Carpe Diem #1423 Callao ... the journey begins

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you all are into a new journey. This month we are on a journey through the Andean Mountains by train and today ... we start at the port of Callao. Here is the starting point of the "Ferrocarril Central Andino". The line starts at the port city of Callao and goes through Lima and the Desamparados station parallel to the Rímac River. It crosses into Junín state via the Galera Tunnel, the second highest railroad tunnel in the world. It reaches La Oroya, where it splits in two: the southern branch goes to Huancayo, while the northern branch (previously a line operated by a mining company) goes into Pasco region, through Cerro de Pasco (the regional capital) to the Goyllarisquizga coal mines. Formerly a branch split off at Cerro de Pasco and ran into Pachitea Province in Huánuco region. There are 27 stations.

One of the 27 stations on this railway (lima)

Callao was founded by Spanish colonists in 1537, just two years after Lima (1535). It soon became the main port for Spanish commerce in the Pacific. The origin of its name is unknown; both Indian (particularly Yunga, or Coastal Peruvian) and Spanish sources are credited, but it is certain that it was known by that name since 1550. Other sources point to the similarity with the Portuguese word calhau [pebble], having a similar sound.

Callao is situated about 15 km from Lima, the capital of Peru, and one of the other prompts for this month.

Imagine that you are on this train, it's one of the highest railroads of the world and this month we also will explore the rich history of this wonderful region.

What are your expectations for this month? Try to catch them in your haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form. Or describe a wonderful experience on a train trip.

first train trip ever
I am excited to meet new friends -
squeaking brakes

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 8th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. I hope to publish our prompt-list later this week. For now ... have fun!