Trujillo

  Trujillo, Peru Tuesday, February 16, 2016

As we pop into this town quite a bit, we thought it would be worth giving this town a little mention. It is Peru's 2nd largest populated city with about 700,000 inhabitants. (Lima is of course the largest with almost 10 million people) It doesn't feel that big when you are there though. The centre has a lot of charm and character of the Spanish colonial type. Here is a brief history from Wiki Trujillo is a city in coastal northwestern Peru and the capital of La Libertad Region. It is located on the banks of the Moche River, near its mouth at the Pacific Ocean, in the Moche Valley. This was a site of the great prehistoric Moche and Chimu cultures before the Inca conquest and subsequent expansion. The Independence of Trujillo from Spain was proclaimed in the Historic Centre of Trujillo on December 29, 1820, and the city was honored in 1822 by the congress of the republic with the title "Meritorious City and Faithful to the Fatherland", for its role in the fight for independence.Trujillo is the birthplace of Peru's judiciary, and it was twice designated as the capital of the country. It was the scene of the Revolution of Trujillo in 1932. Trujillo is considered the "cradle of liberty and cradle of the judiciary in Peru." Trujillo is also known as the "Capital of the everlasting Spring", is considered the "Capital of the Marinera," a traditional dance in Peru, as well as the "Capital of Culture of Peru". It has sponsored numerous national and international cultural events, and has a lively arts community. Being a much larger town it has ..... wait for it..... a shopping mall! We have only come across 2 malls in Peru and they both feel quite new. It seems as if some of the big companies are funding the development of these malls and to be honest, we are glad to have somewhere modern and clean away from all the dust and market stalls sometimes.The main benefit for us is Tottus; the large Asda feel supermarket here. Most of the things we need we can get in Huanchaco but things like nice cheese, large packs of cereal and mushrooms (strangely enough) are hard to find there so we come here. Our favourite places in Trujillo though are Mayorista Market, Plaza de Amas & the Van Gogh. Cafe. Mayorista is a maze of corridors and you can find anything - Yes we mean anything, here. Example. For the carnival parade in Huanchaco, we came here to get our fancy dress costumes (we had to make them we mean - not buy a costume). We found our silky material easily enough but Bryan needed a crown. So we asked at a stall where we might find 'el corona'. 5 aisles down on the right was the reply. Yep. That's exactly where they were! Amazing!Plaza de Amas is the beautiful colonial square - not quite in the centre - but it is a beautifully maintained, clean, peaceful place to be. We came here with Marketa one evening to watch the dancing as there was the world championships being held just after we arrived. Lots of people were practicing out in the streets and it was such a wonderful atmosphere that evening. Even during the daytime it is a lovely place to be, by the fountains thinking cool thoughts. The Van Gogh Cafe we also discovered with Marketa when we were here. It's vegetarian and serve wonderful simple food. Bryan has the burrito every time he comes here as he loves it. Jody is just glad to come for a nice salad and the falafels are great too. Turns out it is run by the same dutchman that owns the restaurant where Jody goes for her Spanish lessons. She thought she recognised him! Although we much prefer Huanchaco as a place to stay, we do like Trujillo so thought it was worth a little mention all of it's own.   [gallery columns="4" ids="13403,13414,13424,13434,13445,13456,13462,13471,13480,13492,13500,13509,13513,13525,13534,13543,13550,13559,13567,13579,13585,13589,13594,13603,13609,13620,13625,13633,13642,13651,13659,13665,13675,13682,13688,13693,13699"]