Trujillo

Adam Davis

TRUJILLO, Spain — Cobblestone streets. A house made of motor and stone. A church where the community gathers together. A castle at the top of the mountain to defend the city.

The institutions of society past have become the tours of the present.

The ancient city of Trujillo offers a beautiful blend of an ancient city and modern buildup. The pharmacy in the Jewish quarter of the city shows this interesting juxtaposition.

To start the tour, we hiked up the mountain to the castle that looks out over the city. The position of the castle at the top of the mountain provides a lookout view for miles. More subtle elements of the castle, like the angle of the battlements on the walls, also show that this castle was vitally important for the defense of Trujillo.

After exploring the castle, the group walked to the house where Conquistador Fransisco Pizzaro was born. The home seemed surprisingly humble for a man who would one day conquer a large swath of Central and South America. Three rooms downstairs, a small open space upstairs for the children. A beautiful ceiling in the dining room gave me the only clue that the family may have been wealthy.

Walking through the city down to the Plaza Mayor, I saw beautiful cactuses and flowers. The smells of the plantlike in many places were unlike what I’ve smelled in North America, and to close my eyes I felt transported to a different time.