The valley of Santa contains some good farms, which are principally covered with lucern, and great numbers of horned cattle are fattened here for the Lima market. Some maize is also cultivated for the feeding of hogs, the lard of which is carried to Lima; here also they have fine crops of rice; indeed such is the heat, the natural dampness of the earth, and the abundance as well as the quality of the water (which like that of the Nile enriches the soil) used for the purpose of irrigation, that three successive crops are often procured from the same seed.

About six leagues to the eastward of Santa is a very neat town, called Nepeña; the climate is far more agreeable than at Santa, and the inhabitants are not incommoded with musquitos, which are very annoying at the former place, owing to the low swampy ground, where they breed in such prodigious quantities, that it is sometimes almost impossible to breathe without inhaling them. Their bite is very troublesome, and many of the inhabitants, from continually scratching themselves, become almost covered with an eruptive disease similar to the carati at Huaura; along the coast it is common to hear the Santeños called sarnosos, from sarna, the itch. In the neighbourhood of Nepeña there are several sugar plantations and vineyards. The farm called Motocachi is famous for producing excellent wine, which in flavour is not inferior to the best muscatel of Spain, or the frontignac of France. The brandy made from the same grape is also peculiarly delicate, possessing all the flavour of the wine; it is in great demand, and is called aguardiente de Italia.

The port of Santa has a safe anchorage, and is capable of containing a considerable number of vessels; during the time of peace between England and Spain many South Sea whalers touched here, for the purpose of procuring fresh provisions; and considerable business in the smuggling line has been carried on. This port and town will undoubtedly become more known and more frequented, because its situation offers an easy internation to the provinces which I have lastly described, and a saving of upwards of a hundred leagues of land carriage to some of them. Callao is now the only Puerto abilitado; but the newly-established governments will not be so ignorant of their financial interests as to suffer it to continue so.

We left Santa early in the morning, and arrived before noon at Tambo de Chao, a house built of rushes in a sandy desert, nine leagues from Santa; having refreshed ourselves a little, and fed the mules, we proceeded to a small village called Viru, where we halted for the night, and on the following day we arrived at the city of Truxillo.

The following short account of the road from Lima to Truxillo will convey some idea of the nature of travelling, and the kind of accommodations which travellers may expect who have to visit these countries. Some persons have literas, litters, for this purpose: they are square boxes, with an opening on each side which serve for entrances; a small mattress made to fit is placed at the bottom; this vehicle is then fastened to two poles, one on each side, and these are secured on the backs of two mules, on the foremost of which a boy is generally placed, to guide the animal. This mode of travelling is very disagreeable, owing to the various motions communicated to the litera; the elasticity of the poles causes it to rise and fall, while the steps of the mules make it sometimes roll from side to side, and sometimes it is jerked backwards and forwards; so that a person unaccustomed to this mode of travelling is almost sure to experience all the effects of a sea-sickness, besides a universal soreness in his limbs, occasioned by the jolting of the litter.

From Lima to Chancay14 leagues,11 of sand.
Chancay to Huaura13 ditto9 of sand.
Huaura to Pativilca13 ditto9 of sand.
Pativilca to Huarmey18 ditto15 of sand.
Huarmey to Casma8 ditto7 of sand.
Casma to Santa12 ditto10 of sand.
Santa to Tambo de Chao9 ditto9 of sand.
Tambo de Chao to Viru10 ditto10 of sand.
Viru to Truxillo10 ditto8 of sand.

We have here one hundred and eight leagues of road, one-half of which leads through a sandy desert country, the greater part of which must for ever remain so: this is principally owing to the total absence of rain, the scarcity of river water, or the impracticability of irrigation; but wherever water can be procured, the scene is quite different; comfortable farm houses, neat villages, and the most luxurious vegetation enliven the views to the weary traveller; the eye soon becomes tired with a dreary sandy prospect, or with now and then beholding a few leagues of the sea coast; but it rests with pleasure and is refreshed with the prospect of fertile valleys, clothed in the luxurious garb of spring or autumn—where the evergreen sugar-cane, the lucern, the hedges, and the ripe crops of grain are blended; which is the case here during the greater part of the year.

The city of Truxillo stands on a sandy plain in lat. 8° 6' 3" S.; it was founded by Francisco Pizarro, Marquis of Charcas and Atavillos, the conqueror of Peru, who named it after his native place in Estremadura; its figure approaches to that of an oval, it is surrounded with a wall of adobes or sun-burnt bricks, ten feet high, having fifteen bastions and as many curtains; it was erected by order of the Viceroy of Peru, Duke de la Palata. The streets of this city cross each other at right angles in a north-east and south-west direction, and are generally about forty feet wide. The houses, like those of Lima, are generally but one story high; many of the fronts are white-washed, and some of them fancifully painted. The principal mansions have large patios in front, and an arched door-way or entrance; the insides are richly furnished, but not in the English style; long sofas, high tables, and few chairs, having an awkward appearance to a foreigner; the walls are hung with crimson damask, and the sofa and table covers are of the same material, as well as the curtains and the bed furniture. In many houses, large paintings of saints, in richly embossed silver frames, adorn the walls, and the wealth of many of the inhabitants is displayed in a profusion of wrought plate. Some of the shops in la Calle del Comercio are well stored with European manufactured goods; but, as in Lima, no display of them can be made for want of windows, a convenient enticement to purchasers unknown in these parts of the new world. Although the streets of this city are well laid out, of a commodious width, and lined with neat houses, they are not paved, and consequently are very dirty; some of them are nearly impassable on this account; indeed the shoes of a passenger must be filled either with sand or dirt.

The plasa mayor, or great square, is very large, and has a low fountain built of stone in the centre. On the east side stands the cathedral, which is a handsome building with one steeple; the inside is richly ornamented, and a great profusion of plate and other costly articles is exhibited on solemn festivals; but, like all the cathedrals in Spanish America, the site occupied by the choir destroys the effect which would otherwise be produced by the high altar standing in the central nave. This church was consecrated in the year 1673, by the thirteenth bishop of the diocese, Don Fray Juan de la Calle y Heredia. Attached to the cathedral on the north side, is the Sagrario or principal parish church, although always called a chapel; indeed it is the chapel of ease to the cathedral, where all the parochial duties are performed, without interfering with the choral and other religious ceremonies of the matrix.