After the waters subsided, several cadavers lay sprawled on muddy roads. North of Trujillo, the highway has disappeared. Days of torrential rains caused the Chicama River to wash away a half-mile stretch of pavement. Shells of trucks that tried and failed to cross the waist-deep water are scattered downstream. At crossings, swarms of men and boys offer to help travelers over the river, for a price.
Thieves mix among the barefoot porters.
One family carried a sobbing grandmother and a few meager possessions across the churning waters. Some 600 trucks line both sides of the river as far as the eye can see, waiting for road crews to repair the highway, their cargoes of fruits and vegetables rotting. Ricardo Ortiz has sat for five days watching his truckload of sugar wash away under torrential rains. This is a disaster. Amazingly, a nearby toll booth remains open to collect fares.