We had to see the 1/3 mile long sugar shipping pier.

Dear Family and Friends,

As I explained yesterday, even though the coast of Peru is desert, around the river deltas the ground is fertile.  In ancient times cotton was grown here and the people were master weavers.  Since the Spanish arrived this land has been used to grow sugar cain and rice.  

Before we left on our trip, we watched YouTube videos about what to see. One thing we were very interested in was a pier that was built at the turn of the last century.  It is 1/3 mile long and has a railroad track running the length of it.

The purpose of this giant pier was to bring sugar from the mills by train to load on to large sea going ships.

Today's pictures are about this pier, which is no longer used for its original purpose, and what it is used for today.  Also there are a couple of pictures of the beach.

Here is Chuck posing by a huge tricycle sponsored by the Lions Club to encourage putting plastic in the attached container. 

This is the pier that has a railroad track running the length of it.  

There is a nominal fee to walk the pier.  Here is Chuck reading about the building of the pier. 

These large carts are used to take things out onto the pier.  For example we saw a boat being loaded with supplies for the big fishing boats out at sea.

Looking down on a sand bar that separates the ocean from a calm pool of water for kids.  

Quite a few people were using the pier to fish.

But not all had a fishing pole.  This man just drops a line with bait over the side and fishes that way.

Cormorants drying off.

Pelicans galore.

Remember when I mentioned I would tell you more about these reed boats when we got to Chiclayo?  

These fishing boats are ancient.  They are made from reeds because that is what grew in this river delta area.  I even saw a piece of ancient pottery at the museum depicting a man riding a reed boat.  They were used for fishing and today it appears they are also used for sports.  

We walked along the boardwalk to find a place for lunch.  The beach is nicer than the one in Trujillo.  Not as nice as the Gulf Coast, but we can't all have paradise.

We scored big time on our lunch.  We got a mixture of fried seafood, fish, calamari, and shrimp.  We ordered a large order because we were sharing it.  It turns out we could not begin to eat it all.  It was delicious though.

While on the pier, we watched guys loading 55 gallon drums of fuel on to a boat to be taken out to sea to supply the large fishing boats.

I filmed some of the action and if you are interested, you might get a kick out of watching these Peruvian longshoremen.  Click the link to see it in YouTube. 😄Be sure to have your sound on. 

https://youtu.be/ciHJtRZWhx8

Tomorrow I will show you pictures of the market.

Love,

Nancy