t worth it so we went to Trujillo. We bumped into some of our other friends Luisa and Gene. Frank and Philomena left and Francesco took his money and left also. Luckily, Luisa and Gene knew what they were doing, and within a few minutes we were in a massive market full of all sorts of things. They had lots of tropical fruits, lots of fish, a few chickens that were chopped in half with their guts hanging out, and a lot of toiletries. Unfortunately we were unable to buy anything because the food there isn’t always clean.

A fruit stand at the market

After that we went to a typical colonial house that had been turned into a museum. It was far too big for one family. There was no glass in the windows, and no doors in the doorways. It was all open air. It was nice, but I thought that the people who lived there must have gotten a lot of mosquito bites.

This isn't the house we went to because we couldn't take pictures there, but it is a government building much like it.

After that we headed to the shuttle. The shuttle drove us down a street with garbage piled high on both sides. I realized that there were only trash cans in restaurants and stores so everybody just threw their trash on the street. It was sad. Finally, the bus arrived at the ship and we were able to have some dinner. It was a very good day.

Good Bye!