We did only a little research on the Internet about the port city of Trujillo we were going to visit during our cruise to Valparaiso, Chile. We learned Trujillo is generally referred to as “The City of Eternal Spring” and were looking forward to this cruise port stop. After visiting, we learned what a bunch of “marketing” that is…
Trujillo, “The City of Eternal Spring”
Some world travelers when writing their blogs seem to have never encountered a bad location in their life. Even when encountering some travel mishap, they are likely to write a blog titled “How I turned Lemons into Lemonade.” Since I’m not trying to lure customers or sell anything, my blog simply tells you like I see it.
When we think of Spring we may think of the saying “April showers bring May flowers.” Well, Trujillo gets virtually zero rain. It is a vast desert of sand. When thinking of Spring maybe we think of birds chirping and hatching baby chicks. Well, not in Trujillo, again it is a vast desert, no rain, so no trees. I do not think that the title Land of Eternal Spring can be based 100 percent on the single favorable Spring characteristic in Trujillo, its mild temperature.
The man above appears determined to have a fun day at the beach, enjoying Spring-like temperatures. At least he will not have to compete for the best spot on the beach.
From a photographer’s point of view, the peak of the mountain mimicking the fertilizer factory roof line appealed to me. When looking at this photo, does the word Spring come to mind?
Traveling on the cruise ship tour bus to some archeological dig, the pride of the city, we pass miles of homes built on the sandy hillsides. No need to build retaining walls or worry about erosion of the sand here, since there is no rain in the City of Eternal Spring. The mountain in the distance shows there is a lot of dust in the air.
Like so many other towns in Mexico and South America, dumping trash in your yard, along the sidewalks or highways is perfectly acceptable. The above trash is on a main thoroughfare for tourists. Wouldn’t it seem like any tourist oriented city would wish to put on a good front and at least clean up the places the tourists will visit? Especially with the moniker “City of Eternal Spring”. The fuegos artificiales sign is advertising fireworks for the upcoming ano nuevo celebration.
Like other Spanish settled towns we’ve visited, many of their buildings appear to be in some form of ongoing construction. As best I can learn from the questions I ask, they build when they have the money. They do not get a construction loan with money doled out at various stages of completion. Notice the iron re-bar sticking out from the support pillars.
The Coveted Ruins, Temple of Moon and Sun
One of the main attractions in Trujillo is the ancient Temple of the Moon and Temple of the Sun. Yes, these ruins are indeed old and slightly colorful. However, with so many other sites in Peru worthy of archaeological efforts, our guide said the government has cut off funding here and directed it elsewhere in Peru.
To get to the Temple of the Moon you must take the short hike up a hill in the City of Eternal Spring featuring colorful and ornate Christmas decorations.
On this hike we learn both the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna are part of Huacas de Moche, and are the remains of an ancient Moche capital city called Cerro Blanco … and on and on and on…
Going to the bank could be an all day affair it seems. Here is the line to get into the national bank of Peru.
I’m ready to get back onto the cruise ship now, please…
Not feeling your joy….but I really like the guy waiting on rain!
Dorothy, you are a true follower and I appreciate it. The big difference in our unexciting posts is partly South America and partly knowing we have a long trail ahead. Machu Picchu and the guinea pig should be better. Thanks for following.
Yes, a true “Garden spot.” 🙂 Eternal spring? Eternal drought is more like it!
Think of ALL the money I just saved you. You can now cancel you trip here. Thanks for following along.
I like the photo of the guy with the hat and flannel shirt. If you told me that he was one of my shot put and discus coaches, I’d absolutely believe you. The caption would be, “When is Dave ever going to get this right?”
Thanks for your continued writings, Harold.
Now we know. Too bad it had to be at your expense!
I like the photos of the people. Better days to come. Thanks for sharing the information.
Makes me grateful for where I live!
I love how you always find the real phots of the places you explore. I particularly like the clothes line photos. There was a Santa doll on that one!
I had forgotten about the Santa Doll. If I had been able to get closer that would have been a good photo. That pic was taken from a moving bus.
Playing catch up. I did not even see a bird 🙂 I wonder if the rebar sticking up is also indicative of what we ran into in Turkey where “completed” buildings were taxed at a higher rate so the buildings were never quite done.
That could be, but with their banking system and difficult borrowing requirements, I think they just build when they have the funds.