At the foot of the Cordillera Blanca, the Huaylas Valley stretches nearly 180 km, a region nicknamed the «Swiss of Peru» for its steep, snow-capped mountains. Caraz Dulzura is the last village on a journey made here by Antonio Raimondi, a 19th century Italian-Peruvian explorer. To illustrate his adventures, he renamed each village with a qualifier that summarized what he had experienced there. In Recuay, the first village, his precious banknotes were stolen, so he called it «Recuay ladronera» (Recuay Thief); in Huaraz, now the region’s capital, he fell in love with a girl who rejected him, so he rechristened the town Huaraz presunción (Huaraz Presumption, in the sense that he was a bit of a movie buff! ); in Carhuaz – let me reassure you, there are only 5 villages… -, to forget his disappointment in love, he partied, got drunk and named the village «Carhuaz Borrachera» (Carhuaz Drunkenness); when he arrived in Yungay, things were visibly better and, overwhelmed by the magic of the place, he called it «Yungay Hermosura» (Yungay Beauty). It’s an aside, but unfortunately the village was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1 970, leaving only 400 survivors out of 22,000 inhabitants. Sorry, didn’t mean to break the mood, that’s another story, but the one I’m telling is a bit happier!
When he finally arrived in Caraz, he was offered milk jam («manjar» or «dulce de leche»: a delicacy much appreciated by South Americans) and honey, thus giving the village the name «Caraz Dulzura» (like Caraz Softness). This photo was taken in the central square of Caraz Dulzura, which has always been famous for its cakes, which I couldn’t resist trying.