Roaming South America

Pucallpa, Perú

August 7, 2023

Pucallpa, Perú, is a city in the central-east part of Perú. It is alongside the Ucayali River with the Amazon region starting on it's east side. The Pucallpa metro area has a population of about 396,000 which is far bigger than I am looking for in a new home town. But, I thought it would be a nice place to visit as it is the last city before entering the Amazon. The 2007 census shows that there were, in 2007, 114 people who indicated they could speak a foreign language, particularly English.

Constitución, Perú

August 5, 2023

Constitución, Perú, is a very small town with no paved roads. The only paved road is the main road that goes through town. The entire Constitución district has a population of around 18,000 with a little more than half of that in the town. The town does have one ATM. When I first arrived I asked several people in different businesses where an ATM was and they all said either there isn't one in Constitución or they didn't know if there was one. I found it, the one and only ATM which apparently at least some of the locals don't even know exists. There's also no supermarket or even mini-markets, but there are numerous small convenience stores and many other shops with pretty much everything you would need. After all, it is at least a 3-hour drive to the next real city of any notable size.

Pichanaqui, Perú

August 4, 2023

Pichanaqui, Perú, has a population of about 42,000. The town/district is located pretty much in the center of Perú. It sits in a valley at an elevation of about 525 meters (1722 feet). The name Pichanaqui comes from two Quechua words: 'picha' means dragged or swept away; naqui (or naki) means river. The town is also known as the coffee capital of Perú.

Mazamari, Perú

July 27, 2023

Mazamari, Perú, has a population of about 45,000. This is my second visit to Mazamari because I like it enough to visit twice and put it on my top 10 list of potential new home towns.

I wrote about Mazamari here in my blog dated February 18, 2023, so you can read the complete story there. This time I am revisiting and seeing a bit more of the town. I have now met two people here that speak at least some English, though barely conversational. Back in February during my visit there was one afternoon rain shower, and now in my first two days here there has been rain showers both afternoons. They are typically short and often heavy. I hiked to the top of the antenna hill with a friend and her daughter, the hill is at the edge of town. I took a few pics of the city, they're in the photo album.

Paucarpata, Perú

July 19, 2023

Villa de Santa Cruz de Paucarpata (Paucarpata), Perú, has a population of about 132,000. Paucarpata is the direct neighboring city to Arequipa. The two make up one large metropolitan area with a population of about 200,000.