We woke up this morning to find out that 7 of the 8 motorcycles had busted front fork seals and were leaking oil. We also had a few bent rims that needed welding and/or straightening. Honda was definitely not prepared for these roads. My bike was the only one that survived the onslaught unscathed : )
So, we decided to stay in Trujillo one more night while we fixed the motorcycles.
While working on the bikes, we managed to visit 2 amazing archaeological sites in the area. Chan Chan (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Huacas de Moche. A great experience and a great introduction to the original peoples of these lands.
Chan Chan was the largest pre-columbian city in South America. Built around 850 AD by the Chimu. It had around 50,000 people living here. The Inca conquered the Chimu in 1470 and then the Spaniards showed up.
The Huaca site was older, taller, bolder, more ceremonial. Built by the Moche people around the year 300-500AD next to one of the few mountains/mounds around here. Both sites were very different and impressive.
It is always interesting when an experience like seeing a site were multiple civilizations have lived makes you adjust your time scale from the now to a much larger one that is measured in hundreds or thousands of years.
These sites remind you that people come and go, empires come and go, war and peace come and go, beliefs and religions change, rulers and societies come and go, famines and prosperity ebb and flow ... and the universe soldiers on.
After playing Indiana Jones for a while, we went to eat to one of the best Peruvian restaurants in town. It is definitely true that Peruvian cuisine is one of the best in the world. Had ceviche and tuna. Wow.
All the bikes should be fixed by tomorrow. Jhoner, our support vehicle wizard, is still working on a few things as I write this but it looks good.
Tomorrow, we head up the Andes to the Canon del Pato and then on to Lima.
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