cheers from Chiclayo..

[dennislevy]

I m in Chiclayo, Peru a city of 650,000, the fourth largest city in Peru and 17 miles from the coast,  8 hours south of the Ecuador- Peru border and still 12 hours north of Lima.
 
I found  a comfortable hotel in downtown Chiclayo about 8 blocks from the main plaza. The hotel is near the corner of Pedro Ruiz and Juan Cungevin. A lot of streets are named after famous Peruvians
 
The tradition in South America is that the trades and vendors all group their businesses  together, my hotel is in the middle of two blocks of glass and mirror shops and paint stores.   Chiclayo has a lot of hostals and decent to very nice hotels, this hotel is what I call at least decent plus......40 soles a night, 14.80 US, i ve got a 10X10 room, comfortable double bed, private bathroom with hot water shower and wall mounted cable TV.

Downtown Chiclayo is divided by the central plaza with the cathedral and city hall....both are painted yellow, the city hall has a lot of Victorian white gingerbread..., the cathedral is traditional, two large cupolas surmounted by steel crosses .....and 18 huge interior columns  support the roof, painted plaster statues adorn side shrines off the central nave of the cathedral.
 
Avenida Jose Balta runs thrugh the central plaza there is a Ripley s department  store, a large Western Union office, a couple of cafeteria style restaurants banks and travel agencies. 

Off the main streets,many of the streets are cobblestone....downtown has a ton of small mom and pop offset printing shops,with small presses cranking out handbills, invitations, etc.  There are small casinos througout downtown.
 
Prices for meals are inexpensive,last night I had a huge plate of pollo a la plancha (grilled chicken), a green salad, french fries and a coke for 13 soles, with tip thats $4.92
 
I checked prices at the top end Hotel Costa del Sol s restaurant, entrees run 20 soles....7.40 US....and a big matrimonial  room about 300 square  feet discounted is 239 soles for a night.about 73 dollars.
 
Chiclayo has a lot of very pretty women, but its a different vibe then Colombia.
 
Here women are much more modest in how they dress..the weather has been 70 to 75 the last few days but not a lot of skin gets showed ,long sleeved turtlenecks are not uncommon.....women do wear short sleeved tops but the necklines are normally higher then what you see in Cali or Medellin. Almost no women wear off the shoulder tops. Maybe when the summer hits in a few weeks, women may wear more revealing fashions.
 
I havent seen working women dress this professionally, since I lived in Bogota, lots of tailored skirts, long sleeved blouses. Kids wear school uniforms.
 
Women are NATURAL; there is NO culture of siliconas, no implanted bubble butts here....women go with what they have. Ive seen no more then  TWO women with obvious implants...they were latinas......whether they were locals,I don t know.
 
The gene pool among women reflects Indian ancestry. wide faces,copper skin, slightly mongoloid eyes...
 
the type of girl that many gringos like,,,,very thin waist, bubble but, big boobs....isnt common. there are thin waisted girls here.......but they are usually young teenagers or in theor 20s..... however there is one gene type I ve seen. gis and women very short 4 and a half feet or under and 75 to 80 pounds.
 
I would describe women in my dating pool as violuptuous to heavy...women with BIG busts and a gut are very common and although I m not a skinny guy many are just too heavy for me, but there are some voluptuous beauties.
 
I had planned to be in Lima on the 29th,,,but I think Im going to stay in Chiclayo at least until mid November.
 
 
 
 

[Chris F]

I m in Chiclayo, Peru a city of 650,000, the fourth largest city in Peru and 17 miles from the coast,  8 hours south of the Ecuador- Peru border and still 12 hours north of Lima.
 
I found  a comfortable hotel in downtown Chiclayo about 8 blocks from the main plaza. The hotel is near the corner of Pedro Ruiz and Juan Cungevin. A lot of streets are named after famous Peruvians
 
The tradition in South America is that the trades and vendors all group their businesses  together, my hotel is in the middle of two blocks of glass and mirror shops and paint stores.   Chiclayo has a lot of hostals and decent to very nice hotels, this hotel is what I call at least decent plus......40 soles a night, 14.80 US, i ve got a 10X10 room, comfortable double bed, private bathroom with hot water shower and wall mounted cable TV.

Downtown Chiclayo is divided by the central plaza with the cathedral and city hall....both are painted yellow, the city hall has a lot of Victorian white gingerbread..., the cathedral is traditional, two large cupolas surmounted by steel crosses .....and 18 huge interior columns  support the roof, painted plaster statues adorn side shrines off the central nave of the cathedral.
 
Avenida Jose Balta runs thrugh the central plaza there is a Ripley s department  store, a large Western Union office, a couple of cafeteria style restaurants banks and travel agencies. 

