Trujillo

Sorry for the space between these entries to all of my faithful readers. This past weekend I arrived in Trujillo, separated from Chimbote by two hours in bus, but worlds apart in appearance. Where in Chimbote, the more expensive houses are two stories and the center is a few blocks of markets and fish restaurants, Trujillo sports colonial architecture in its center, and apartment buildings tower the skyline up to nine stories high.

At the same time, Trujillo has its benefits. Gone are the days (at least for now) where hot water did not exist, where the water would occasionally shut off and a shower would be a bucket of water. Gone are the stifling hot nights without AC.

The only question remains, is this a good thing? The streets of Chimbote were filled with friendly, cerveza swilling people, willing to make fun of gringos passing in the street and whistle at pretty girls. Here in Trujillo, it hardly seems that anyone has any time to do anything other than get from point A to point B, talking on their mobile phones the whole time. Up until this point, I had found the socioeconomic difference large between cities here and in the states, but not uncomfortable. On the contrary, Trujillo, with its clean streets and busy people, which could be any city in the states, seems unwelcoming.

A short fifteen minutes from the city, however, is the beach pueblo Huanchaco, where western values have yet to penetrate. What used to be a beach has slowly grown into a sleepy little town, where all the people know each other and are willing to talk to you about pretty much anything. It also sports some sizeable swells, as well as some of the best surfers in Peru. Last Thursday, I went to my first surf championship, where the sixteen best surfers in Peru competed for the big air title of Peru. Eight of the surfers were from Huanchaco, and although none of them won, several placed highly and the event was quite interesting overall.