Shanty Towns & Squatters
As we drove from Liman to Paracas we passed a lot of shanty towns and squatter settlements, often built on sand dunes and sedimentary rock. Not good for earthquakes as generally the whole town will collapse. The difference between shanty towns and squatter settlements is residence of shanty towns hold title to the land their houses are on while the squatters stake out a claim of land and build a shack and claim to live in it. Generally they only visit on weekends to keep it clean. Their hope is that in 10 to 15 years the government will recognize their claim and grant them title to the land (at which time they become shanty towns). If in the meantime someone or a company buys the land, they are evicted and have to start all over again.
We also noticed a lot of piles of rubble, mound after mound along the road in the desert. Our guide said that the rubble was from the 2006 earthquake that leveled many towns. Some folks have been able to rebuild, others only have palm mat walls for their homes.
Read MoreWe also noticed a lot of piles of rubble, mound after mound along the road in the desert. Our guide said that the rubble was from the 2006 earthquake that leveled many towns. Some folks have been able to rebuild, others only have palm mat walls for their homes.