Off the main streets,many of the streets are cobblestone....downtown has a ton of small mom and pop offset printing shops,with small presses cranking out handbills, invitations, etc.  There are small casinos througout downtown.
 
Prices for meals are inexpensive,last night I had a huge plate of pollo a la plancha (grilled chicken), a green salad, french fries and a coke for 13 soles, with tip thats $4.92
 
I checked prices at the top end Hotel Costa del Sol s restaurant, entrees run 20 soles....7.40 US....and a big matrimonial  room about 300 square  feet discounted is 239 soles for a night.about 73 dollars.
 
Chiclayo has a lot of very pretty women, but its a different vibe then Colombia.
 
Here women are much more modest in how they dress..the weather has been 70 to 75 the last few days but not a lot of skin gets showed ,long sleeved turtlenecks are not uncommon.....women do wear short sleeved tops but the necklines are normally higher then what you see in Cali or Medellin. Almost no women wear off the shoulder tops. Maybe when the summer hits in a few weeks, women may wear more revealing fashions.
 
I havent seen working women dress this professionally, since I lived in Bogota, lots of tailored skirts, long sleeved blouses. Kids wear school uniforms.
 
Women are NATURAL; there is NO culture of siliconas, no implanted bubble butts here....women go with what they have. Ive seen no more then  TWO women with obvious implants...they were latinas......whether they were locals,I don t know.
 
The gene pool among women reflects Indian ancestry. wide faces,copper skin, slightly mongoloid eyes...
 
the type of girl that many gringos like,,,,very thin waist, bubble but, big boobs....isnt common. there are thin waisted girls here.......but they are usually young teenagers or in theor 20s..... however there is one gene type I ve seen. gis and women very short 4 and a half feet or under and 75 to 80 pounds.
 
I would describe women in my dating pool as violuptuous to heavy...women with BIG busts and a gut are very common and although I m not a skinny guy many are just too heavy for me, but there are some voluptuous beauties.
 
I had planned to be in Lima on the 29th,,,but I think Im going to stay in Chiclayo at least until mid November.

Thanks for the detailed report on Chiclayo DL. My wife and I have never been there. I do know an old poster named SingleFather married a woman from that city and was living there teaching English.  As you may remember, their relationship did not work out.
SingleFather claims to have been robbed hiring a taxi off the street at night. You may want to use some extra caution if your going to do the same.

[dennislevy]

I deposited my passport, credit card, and cash with the hotel....I ve had no problems here, but I don t walk around with more then 50 soles on me...........the equivalent of 18.50 US.

[John W]

Thanks Dennis.  I really enjoy all your posts and especially the ones about off the beaten path locations. 

[hamburger]

Do you see any other americans around? What about brits?
Any  topless venues or night clubs? ZONA   ROSA?

[Fuzzyone]

Do you see any other americans around? What about brits?
Any  topless venues or night clubs? ZONA   ROSA?

  From what I heard D.L. better keep his hand on his wallet in Chiclayo gringos have been getting robbed there.


D.L. have you seen our buddy Jeff G running around?

[dennislevy]

Singlefather had obviously been reading the board because he sent me a private email, welcomed me to Peru, and invited me to stay in their apartment in Chiclayo.
 
I politely replied by thanking him, but said I preferred a hotel becasue I was going to start dating in Chiclayo....and I didnt know what would happen.
 
I asked him for his phone number, so we could arrange a meeting and I didnt get an answer.....that was more then a week ago.....I have no idea if he is or isnt in Chiclayo.
 
Hamburger
In my walking around, I havent seen  many foreigners here,  exactly 5......two were a bewildered Russian tourist couple from Moscow, one was a young German guy passing through...and the other two were young American men who were part of Mormon missionary teams 
 
I talked to my hotel s Peruvian night manager he think that there aren t more then 50 to 100 foreigners who LIVE in Chiclayo.
 
There is supposedly a big disco club for dancing on the other side of town, there is no zona rosa in downtown...and NO topless dancers
 
Fuzzyone
where have you heard that gringos are getting robbed in Chiclayo?
 

[Micky]

DL -
 
Good report,  thanks.  Stay safe.
 
Micky

[hamburger]

Someone, maybe single father, remarked that the women were quite attractive
in that particular city. What do you think? How do you plan on meeting women?
 

[dennislevy]

I personally find a lot of women  in Chiclayo to be very attractive. Ther is a exotic and sultry quality that a couple of times has just floored me.
 
the weather has gotten hotter and I m seeing more skin 
 
One of my turn ons has always been a copper skinned woman with jet black curly hair (a perm) and a voluptuous figure, i saw a woman like that yesterday, walking in downtown Chiclayo maybe 38 or 40 years old...what looked like a natural 40 C bust, about 5 4 and 130 or 135 pounds...
 
