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Mar. 26, 2024

During my journeys through South America I have visited 36 towns/cities in Ecuador. In Perú, I visited 48; in Chile, only five; and in Argentina, I visited 16. In Uruguay, I visited five, and in Brazil, three. And in Paraguay I have visited 26. In Colombia I've visited 85. That's 224 towns/cities in South America.

I'm in Barranca, Perú.



Barranca, Perú

2024/03/26

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Baranca, Perú and was founded in 1823 as a district. The area the town sits in has been inhabited since the pre-Inca era. The town has around 60,000 people, and is located some 175 kilometers north of Lima.

The historical name of the town is "Guamanmayo" which dates backs millenia. That name came from the Quechua language and means "River Sparrowhawk". The Spanish chronicler Pedro de Cieza de León, visited the town of Barranca in 1547 and called it "Valle de Guamán" which in Spanish means "Río del Halcón" or "River of the hawk". According to tradition the original town of Guamanmayo was located a couple of kilometers east of the current city, according to notes from the Spanish governor Vaca de Castro in 1543. At that time the town had taken the name "Karanca" which over time has become Barranca. Prior to 1543BC, the communities were characterized by dedicating themselves to activities such as horticulture, construction of houses with terraces, and working in groups on farms. They were known for making ceramics, they lived a mostly sedentary lifestyle, and where known for cotton weaving.

Huarmey, Perú

2024/03/25

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Huarmey, Perú and was founded in . Huarmey is known as the city of cordiality because of the friendliness of the people. Huarmey also has some of the best beaches in Perú.

The history of this region has been traced back to about 2000BC. Those early people eventually joined with the Chavín around 1000BC. After the Chavín came the Huarí people about the 11th century. From them there is an archiological site called the Huarmey Castle. It is a stepped pyramid now within the city suburban area. The pyramid had been looted terribly over the centuries but in 1013, 63 fully intact tombs were discovered, and they contained the bones of the dead as well as some 1,200 other objects associated with them. The pyramid is believed to have been the administrative center for the Huarí people. In 1999, it was declared by the then National Institute of Culture (today the Ministry of Culture) as Cultural Heritage of the Nation. In 2012, the "Huarmey Castle" Archaeological Project was approved. The "castle" or pyramid, is closed to the public as it is an active archeological site, but one can hike around and get pics of the exterior, check in my photo album to see them. It is basically a large mount of rocks/gravel/dirt. The digging area is on the very top. I also walked over to the top of a couple of nearby hills to get landscape shots of the mountains and the town.

Trujillo, Perú

2024/03/22

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Trujillo, Perú and was founded in 1534. The name given at the founding was "Trujillo de Nueva Castilla" but that changed to "Villa de Trujillo" in 1535, then in 1537 it became "City of Trujillo". At any rate, Trujillo is a large city with a bit over 1 million people. In fact, it is the third largest in Perú. This area has been populated for centuries, with known civilizations dating back to around 100BC.

The Moche people lived in this area from around 100BC to about 700AD. That early empire developed extensive irrigation systems showing a great understanding of hydraulic engineering. They also used copper for weapons, tools, and ornaments. The Chimú empire followed from around 1000 to about 1200. Their main center was Chan Chan, which is only a couple of kilometers from the Trujillo city center. There are extensive remains in that archeological site. It is estimated that the population of Chan Chan was around 100,000 at its prime. There are a couple of other archiological site nearby as well.

Pucalá and the Museum Huaca Rajada - Sipán

2024/03/18

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Pucalá and the Museum Huaca Rajada - Sipán. Pucalá is a tiny town of around 10,000. It has several parks, a small bank, of course no supermarket, I saw one gas station, and all the other small shops one would expect. The town itself has nothing to offer a tourist, there is one hostal, but outside of town is the museum Huaca Rajada-Sipán. It is very interesting to those who like archeology. The museum includes many artifacts of the Moche nobles that were found in several tombs as well as many more artifacts from several other sites in the surrounding area. What you will see are findings obtained in 2007, the museum recreates the context in which pre-Hispanic funerary events took place for three figures of the Moche elite: the Warrior Priest (tomb 14), the Warrior Lord (tomb 16) and the Noble Warrior (tomb 15)—the oldest skeleton found to date in Sipán.

Chongoyape, Perú

2024/03/16

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Santa Catalina de Chongoyape or simply Chongoyape is located east of Chiclayo, Perú and was founded in 1825. Chongoyape has a population of about 19,000. The town is located at the western edge of the Andes Mountains and has mountains on three sides, the fourth side is a valley loaded with sugar cane, corn, and rice farming. The name Chongoyape comes from the Quechua language and it means 'sad heart'. That is definitely not indicative of the people in the town. When I was out walking all over the town almost every person I passed greeted me.