Caral

Saturday was the day we visited the oldest city in America, Caral. The night before we had all gone out and luckily Rosana knocked on my door to wake me 20 minutes before we were supposed to meet the group. I quickly showered and grabbed a piece of bread before we were out the door on the way to the Youth Hostel. The bus ride was about 3-4 hours with a rest stop in between in which I was able to purchase a pack of sliced ham and Gatorade for my pounding hangover.

 

When we got to Caral I was a little skeptical because all I could see was desert and I didn’t really know what to expect. I had dressed in black jeans and it was scorching hot out. A lot of people were in sandals and weren’t prepared for our semi-lengthy walk to the ancient city.

 

On the trail to Caral, there were 3 horses and 2 horse carriages being offered for either 2 soles (carriage) and 5 soles to ride the horse. Unfortunately I had no idea we could have rode the horses apart from our group otherwise I would have hopped on. Some people did, however, get the memo and saved themselves a pretty dry, hot, lengthy hike.

When we arrived to Caral we split up into two groups, one that preferred a Spanish tour versus an English one. I chose English so I would be able to pick up more information. I do pretty well on Spanish tours, too, but sometimes I zone out and miss a mouthful of words that are hard to piece together, especially in Spanish.

We learned about the ancient pyramids of Caral and that the site was only recently excavated within these last 10 years. We saw the tombs without pointy tops, similar to prehispanic Moche or Chavin. Apparently the pyramids were hollow tombs, except for the top where there was a small opening for bodies. Only 4 human remains were found and the site is undergoing a lot of investigation right now. Archeologists only started analyzing little pieces of the city, trying not to remodel anything. The only alterations that were made were little rock walls build to prevent sand from destroying the ancient city. A lot of what was being done while we there was restoration, the process by which workers remove rocks and things and clean them off/make them look good and put it right back. Throughout our tour we also got to see a lot of holes in the ground which was probably the place that held the fires to cook and burn sacrifices. Our tour guide also explained the oddly placed stone buried partially underneath the ground. Theories include it being a sun clock or a mark that was central to the entire city.

 

When we left Caral we were all pretty starving and tired. I napped because the heat was just too much. Tess woke me up when we got to this pretty fancy restaurant that served us duck, chicken, and salads. I chose the duck dish which was actually very delicious. I’m a huge fan of duck, ever since I visited China, and was relieved to finally catch a break from all the chicken incorporated in Peruvian food.

After we ate we headed back to Miraflores for a solid 4 hours because of traffic. Along the way I woke up randomly and caught a glimpse of the sunset over the Pacific. It was an amazing sight to see and the whole bus just stared in awe. I wasn’t able to take out my camera and try to nab a picture. It was really a beautiful sunset by the cliffs and I wish I had a picture to show for it. I know a few people on the bus took pictures so I’m going to wait until they post them up and I’ll steal a few for this blog.

As for that night, most people decided to stay in, including me. I thought to myself that I definitely needed sleep such a long week and eventful weekend.