I got weak in the knees....trailed her for a half a block and she walked into what appeared to be an office building.
 
I am meetng women using the web site LatinAmericancupid.com

[no comment]

If you're going to be in Chiclayo for some time it's worth a side trip to Lambayeque to see El Museo del Señor de Sipan. Also a memorable restaurant there called El Rincon del Pato  ( http://elrincondelpato.com/ ). 

[dennislevy]

thanks, Im waiting to do those things with a woman.....as you know, lambayeque is very close to Chiclayo.

[Researcher]

         

         What is the elevation of Chiclayo? Anything like Bogota?


         Researcher

[dennislevy]

No, its pretty flat, 17 miles inland from the coast....

[alfie]

Hi Dennis,
 
I'm new here, but I just wanted to say I enjoy your trip reports very much.  Keep up the good work!

[dennislevy]

Thanks!


 Alfie, if you re new here why dont you go over to the  Introductions and Icebreakers part of the latinL Forum and write a short post and tell us a bit about yourself....


because if you don t


we re all going to be saying


What s it all about Alfie....?


jejjeje!!!!!!! ...Sorry, I couldn t resist!


Welcome to Planet-Love!

[Dan]

Readers will note that I split off the posts pertaining to SFNM. Members can find those posts moved elsewhere.

Please continue ON-TOPIC.

- Dan

[dennislevy]

Back on topic.....More about Chiclayo.Peru.


As the weagter has gotten hotter, girls and women  are starting to show a bit more skin, and I am becoming more impressed. Its  taken a couple of weeks to compare and contrast the gene pool.

It s really a city full of attractive to beaitiful girls and women.  Girls and women wear tight pants or jeans, high heels and I ve seen more then a few that can swing it as well as any colombiana. The gene pool is mostly morena about 60%..with triquenas say 30%, and I m not sure if I ve seen any negras...not more then a couple.  Blancas are not common, say 10% or less. 


Dating here is easy on the wallet.....I ve gone out with a handful of women, once, havent spent more then 42 soles on a meal for two that s 15 and a half bucks and it was in a nice restaurant downtown, called Romana. .

Traffic is honk and go.....and that s a major deteriment, its dangerous for pedestrians.....At major intersections there is only one traffic light and many intersections there are none. Cabs are plentiful,  the base price is 2 soles 50......92 cents....and the majority are little Korean Daewoo boxes.....In the sidestreets off the main streets, its just  honk and go.

The city is dirty there is a lot of garrbage on the streets-


The awareness of gringos as potential mates just isnt here...as in Colombians. ive been told that Europeans come here......but not many Americans.

[Kiltboy1]

I remember when I was still looking that I talked with several girls from Chiclayo and remember them being very attractive. My experience was more white women then morenas, but that was like 6 years ago. In general I found peruanas not that caught up in getting out of country or meeting a Gringo Prince, They seemed happy at home . Great reports and pics if you got them would be nice since I have to live through all you single gents still experiencing life on the latin lam

[no comment]

It s really a city full of attractive to beaitiful girls and women.  Girls and women wear tight pants or jeans, high heels and I ve seen more then a few that can swing it as well as any colombiana. The gene pool is mostly morena about 60%..with triquenas say 30%, and I m not sure if I ve seen any negras...not more then a couple.  Blancas are not common, say 10% or less. 


Dating here is easy on the wallet.....I ve gone out with a handful of women, once, havent spent more then 42 soles on a meal for two that s 15 and a half bucks and it was in a nice restaurant downtown, called Romana. .

Traffic is honk and go.....and that s a major deteriment, its dangerous for pedestrians.....At major intersections there is only one traffic light and many intersections there are none. Cabs are plentiful,  the base price is 2 soles 50......92 cents....and the majority are little Korean Daewoo boxes.....In the sidestreets off the main streets, its just  honk and go.


The awareness of gringos as potential mates just isnt here...as in Colombians. ive been told that Europeans come here......but not many Americans.

Dennis,
Chiclayo isn't that accessible to foreigners.  Unlike Colombia, Peru just has one international airport and that's Jorge Chavez Airport just outside of Lima in Callao.  So if you're going to Chiclayo by plane you have to make a connection to get there, and you'll pay more than Peruvian natives for a plane ticket. 


Dennis, you wrote that Europeans come to Chiclayo.  What brings them there, business or pleasure?  Northern Peru is an agricultural region with lots of sugar cane, rice, vegetables, etc...  Peru's best beaches are in the north but Chiclayo is not on the coast.  Did you make it to the central market not far from the main square?


