RT here. I took a two-day side trip to Trujillo on August 20-21 during a recent trip to Peru. I did a lot of tourism research on the internet, and did some girl research in the Spanish section of PeruTops.

I learned that there was a lot to do touristically, and that the girl options were limited to a couple of brothels, a few night clubs, and a spotty outcall hooker scene. I made contact with a couple of people who contribute to the Trujillo threads, got some information, and made plans for a ‘tour by night’ with a couple of the local guys.

LOGISTICS

I flew from Lima on Taca. There are three or four airlines that go to Trujillo, but Taca was having a sale, so I went with them. The flight was short and uneventful. When I exited the airport, there were the normal “taxi, taxi” guys. I think that they wanted 25 soles to go into town, but I held fast at 15 until one agreed. I paid the same price when I returned to the airport, and 15 soles seems like a fair price.

My hotel was the Hotel Koriana (http://www.korianka.com/). There are a lot of hotels in a 10 block radius of the Plaza de Armas, and the Korianka had a good website, a wireless signal, and answered my emails. I negotiated rates lower than what was posted on their site by agreeing to pay in cash, and booked their best room for 190 soles per night. They had no problem with me checking in at 10 in the morning, after my early flight. The hotel was fine, there was no problem bringing a guest in with me, the breakfast was so-so, and it was a very short walk to the center of town. In retrospect, I probably didn’t need the best room they had, but I figured it was only two nights, and I would rather err on the side of luxury. As I said, there are dozens of hotels in the general area, and I am sure that any of them would be OK.

Taxis were readily available everywhere, and the pricing was reasonable.

Although Trujillo is the third largest city in Peru, it’s not all that big. We passed one large mall, and there are some movie theaters, a large university, and a lot of stuff going on. I’m sure that there are bad areas, but I didn’t feel unsafe at any point of this trip. I couldn’t find any casinos with table games, but there were plenty of opportunities to throw my money away in the slot machines.

SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOUR OF TOWN

After getting settled in the hotel, I broke out my map of town (from the front desk) and charted all of the possible places I wanted to see. I only wound up at one or two of them, while I stumbled upon plenty of other old buildings and museums that weren’t on my list, but were still pretty cool.

Aside from the Town Square, which is your standard-issue Spanish city, I spent some time at the Toy Museum and in the Cathedral Museum, right off of the town square. Both were as expected, and they issued me my own tour guide at the Cathedral, and I learned (in Spanish) way more than I need to know about that church. It was a good afternoon, and I probably would never have another chance to see this stuff again, so I enjoyed it.

Here’s the Toy Museum:




Here’s a few from the Cathedral:




The Town Square and some other places I found:

GIRLS, ETC.

I met up with the guys at around 9:00 pm, and they asked me what I wanted to see. “Whatever you’ve got,” I told them. We decided to check out both of the local brothels, grab dinner, then later, hit a night club.

First, the brothels… La Colonial and Bahia Rosa. Both of them were around 10 sols away by taxi, and although I wouldn’t want to walk around there at night, I didn’t feel very unsafe. It might be worth it to cut a deal with your cab driver to wait around for you; I’m not sure how many cabs are cruising by empty where these joints are.

Both places were pretty much the same. The entry charge at La Colonial was 2 soles and at Bahia Rosa it was (I think) three soles. After entering either club, it feels very much like the Trocadero (or Las Cucardas), where you walk up and down the hallways, and the available girls are standing in the open doorways. The girls ranged in age from 19-30, in looks from beastly to very pretty, and in attitude from bored to death all the way up to exuberant. Two of the young ladies proved to be also very intelligent and insightful, as they both identified me as ‘guapo’. At a price of either 20 soles at La Colonial or 25 soles at Bahia Rosa, I found more than half of the girls doable, again taking price into account. Supposedly, anal is available with many of the girls in both places, for an additional charge. I didn’t go into any of the rooms, but they seemed as clean as could be expected, and better than I had feared. There were signs in both joints warning that everything was done covered, so bear that in mind if you visit.




After dinner, and a heated discussion between my two tour guides, we (they) decided that we would go to Badanys for the rest of the night.

Badanys is supposedly one of the two top clubs in Trujillo, and I would believe that. The club was not far from the center of town (no more than a four sol ride, and all the taxi drivers know it). The place in Lima it most reminded me of was Kilate, except Badanys is larger, had more girls, and I thought that the girls were just a tad better-looking. Admission was (I think) 10 soles, which included a beer, and drinks were 10, or 20, or 30 soles, depending on what you ordered. I think that I may have only paid 5 sols for a bottle of water, but I wasn’t paying close attention by that time of night.

There were girls, they were young and pretty, and there were a lot of them. Three guys entering (one of them a big gringo) did not escape the girls’ notice, and many of them did their best to catch our attention. We avoided all advances while watching the show (standard Peruvian stripper shows), but finally, we started making friends.

