Finding Our Way to Caral in Peru

Our journeys began on Monday morning, Nov 21st. We all (10 plus 3 escorts, guide - driver and Cesar) boarded the travel van after a collective breakfast of eggs, potatoes, cheese and homemade hot sauce, fresh rolls and juice - tummy's full and rested.  7:00am isn't the best traffic in Lima.  But finally we reached the Pan American Highway headed north 197 km to Caral.  Travel time was a little over three hours with a stop to pick up Cesar, one of the other Temple workers, in downtown Lima.  In the back is Kay and Robert Lees, the Temple President and wife.  Next is the host and hostess of our breakfast, the Fishers, George and Ruthann.  George cooked the breakfast to the sounds of good old country music.  Just like Saturday morning in our house.  Ruthann said she took good directions and chopped up stuff. 

Added to this group is Elrain Thompson one of our apartment mates.  Missing from these shots is Larry Thompson, Claudia, Robert and Portia NeVille who were in the front portion.  Cesar the driver and Miriam the interpreter-guide lead the way.  It was a cozy but friendly & accommodating 13-some.  Their homes are- Thompson-West Jordan Utah, Neville - Shasta CA, Lees - Scottsdale AZ, Fisher- SLC, Simmons'-Highland UT. The driver was Peruvian with driving skills acquired from NASCAR.  With all this back seat potential not a word of suggestion.  Only a few gasps and shrieks. 

Downtown Lima is busy and congested like all big cities.  The buildings are varied in size, shape and color.  Governmental buildings are easy to identify adorned with statues, fences and reasonable colors.  Others are plainer and colors straight out of a bad dream.  One circle-O (traffic circle) was surrounded by six blue - five story somethings.  Ghastly !

Because it doesn't rain in Lima, ( I didn't see any automatic systems,) all the plants require watering by hand.  Trucks bring water to parks or they are flooded from a central outlet used to feed the  open trenches.  The parks are generally well adorned with flowers and trees with benches for visitors to relax.  Most are fenced or protected from drivers on the loose.  Animals are infrequently seen, no cats or dogs unless the dogs are on leashes.  In the poorer neighborhoods there are dog packs running here and there.  Safety in the streets is a concern after dark. 

Locals say the city neighborhoods are either A, B or C with some X.  A is the best so imagine the X ones.  No walking there anytime of the day or night in those.  Generally, the A neighborhoods are very nicely maintained but the traffic is still an issue.  Being alert at the crossings is essential.  Drivers have the right of way always.  Streets in the neighborhoods are usually adorned with lombadas or traffic bumps to maintain moderate speeds.  Taxis are not as we see in other parts of the world.  Cars are usually compact or smaller.  No such thing as Yellow Cab or properly authorized and not ripping people off. Prices are negotiated before you hire the cabs.  Haggling is everywhere.  No set prices generally.

Neighborhood classification is likely a 'C' here.  Buses give access out of the central part with no other mass transit system.  Lima would benefit from a train system for these outlying places but they would need to be manned to protect the equipment.  Along side almost every road there are street vendors selling anything from food to merchandise.  It's wise to be cautious about consuming anything from the street vendors.  Never the less, these vendors are simple and hard working.  Is there ever an end to the poor and needy? 

Cesar speaks English and was immeasurably helpful describing the scenes along the way.  Local customs, ethnicity or dialect could vary as the city faded into country side.  Depending on the distance from the water, agriculture popped into view now and then.  Most of the landscape was barren.  It reminded us of something we'd image from the mid-east.  Nothing  but sand or dirt on rocky ridges with absolutely no vegetation of any kind.  In the ocean side lowlands green belts emerged sporting every product from sugarcane, corn, apples, strawberries, bananas etc.  Most fields were row crop varieties.  Goat herds rattled by occasionally with herdsmen attending.

Merchandising is very unique.  Construction materials included bamboo poles, pre-fab walls usually 8 x 12 or other simple dimensions.  Sheets of woven fiber about 4x8 were stacked along side.  Merchants occupied very small kiosks arranged immediately beside many others who were selling the same product or service.  These people seem to be very diligent and hard working.  Most arrive early and stay very late.  Here is a merchants place of business with an average sized taxi in front.  Many many taxis cruise the streets, honking quickly to alert any potential customer.  If you're walking expect constant invitations use them. 

