Foodie Heaven: Peru

Hello from Peru! It's been an incredibly hot, humid and busy past few days here (in the 80s with about 85% humidity). Our journey so far has been a mix of long travel days, beautiful archaeological sites and some of the most incredible food I've ever had. But let's start at the beginning...

On January 24th, we rose before the sun was even up. We stumbled around the house half asleep, hoping we had everything we needed for our 24 day adventure. We smothered our dog with kisses and were out the door by 5am. After a five hour flight to Orlando, we got a taste for Orlando traffic on the way to the hotel. Upon entering the lobby, we immediately saw our friend Andrea, who we've traveled with in the past, and practically attacked her with hugs. After a welcome dinner to start our journey around the world, it was time for bed... 

January 25th... another 5am wake up call. A travel day. Outside in the pitch blackness once more, we made our way onto the buses and drove about an hour to the airport to catch our plane to Peru. Six hours later, we landed in Lima which is home to 8 million people. As our flight to the North Coast wasn't until the evening and we had time to kill, we headed out in Lima traffic and the adventure immediately started... Our bus ended up hitting the overpass above us, and our driver had to reverse us out of the entire length of the airport! With local police holding traffic and guiding us, we eventually made it out of the airport, out the narrow gate, and into Lima traffic. If you think LA traffic is bad, think again! The streets were a parking lot, full of honking drivers not going anywhere. Finally, we arrived at the Larco Hererra Museum.

Courtyard of the Larco Museum

Rafael Larco Hoyle's art collection began when his father, Rafael Larco Hererra, gave him the first piece in 1923. In 1925, Rafael Larco Hoyle acquired a collection of vessels and other archaeological pieces from Alfredo Hoyle along with collections from the Chicama, Moche, Virú and Santa valleys. On the anniversary of Peruvian independence, Larco Hoyle established the Larco Herrera Archaeological Museum, naming it in honor of his father. Throughout his life, Rafael Larco made hundreds of trips around Peru acquiring ancient artifacts including pieces from Puquina and Inca cultures, pieces in the high plains styles found around Lake Titicaca, as well as pottery objects in local styles in Huancayo, Pukara and Ayacucho. From 1933 to 1941, he even conducted archaeological excavation work and grew the museum's collection to 45,000 pieces. In the 1950s, he moved to Lima taking the museum with him and housing his collection in a remodeled 18th century mansion. In my opinion, this museum is unique for a few reasons... One being that it was the first museum in Latin America to electronically catalogue its entire collection and make it accessible to the general public. This process was started in 2001 and finished in 2007, though it's continually updated to improve access for researchers who study pieces in detail and directly contribute to the museum's curatorship. Another reason I find this museum so special is the fact that the storerooms have been the only ones in Peru and among the few anywhere in the world that are open to the general public. While most museums across the world possess major reserves, access is often restricted. Not here! Wandering around the storeroom you'll see over 30,000 pieces of catalogued ancient pottery artifacts. After our quick tour of the museum's collection, we stopped in the gardens to enjoy some Peruvian cuisine. Our group split a series of appetizers including ceviche (this one was white fish and squid marinated in lime with a little bit of spice), causa (a mashed potato terrine stuffed with fried shrimp and avocado), lomo saltado (steak with French fries) and lucuma mousse (lucuma is a fruit that tastes like butterscotch). After our brief stop in Lima, we flew an hour to Trujillo and finally went to bed 18 hours after we had woken up.

Lucuma mousse

January 26 was another jam-packed day in Trujillo (pronounced tru-he-oh). The Peruvian coast extends from the north at the border with Ecuador to the south at the border with Chile and sees fair weather and sunshine year round. Trujillo is known for its majestic Peruvian Paso horses and their National Marinera contest (a dance) that is currently happening now! Our first stop was Huaca de la Luna, the Temple of the Moon. This archaeological site was part of the ancient Moche (pronounced mo-chey) capital and was constructed between the first and eighth centuries using millions of adobe blocks. Archaeologists didn't know much about the Moche until the 80s, however, as many artifacts were housed in private collections. Now, ceramics are most important in learning about the Moche culture because the people depicted everything from daily life to sacrifices (human and animal). Because there is no ancient language for the Moche and therefore no way of knowing what they called themselves, they were named after the nearby Moche river. Many academics have wondered why this prosperous civilization fell-- it was not because of conflict with other groups but rather due to the weather when there was a big El Niño followed by a drought of 30 years.

To get to the site, we walked up several flights of stairs by the base of the hill.

Our hike up the Moche pyramid began with a steep incline and stairs leading to the ceremonial enclosure where the Moche sacrificed humans and animals. It's interesting to note that the Moche only sacrificed men and the sacrifices were pretty private, instead of public spectacles. Sometimes people would be led up the mountain, but more often than not the person being sacrificed would have their throats cut from behind within this structure. We then entered an indoor area where we saw the Patio of the Rombus with beautiful, colorful murals.

Beautifully in tact murals on the walls

The detail and colors of these amazed me

Heading down towards the old temple's façade

Perhaps the most beautiful part of this site was the superimposition of the old temple's façades... seven layers of gorgeous murals.

The temple's façade

What the temple façade would have looked like

Close up details

The mural of the myths

Panorama of the side wall of the temple with the mural of the myths at the far right

After lunch at a local restaurant where I ate more lomo saltado and more lucuma (this time it was lucuma ice cream and also fruit with a lucuma dressing) and where we saw a marinera dance performance, we headed to Trujillo's only UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Lomo saltado,  my favorite dish in Peru

Lucuma ice cream

A quick iPhone shot of the marinera dance performance during our lunch

Located only three miles west of Trujillo, Chan Chan was the capital of the Chimu Kingdom and is considered the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America. Here, there are ten complexes each with a unique name and function. The high walls are decorated with intricate reliefs, most notably representations of birds, fish, and geometric combinations (some of my favorites represented the ocean).