My first amiga was young, pretty, thin and friendly. She planted herself on my lap and we got to talking. The first subject was, “Will I buy her a drink? They’re only 20 soles.” I told her ok, and the waiter appeared with her drink and asked me for 30 soles. It turns out that to get a 20 sol drink, you have to ORDER a 20 sol drink, and my girl didn’t do that. We got her drink changed, and the discussion turned to the exit fee. It cost, she said, 100 soles to the house and 150 to her for two hours at my hotel. I checked with one of my local friends, and he confirmed that I was quoted the correct rate. The next thing I knew, her drink was gone, and she wanted another. I told her that I knew she got commissions on the drinks, but she needed to slow down some. I guess my Spanish wasn’t good enough, because she kept asking me for another drink, time, and time, and time, and time again. I summoned up enough Spanish to tell her that we were no longer a couple, and threw her back into the lake.

I consulted with one of my friends, and it turned out that his first choice and my second choice were two girls who were hanging out together. We called them both over (they were amongst the crew trying to get our attention earlier), and get settled in. My friend’s girl was a little more aggressive in the club, flashing her ass and being playful with us all, whereas mine was a little more sedate. Karen was from Tarapoto (which seems to be a hotbed of pretty young ladies), with long streaked hair, a nice rack, and a pretty smile. She asked me what went wrong with my first choice. I told Karen that she was my first choice, but she was busy, so I settled for the other girl. The problem with the other girl was, I said, that she drank too quickly. I told Karen that I understood that drinks=money to the girls, but it was MY money, so she needed to slow down. Karen took the hint, and only drank two drinks in the hour we spent cuddling (her) and fondling (me) in the club.

We finally left with my amigo and his date. He dropped us off at my hotel, where Karen and I enjoyed a very pleasant, non-rushed hour and a half in bed. We spent a while just laying in bed making out, and after, Karen did whatever I wanted (covered, and I am not all that adventurous), and we finished in a multiple-position blaze of glory. She got dressed and let me take a couple of clothed pictures to remember her by. I gave her 20 soles and walked her to the street to get a cab back to the club.

Photos: Karen - Badanys 01 02

FOOD

It’s a simple equation: Peruvian food is great, Trujillo is in Peru, so the food in Trujillo is awesome. At least it was in the three places I found.

I had lunch on Saturday at the Caminito. The address is Avenida Juan Pablo II N° 511. It wasn’t far from the town square; I believe that I only paid four soles for the taxi ride.

This place was packed on a Saturday late afternoon, and I soon found out why. I started out with the Causa a la Trujillana (13 soles), which hardly qualified as a causa at all. Down at the bottom was some causa potato, but the whole thing was smothered with cooked onions, tomatoes, and a quarter piece of chicken (all warm). It was delicious, and the causa took on a lot of the flavor from the toppings. That was enough for a meal for a normal person, but I continued with Tacu Tacu de Pato (15 soles). This was pretty much rice with duck, except the duck was paired with a Tacu Tacu patty as opposed to the standard rice. I added a large pitcher of frozen lemonade, and was out of there for 36 soles. For food that quality, I would have not batted an eyelash if the check had come to 50 soles, so I felt like I scored a great bargain.





On Sunday, during my tour, we stopped at a restaurant ‘turistico’ for lunch. Yes, we were tourists, but most of the tables were filled with local people who were out for Sunday lunch. It turns out that El Sombrero also has a show on Sunday, and the locals come out to watch it. I had the Dieta de Pollo (chicken noodle soup, sort of), followed by a classic arroz con pato (rice & duck). I was also able to grab a picture of one of my co-tourist’s Pato Guisado. Everything was good but not outstanding, and was reasonably-priced.




Saturday night, the guys took me to Chelsea Restaurant. The restaurant is housed in an old building… there’s lots of dark wood and high ceilings. It reminded me of Jose Antonio in Lima. We feasted over an appetizer of Conchas a la Parmesana and a Mexican assortment of different items (with soft taco shells), and then we all had a dish of cabrito over risotto. The dishes were – in order – delicious, delicious, and delicious.




Everything was so good (and cheap… the dinner totaled 200 soles for the three of us, including drinks) at Chelsea, I threw away the other suggestions I had and went back there all by myself the second night.

Not having the luxury of people to share appetizers with, I took it upon myself to order enough food for an army. I started with a huge Chicken Ceasar Salad, then followed up with an order of Chicken Wings (!), and for my main dish, Lomo a lo Macho. This dish is usually a filet of fish covered by a mixed seafood sauce, but these guys did it over a piece of steak. Since that wasn’t nearly enough food, I also ordered a side of Chocolo.




I was able to confirm that the quality of the food the night before was not a fluke. It was equally excellent the second night. The total for all this food was 71 soles, and I felt that I got away with murder. Chelsea is also open for lunch and they have a Sunday afternoon buffet, too. There seemed to be a back room with live music where some well-dressed people were heading on Saturday night. If I lived in Trujillo, I would eat here a lot. Above, I compared the look and feel of this restaurant to Jose Antonio; the food was equally as good, at a noticeably lower price.