Neighborhood class for this area is C or a little lower.  The higher up on the hill, the lower the class.  No streets or sidewalks exist here so anything you take home is carried.  No plumbing with only slit trenches for plumbing.  Sanitation is non existent.  The neighborhoods furthest from town were the poorest because of access to transportation.  Few buildings are completed.  Re-bar extends from the upper stories and most of the structure is unoccupied.  Finishing a project seems like the toughest things to do.  Some say unfinished buildings are not taxed but that's not for certain.  All construction is cement and ceramic.  Wood construction would be a fire trap and such a fire would take out whole neighborhoods.

The Pan-American Highway (Portuguese: Rodovia / Auto-estrada Pan-americana, Spanish: Carretera Panamericana or Spanish: Autopista Panamericana) is a network of roads measuring about 47,958 kilometres (29,800 mi) in total length. Except for an 87 kilometres (54 mi) rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's longest "motorable road". However, because of the Darién Gap, it is not possible to cross between South America and Central America by traditional motor vehicle.

The Pan-American Highway system is mostly complete and extends from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in North America to the lower reaches of South America. Several highway termini are claimed to exist, including the cities of Puerto Montt and Quellón in Chile and Ushuaia in Argentina. No comprehensive route is officially defined in Canada and the United States, though several highways in the U.S. are called "Pan-American". 
It passes through many diverse climates and ecological types, from dense jungles, to arid deserts, to cold mountain passes. Since the highway passes through many countries, it is far from uniform. Some stretches of the highway are passable only during the dry season, and in many regions driving is occasionally hazardous.  This part is divided with two lanes in each direction.

Famous sections include the Alaska Highway and the Inter-American Highway (the section between the United States and the Panama Canal). Both of these sections were built during World War II as a means of supply of remote areas without danger of attack by U-boats.


Jake Silverstein, writing in 2006, described the Pan-American Highway as "a system so vast, so incomplete, and so incomprehensible it is not so much a road as it is the idea of Pan-Americanism itself…"

Along this vast stretch of coastal plain, the entrance to Caral is difficult to locate.  There is no advertising and no signage to point the way

If it hadn't been for George's GPS, we would have had to resort to asking more locals how to find the access road...or trail as it turned out to be.  Along the trail we'd find painted walls now and then with reassurance of being on course.  Most of these walls are adobe which continues to be used in construction of anything from a home to a partition wall or gateway.  Paint is usually a homemade product using plants or fruits for coloring.  All humanity receded behind us with a few km of the highway leaving only the trail of dust and rocks

Plants spring up everywhere there is moisture.  Roadside flowers adorn the trail before in places we reach a homestead. Children playing with their puppy and stacks of bricks in front of a Palo Verde tree and field of crops was the common sight.  Several turns later and we approached a bridge over this canal. 

This irrigation canal is supplied from the Rio Supe.  Electrical poles seem to invite us to continue in their direction. They must supply needs this way. Despite the canal, no real vegetation grows from here to Caral until you reach the Supe Valley about 14 km ahead.  An amazing phenomenon was the availability of cell phone signal almost everywhere. 

Our first trail took us into a chicken raising area where very large raising barns sit quietly on the floor of the valley.  Because of disease being introduced by clinging to the outside of the van or on the tires, the vehicle had to be sprayed with DDT (yes).  It is used in parts of the world just like this.  The applicator wore no mask or protection as he cranked up the pump and sprayed the vehicle.  Windows rolled up tightly protected everything inside, including all of us. Sign reads -  forbidden to enter of vehicles and people. Not authorized to enter any vehicle without washing and Disinfecting.

If you come to a fork in the road - Take it !  good advise if you know which fork is the best one.  Three tries took us to parts unknown, on foot investigation of the depth of the sand underfoot was required if we didn't want to get stuck.  The driver didn't risk getting this highway beast buried in the sand so he backed up each time.  The last time he did find a hard pack to turn around.  No signs to show the way, unless you count piles of rocks of some derivation we knew not what. 


 The inspection team of highly skilled gringos and one truly talented Latin brother inspected the terrain, soil conditions, took readings of the rainfall and generally wasted itself with advise.  Our work wasn't totally in vain, as we discovered the general direction using the GPS and walking a little to establish our position in relation to the real way to Caral.