The outside of the complex

Detailing of fish

The actual complex is a series of passages, almost laid out like a maze

The inside of the complex

Details of pelicans on the bottom of a wall inside the complex

Walking along the inner walls of one complex

The following morning, we headed out towards Huanchaco Beach, the main port of Trujillo until 1870. Its original inhabitants were fishermen who entered the waters on their caballitos de totora (reed boats). Some people even say surfing was invented here. As the locals say, the fishermen were the first to ride the waves on the caballitos de totora. At sunset on their way back from fishing, they rode the waves as they neared the shore. At first, this was a game, and later it was said that this became more of a sport. Using these boats is a 3,000 year old tradition that is still in tact today, even though fishermen have to replace their boats every month. Our first stop was the El Brujo Archaeological Complex. This site was my favorite archaeological site in Peru and, in my opinion, deserves to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located 37 miles northwest of Trujillo, these ancient monuments were once filled with treasure's of Peru's most famous mummy... the Lady of Cao. The Huaca Cao Viejo is the main Moche shrine complex made with thousands of adobe blocks dating back to the first century AD.

Walking up to El Brujo, the site where the Lady of Cao was found 

The Moche Temple, Huaca Cao Viejo, is the main Moche shrine complex

Model of the Moche complex in front of the façade

Detailing on the façade

The upper courtyard contains the ceremonial courtyard and a small pyramid. The walls of the late-period ceremonial courtyard illustrate the God of the Mountain. It's believed that the most rigorous private ceremonies took place here as it was on the main platform where human sacrifices were made.

Panorama from the upper platform looking down towards the museum

Sugarcane fields surrounded the complex

Inside the second building, there's a ceremonial courtyard 98 feet in length. The courtyard walls are decorated with stylized designs of fish (especially rays and manta rays in high relief) as well as freshwater fish. At some time, a high-ranking dignitary was buried at this site in a double-chambered adobe tomb with niches. His body was placed in a reed coffin and was originally accompanied by more than 16 people.

Inside the second complex where more bodies were found in chambers

Catfish detailing on the walls

The last location of the archaeological complex was where Lady Cao was actually found buried 7 feet under the ground. So who was the Lady of Cao? Her tomb is the first evidence of a burial of a female member of the Moche elite and she was perhaps the most powerful woman in Moche history. She is believed to have died around only 25 years of age from postpartum health complications. Upon entering the Lady Cao museum, you can see the actual mummy (viewing via a reflection from a mirror... Her body is located further down in the ground where the elements can be controlled better. Unfortunately, you can't take photos inside).

Where the Lady of Cao was found (the chamber is where the wood logs are in the foreground)

Detailing on the walls

Detailing on the walls

While this museum is small, it offers an incredible insight into the ancient culture. Room one, Tondas Las Aguas, showed the relationship between the archaeological complex and the environment in which it is situated. Irrigation agriculture began at an early time in Peru, though the later Mochica culture expanded agriculture all over the valley. Now, the complex is surrounded by sugarcane. Room two showed roughly 14,000 years of history to show the processes of change and continuity manifested in ceramic techniques. Room three, Cosmos Architecture, focuses on the sacred space as it was built and perceived by the Moche inhabitants as well as objects that have been offered to the building. Room four, the Blood of the Mountains, focuses on ceremonial blood. Standing out from other ethnic groups in the Andean cultural area, the Moche openly and publicly celebrated ceremonial blood. However, the goal of fighting was not always sacrifice... often times, the Moche wanted prisoners. Whoever lost their helmet first in battle became a prisoner, and the blood spilled on the land was intended to be an offering for a good harvest. At the very end of the museum, there was a 3D model of what the Lady Cao would have looked like. Constructed by examining the mummy and by analyzing living people of similar origin, artists have carefully reconstructed her face.

Lady of Cao Museum

3D model of the Lady of Cao

Process for constructing the 3D model of the Lady of Cao

From El Brujo and the Lady Cao museum, we headed back to Huanchaco Beach for lunch at Big Ben (why it's called that, we have no idea). This meal was probably the best we've had in Peru. The ceviche was definitely the best I've had here, and it's no wonder why... Huanchaco is the birthplace of ceviche made with fresh fish caught by local fisherman, lemons from the nearby Yunga village, and seaweed called "cochayuyo". Our group shared a series of dishes including causa (this one was potato with avocado and crab meat), scallops with parmesan cheese, ceviche, fried catfish with french fries, chicken in a white asparagus sauce, and of course lucuma ice cream and pisco sours by the beach.

View from lunch

Pisco sours by the beach

Scallops covered in melted parmesan cheese

Potato layered with avocado and topped with crab

Fried catfish with tartar sauce

Lucuma ice cream

After lunch, we went to Casa Campo Alcor for a Paso horse demonstration. The Paso horse is considered the smoothest horse to ride. Fun fact: these horses aren't ridden until they're 3 years old!

The beginning of the courtship dance

Dancing with the horses was my favorite part of the show

The footwork of the marinera dance is so unbelievably precise and fast

At the same time the woman is dancing, the horse is galloping around her

Re-creating bull fighting without the bull

A young horse gallops around

Galloping with the Peruvian flag

The grand finale of the show

We've had a wonderful stay here in Peru full of amazing food, exceptionally friendly people, and interesting archaeological sites. Next stop: Easter Island!


Thanks for reading about my adventures… Stay tuned for what’s to come and be sure to hit the subscribe button to be notified of new posts! As always, follow my Instagram @elissatitle for more pics.