Corrales, Perú: Population: for the entire metropolitan area, around 26,000.

Corrales was founded in 1871. In case you were wondering, the name Corrales is indeed translated to corrals in English. The name came from the fact that there were corrals for the cattle to milk them and provide milk to all the local people. These corrals were in the middle of what is now the town proper. If a person were leaving to go somewhere another might ask "Where are you going?" and the first might reply, "To the corrals". Over time, they started building houses around the corrals and the name stuck. Eventually, the corrals were converted into the main town center plaza.

Corrales has a semi-arid climate. The average daytime high of 30° C (85° F), and the night average low of 22° C (71° F). The elevation of the city is 14 meters (46 feet).

So, my impressions: I like this little town, except for this one issue: there are possibly more dogs than people here and they start barking even before the roosters start crowing. The noise of the dogs is incredible! If there is one thing in this world I hate it's barking dogs. I find it one of the most annoying noises on this planet. Surprisingly enough, I met a man, while out walking in the neighborhoods, who asked me, "Do you speak English?" We started chatting and it turns out he used to live in the US, in New York, and his English is very good. And, while out walking I came across a house with a "for rent" sign and there was a man just about to go inside. I asked him about it and he invited me inside to have a look. It's the middle floor of a 3-story building. He and his wife live in the 3-floor house, and another person is in the first-floor house. The second-floor house has this incredible was decorations done in relief of scenes related to the sea. And there's a column inside which was also fully decorated as a piling for a pier, mussels and all. The house has 3 big bedrooms, a very big bathroom, a living room/kitchen/dining room great room, and a large work area (laundry, etc) at the back. The rent? When converted to US dollars - $211 per month. If I had a resident visa I would have rented it right then and there.

This is my goal: to find a new place to live. So to reach that goal I am traveling most of South America, visiting the countries of Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, and Chile, passing through Argentina, visiting Paraguay, passing through a bit of Brazil, and finally visiting Uruguay. I have a list of towns, about 70 towns, that meet these qualifications: Cities with average day temperatures of 22-28° C (72-83° F) and night temps of 14° C (57° F) and higher; and a population between 28,000-300,000. I analyzed climate and population data of around 700 towns in the countries mentioned above and then pulled out the ones that meet the previously mentioned criteria, which leaves about 70. My preference leans towards towns of less than 100,000 people. And, now that I have visited more than 30 towns/cities, I've decided I will probably want an inland town. I love the beach and walking in the warm water, but, getting sunburned is just too easy, even on a cloudy day. At least, here in Ecuador. I've also decided that any town with more than 100,000 population will be too big. I've decided that any small town/city (less than around 80,000 population) that meets the temp specifications and has a supermarket and ATM is one worth considering to live in.

At this point in my journey I have three towns on my top-20 list - Catamayo, Puyo, and Santa Rosa, Ecuador. In my travels in Ecuador, I have visited 31 towns/cities. Tomorrow I enter Perú.

Next up: Talara, Perú.