I hope the holidays treated you well! Charlie and I had a fabulous time in Chimbote, Peru. We bused here shortly after our stay in Trujillo. A few museum pictures to wrap up Trujilllo. These ones are taken from the Moche Museum. The first picture almost got us kicked out of the museum. There were no pictures allowed, but of course once we had a moment without the guides staring at us, Charlie snapped a quick photo. Little did we know, there were cameras (eyes in the sky) staring at us the entire time. Charlie played dumb like he didn't know how to speak Spanish (probably wasn't an act) and I explained that we were going to take a photo, but the lighting was too dim. I don't know if they believed us, or could even understand me, but they let us keep the camera and we could finish our tour. The photo is of what a typical dress piece that the emperor would wear to a special ceremony. I don't get what's the big deal because it was a replica anyways, but they probably don't want photos of their museum, so people actually have to pay to view the exhibits. Pictures were allowed to be taken in the temple.
The above picture is of the ancient town. We are standing on top of "La Luna" looking out. It used to be green in vegetation with hundreds of people filling the area. The photo below is where the emperor used to sit during religious ceremonies. When bad weather came, the people would give a human sacrifice to restore order. Two of the best warriors were choosen to fight each other. The winner had to knock off the other person's helmet and grab their hair. Once deemed the loser, the warrior was stripped of their clothes and beaten to death. The emperor would then drink the blood of the loser in front of the town on this pedistal and a festival was short to follow.
The last series of photos are of the outside wall of the temple. It tells the story of the sacred religious ritural. Each layer is an important aspect to the human sacrifices starting from the bottom working upwards.
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Enough with the blood, here is our first scenic view from the room of our hostel. BEAUTIFUL! It was our Christmas present to ourselves, a hostel with a view, toliet seat, and hott running water. Pretty fancy.
The last two pictures are of us out celebrating Christmas. We are at a local bar with live music. It was really fun to listen to a live band, but the awkward stares were a little uncomfortable. I guess we stick out where ever we go, even a dim lit bar. Our waiter was kind enough to take a photo for us. It was probably because we were the only ones tipping. It pays to give good service. :)
Chimbote was a pleasent experience. It started off with me direly needing to use the restroom from our bus ride. I stupidly drank too much water and fresh squeezed orange juice right before boarding the bus. Those three hours seemed like a life time! I won't be making that mistake again. We quickly found a nice cheap hostal and began our "vacation," which included watching TV and drinking wine.
One day, we decided to watch a group of locals play soccer in the streets. Before we knew it, there were 15 to 20 kids all around us sitting down and listening to us talk. I started conversing with them in Spanish and they were fascinated by us. They wanted to know everything about our lives in the United States. This was their first time talking to English speakers, and they have not met anyone with blonde hair that could speak Spanish. "What's it like? What foods are there? Do you have a car? Do you have a bike? Do you have your own room? What's your favorite color? How old are you? Do you have a mom? dad? sister? brother? pets? Are there flowers there?" Anything and everything you could think of, they asked. They touched our hair and were fascinated by Charlie's curls, light eyes, and fair skin. Charlie gave them two american dollars to share, and it was the best thing ever for them. They couldn't believe what our money looked like or that there was green grass in our yards. We told them about water skiing, and they replied they once saw a video of people doing that in school. Laptops were the coolest thing for them to talk about, and they have never used them before. Everyday they rode their bikes around our hostel just to smile and say "hi" to us. Eventually the adults in the community started saying greeting us with the phrase "Hello Barbie and Ken." I guess "Charlie and Matti" are too hard to remember? The kids were so excited about Christmas and even more excited that we celebrate Christmas the same day as they do. By far, the BEST part of my trip!
Our Christmas was very nontradicional but equally as fun. In South America towns practically shut down on Sundays, and since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, we didn't think we were even going to get to eat. Finally we found a local restaurant and ate fish sticks, fries, and noodles for lunch. For dinner, the town had more options. We ate at the only restaurant that served wine, Chifa, a chinese place. Drank wine, ate wontons, and more noodles and rice followed. After dinner, we went to the cartoon movie "Puss and Boots." It was in Spanish, but very easy to follow along because it is a kids movie afterall. Facial expressions can explain all you need to know. The theater housed about 30 people, and it was cramped! A medium popcorn cost less then $2.00. Finding seats was difficult at first because there were no lights, but a young couple held a cellphone light to direct us to the only two seats left. Thankfully they we located by each other. Unfortunately Charlie was seated next to a fatty and with no arm rests to divide seats, we got to share mine. :)
More bus terminal stays are ahead of us. Tonight we are leaving at 11:45pm to Lima. We should arrive there around 6:30am and then take off to Cusco at 2:30pm. Our goal is to get to La Paz, Bolivia for New Years. Thanksgiving in Ecuador, Christmas in Peru, and New Years in Bolivia. Who said life after graduation isn't as fun as college? I beg to differ.
Love always,
Matti Jo and Charles Dale
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