If you run out of restaurant ideas, try the restaurant in El Hotel de las Musas.  It's on the 5th floor if memory serves, with a nice view of the skyline.  Not too expensive and there's an outdoor balcony. That hotel is just off of El Parque de las Musas. 

[raycjs]

i do not have a problem with you moving the topic to a different location... let's keep in mind if someone is going to make reference to having a meal with a know scam artist and that same scam artist jumps on to make a comment like all is well that is not going to happen there is a long list of people looking to make things right..... that is life and that will never change...... i will not post any thing on this topic i will keep my comments to the other post in the flame room or anywhere else you want them to be... but i will not let this guy be made out to be anything less then he is..........scum of the earth scam artist
 
Ray

[dennislevy]

This post is about hotel roulette in Chiclayo.
 
Today I moved to my fourth hotel in less then three weeks within 8 blocks of each other. My requirements are a hotel that has a comfortable room, private bath, tv with a cable package  hot water, in the absence of a lockbox in the room, the hotel will give me a receipt for my passport, cash and credit cards deposited and give me reciipts for cash withdrawals.  I also look for, if possible a computer in the lobby and with 3 room nights or more more a discounnt of 25-30% from the rack price on the wall.
 
I ask the receptionist if the computer is free to use as long as no one else wants it.
 
Si Señor.....
 
In two of the hotels, someone came up to the computer and me and said....there is a rule for guests that they can only use the computer for an hour a day. And of course that there is no written rule on the wall or anywhere about usage and I am on web sites that are polite, no porn or anything like that.
 
I ask them to identify themselves and they say
 
Oh excuse me, I am the manager of the hotel.
 
I introduce myself and I say well your receptionist, señorita so and so said....Well, yes but I am the manager......and I counter with where is the rule on the wall about usage?.....And they re busted....after being rude by not introducing themselves....they want to push a guest around
 
So far
One hotel owner didnt show up for a meeting with me.
One hotel manager who I never met....after I had given them 9 room nights, and I had received a cash transaction from the US refused again to re take custody of my money and passport.
One hotel that I checked refused to give a price for any more then 5 days and the discount offered was 15%, would NOT even give a price for a month.
 
I don t make noise, to date in Chiclayo I havent even had a woman in a room and I am not in my room until the night. 
 
Some thoughts about hotel administration in small decent hotels in Colombia and now in Chiclayo.
 
1. The manager or the adminstrator is usually a relative of the owner.
2- They are not there to make guests happy, they are there to count the receipts and make sure that the employees are not stealing.....and maybe see they can get something for themselves
3. Mostly managers won t even talk to a guest, they expect the employee to resolve or negotiate a discount but without authority. The employee is used as an intermediary.
4. only the owner of a small hotel has the authority to do something.
5. The concept of going an extra mile to make a guest happy is rare.....the attitude is we have your money....and now (the hotel) is in charge.
 
Liivng in small but comfortable and clean hotels of course saves money....but also it s a way of staying in the culture. I don t want to give the idea that  bad attitudes exist  in all small hotels, I ve stayed in some great small hotels in Colombia, but so far....
 
 I haven t found a winner in Chiclayo, Peru.
 
 

[Lucky man]

Petty theft can occur anywhere & Peru is no different.
 A fellow that use to post here (SomethingYouSaid aka Chiclayo Gringo aka Charlie Brown) got his camera stolen when he was getting on a bus in Chiclayo, dudes just cut the strap right off with a knife.
He never knew it was gone until it was too late.

[Lucky man]

Dennis is right. Peruvian girls are sweet & seem to be a bit more conservative than Colombianas. But one thing they all have in common is a general distrust in men. And they abhor machistas.

I exchanged emails with a chica from Chiclayo awhile back. She was having trouble in her marriage with some goofball from Canada.
She was ready to show him the door & didn't want him around no more.
Must have been pretty bad for a Latina to want to bail on a marriage.
Usually they stick it out thru thick and thin.

[Dan]

Petty theft can occur anywhere & Peru is no different.
 A fellow that use to post here (SomethingYouSaid aka Chiclayo Gringo aka Charlie Brown) got his camera stolen when he was getting on a bus in Chiclayo, dudes just cut the strap right off with a knife.
He never knew it was gone until it was too late.

Quite an odd initial post.

Dennis is right. Peruvian girls are sweet & seem to be a bit more conservative than Colombianas. But one thing they all have in common is a general distrust in men. And they abhor machistas.

I exchanged emails with a chica from Chiclayo awhile back. She was having trouble in her marriage with some goofball from Canada.
She was ready to show him the door & didn't want him around no more.
Must have been pretty bad for a Latina to want to bail on a marriage.
Usually they stick it out thru thick and thin.

And your follow-up was even more odd - though illuminating.

- Dan