SUNDAY TOUR

I knew that the greater Trujillo area was full of historic stuff, and I probably wouldn’t be able to manage it all myself, so I did some searching for an organized tour. I usually don’t like to voluntarily put myself into the Tourism Machine, but I didn’t think there was much of an option here.

I stumbled upon Moche Tours (http://www.trujillodelperu.com/) in my research. Their website promised to take me to most of the ‘hot’ tourist spots during a full-day tour for just US$20. I wrote to them in bad Spanish, and they replied in English. The tour included hotel pick-up, a stop at a restaurant for lunch, and a tour guide, all for the $20. Admission to the sites was to be paid by me, but it still seemed like a bargain. They even offered to get a separate, English-speaking guide for me, but I declined, figuring that my basic Spanish was good enough, and if I was really interested in something, I could look it up afterwards.

Well, they picked me up in a 9-passenger van, and drove us all around for the entire day. We visited the Huaca de la Luna, Chan Chan, and ended up with a brief stop at the oceanside town of Huanchaco.

The Huaca de la Luna was a MUCH bigger version of Huaca Pucallana in Miraflores. It was very impressive, and the historians have done much more excavating and restoration than the Huacas I have seen in Lima.





After lunch, we headed out to Chan Chan. The main walls of Chan Chan are pictured on the new 20 sol bill, and I figure that if something makes the back of the money, it must be impressive. It was.

Chan Chan is the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America. We only got to visit part of it, and it is pretty damn huge. I am not usually a big fan of this kind of stuff, but I was very impressed with both Chan Chan and The Huaca de la Luna. My battery was running low in my camera, so I only got off a few shots at Chan Chan.




We piled back into the van and headed out to Huanchaco for a half hour of walking around and looking at the ocean. For me, it wasn’t much of anything special, but I have spent a lot of time near the water all over the world, so maybe I am not the best one to judge.

That was it for the six-hour tour. I gave the tour guide 20 sols, and the driver another 10, and they both seemed happy with their tips. As far as I can tell, there are about 834579865 different tour companies in Trujillo. I don’t know if I got lucky with the company that I picked, or all of them offer a nice tour for a very fair price. I just know that I probably would not have seen everything I did if I had handled it on my own, and I probably would have blown almost US$20 on taxis alone, plus we had a guide with us as well.

WRAP-UP

I had a good time in Trujillo. I got to see some new stuff, I ate some wonderful food, and I spent a fun night checking out the hooker situation, not to mention having a very good time with a sweet girl. Will I be returning to Trujillo? Probably not. I’ve seen all that I’m going to see there, and there are pretty (and willing) girls all over the world. Am I happy I went? Of course I am. Will I eventually visit another city in Peru, even though it will be pretty much more of the same, with a town square, an old church, some historical stuff, a brothel or two and a night club? Absolutely. It’s fun, and that’s why I do this.

Wow! Thank you very much for this report! The pics are great! I feel hungry already! Question: Did you see a lot of tuberculosis in Peru? I saw in tv it is #1 for that.

Thank you!

Appreciate taking the time and effort to post on a place rarely mentioned...

The price seems ok at about $92 for a couple hours but the fichas seem expensive as well. This girl just gave a covered BJ by habit or your asked for it?

Great report by the way, but I don't like this trend of latina cunts and covered BJ's. Thank God for Cubanas and Brazilians.

If Colombia had the consistent quality and variety of Peruvian food I would have considered moving there, but its not even close. That pato and green basil rice is making my mouth water. Been going to Peru since the 70's and the food is half the fun.

BLAZERS: Thanks for the compliment. I would never ask for a covered BJ, but I let the girls do whatever they are comfortable with. When they want to break out the condom, I always give a try for 'later', but I mostly let them do what they want. Whoever wrote the 'safe sex' curriculum for the Peru school system did a very good job of scaring most of the girls in the country silly.

Yeah, girls' drinks are expensive. At least you get your ten bucks' worth of fondling out of it. I just mentally compare the value to when I buy a lap dance for $25 back home.

ANDRES: I'm not sure where I would 'see' TB. I do know that all Peruvian babies are inoculated for various 'stuff'. They intentionally leave a blemish on the arm where the shots were given.

good rpt . Anthony Bourdain wishes his trips were as fun as yours.
i recall a recent food magazine issue heralding lima as the new cuisine capital of south america.
i agree the beach in huanchaco is nothing special.
chiclayo, located north 3.5hr by bus, is like TRU.

(Message edited by zoner on October 20, 2011)

I prefer the beach next door called Huanchiquito or if you have a car or find a taxi who will take you to a hidden gem out of the way beach in Trujillo called "Las Delicias"