Day 156 – Huamachuco, PE to Trujillo, PE

Day 156 – Huamachuco, PE to Trujillo, PE     01/24/11      Mileage: 144

After a quick bite at Doña Emilia Cafe, I was out the door at 8. My first stop was the archaeological site of Markawamachuco (or Marca Huamuchuco) only a few miles from town and according to my guide book…one of the most important pre-Inca sites in Peru. For being so close, I had a hell of a time finding it though.

The last mile up to the site was a narrow and rutted track as it is perched on a mountain top. The view alone from up there made it all worth it…and I was the only one there to boot! Luckily the information signs were in english too as my “archaeological spanish” is, umm, thin to say the least.

So after my one hour self guided private tour, I split for the coast and the town of Trujillo. The road out of Huamachuco climbed steadily and topped out at 13, 750 feet…the highest road yet on this trip.

The air was thin and cold…and well suited for…well, a llama! NOW I feel like I’m in South America! I sat there and watched him (or her?) for a good 10 minutes…and he didn’t seem bothered by me at all even though I was 15 feet away.

Well, it was all down hill from there…litteraly and figuratively. But, although the road was mostly down hill it was a horrid! There were more holes in the dirt then there was dirt road. It was a bone shaking, spine powdering 3 hour decent and I can’t believe the bike is still in one piece…though I did develop a squeak coming from the front fairing. The road did eventually turn to pavement and it was a nice roll down to the coast from there….

The temperature back down at sea level was balmy and warm and what you would expect in a tropical climate. Once in Trujillo I found a room, showered and hopped a taxi to the town center for a little look around. Like every Spanish colonial town, and almost every other town in Latin America, Trujillo has a central square…and a really nice one at that.

 There is also a nice pedestrian walk stretching several blocks from the southeast corner of the square. After dinner and some internet, I called it a night. Tomorrow it’s back up into the mountains via the Cañon del Pato…I highlight of this trip that I´ve been looking forward to.