From Maya to Inca: Chiclayo, the city of friendship

Thursday, 27 June 2013

Chiclayo, the city of friendship

I had no intention whatsoever of going to Chiclayo. Firstly, because it´s close to the coast and I wanted to stay in the mountains, and secondly because I had heard that it wasn´t particularly interesting and not the safest of towns. But my rerouted border crossing and the fact that I didn´t want to spend another ten hours on the bus straightaway meant that I didn´t have too much choice. So I hit Chiclayo with my two new travel mates and I threatened to leave within a few hours on the next night bus. The constant sound of horns beeping was driving me insane and I was desperate to get to the quiet town of Chachapoyas which would have been my end destination had I been able to cross the border the other way. But one of the best things about travelling alone is the people you meet - I had found two great travel companions in Rita and Max and I was inclined to just go with the flow. I decided to give Chiclayo the benefit of the doubt. We ate ceviche, wandered the streets and explored the market, which apparently is one of the most spectacular markets in Peru and even contains a witchcraft section. And I ended up growing quite fond of this town in 24 hours. We didn´t see a single other tourist there, people were friendly, the food was good, and we had a great night out on a Monday evening! "La ciudad de la amistad" (the city of friendship) as I ironically found out it is called despite my misgivings, has grown from a small rural community founded by Spanish missionaries in the 16th century into a flourishing town, and the surrounding area has some fascinating history.

eating ceviche

La Plaza de Armas

entrance to witchcraft section

Premium, the best club in town

2 comments:

Unknown4 July 2013 at 10:29
I love how the fruit is stacked- That must have taken time!
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Joanna8 July 2013 at 20:07
I know - doesn't it give you a sudden urge to knock it all down?!
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Interesting facts

Another slightly subjective fact. Peruvian mountain roads are among the most dangerous in the world.
Kuelap is a Chachapoya fortress in Northern Peru built before Machu Picchu.
Peruvian men are the most persistent men on the planet.
Blue zones are called blue zones simply because Dan Buettner and his research team (who first identified the blue zones) used blue ink to circle the areas on a map with the highest life expectancy. Nothing more, nothing less.
The Inca civilisation arose from the highlands of Peru sometime during the early 13th century.
Contrary to popular belief, Panama hats are not made in Panama but in Ecuador.
Ten of the volcanoes along the Avenue of Volcanoes are higher than 5000 metres.
Rafael Correa has introduced the "pico y placa" system in Quito, following the Colombian example, "pico" meaning "peak" and "placa" meaning "plate". Cars are restricted from circulating in Quito on certain days during morning and evening rush hours according to the last number of their registration plate, in order to ease traffic congestion.
Quito is 72 kms long and 10 kms wide.
Quito is the oldest capital in South America and lies 2800 metres above sea level.
The sex of the tortoises bred in the breeding centre in Puerto Ayora on the Galapagos islands depends on the temperature of the incubators. The eggs kept in incubators at 29.5 degrees celsius become females and those kept in incubators at 28 degrees celsius become males.
The giant cacti of the Galapagos islands are the only species of opuntia cactus in the world that grows like a tree.
Legend has it that the Incas discovered the Galapagos islands in the fifteenth century but no solid evidence has been found to prove this.
Slightly subjective. Playa del Carmen sells the most expensive ice cream in the world. But it tastes pretty good.
The piece of lime in the top of a bottle of beer was originally not for the taste. It was used to wipe the rust off the rim.
Mayan mothers used to wrap planks of wood around their children's foreheads to flatten them.
The dazzling blue ocean along the Mayan riviera is due to the fact that there are no rivers feeding into it. And because of the lack of nutrients flowing into the sea, there is also less animal life along this part of the ocean.