The week before Easter I flew up north to Lima, Peru (my old haunting ground) where I spent a few days relaxing before heading to the northern city of Trujillo, the third largest city in Peru. Trujillo is most well known for its pre-Colombian era ruins.
The first excursion was to Chan Chan, which 600 years ago was the largest city in the Americas. There, I saw an amazing adobe walled ancient city dating back to 850 AD. After Chan Chan, I headed to Moche, an ancient city dating all the way back to 100 AD. There, I witnessed two amazing pyramids - the pyramid of the sun and the moon.
The Moche were contemporary with the Nazca civilization further down the coast from Trujillo, but, thanks to their conquest of surrounding territories, they were able to accumulate the wealth and power necessary to establish themselves as one of the most unique and important early-Andean cultures in South America.
While not as spectacular as my trip to the Inca region near Cusco or Caral (the oldest city in all of North and South America, dating back to 2,600 BC) south of Trujillo, this was a very educational experience and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Best of all, while in the VIP lounge in Lima waiting to fly back to Buenos Aires, I sat next to Ricardo Gareca, the coach for the Peruvian national team, which will compete in this year's World Cup for the first time in 40 years. Gareca is Argentine and spends his time commuting between BA and Lima. Needless to say, he's a national celebrity in Peru.
Click here to see more pictures from my latest journey.
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