Hacienda San Vicente Cajamarca

... buildings have been immaculately restored and converted into hotels and restaurants (all out of my price range, of course). It's surrounded by fairly arid mountains but the valley in which the town sits is green and lush. There are some nearby thermal springs and, being Peru, a plethora of archaeological stuff. Here, I planned to stay a few days and enjoy the serenity and see some of the local sights.<br><br>After exploring the town for a day or so and ...

... us out for lunch the day we arrived and bring us out to our favorite ceviche place - that was unfortunately out of ceviche. Esdhers left the same day we arrived, ironically, to go to the States for a medical conference. We ended up hanging out with Cari for most of our time there as she was on vacation from law school. We went to see the movie Presagio (thankfully in English) and had a few drinks at a great bar, &#8220;full skee.&#8221; <br> The last day there we met up with Callo ...

... that their band of 160 might be met by up to 80,000 Inca warriors. The Spanish invited Atahualpa to meet with them at the plaza and the Inca King arrived with 6000 warriors armed with slings and axes. He was met by Friar Valverde who presented the Inca with a bible. According to the story, the Inca threw the book to the ground which was plenty of justification for the friar to call the attack. (So much ...

... than to provide irrigation. There are numerous petroglyphs and the aqueduct features some amazing feats of ancient engineering including tunnels through stone and a zigzag carved out of the rock. This large rock is thought to be an altar for sacrifices where the blood could run into the water as part of a fertility ritual. The mountains here are stark and windswept with spires that jut out ...

... Hotel Costa Del Sol in Cajamarca. This hotel is very centrally located, right on the Plaza de Armas, the central plaza in town. I picked this hotel because I remembered it from my days here back in 1973. Back then it was owned by the government; now it´s not. Being located right on the central plaza is handy for restaurants and other things to do. It´s also a little noisy, with traffic and the government ...

... line it. there is a large fountain in the middle, and small patches of grass and pretty flowers apparently gathered into wierd shapes like llamas! i learn later from a guide that this town had as little as 2000 people in the valley not 16 years a go. now there is over 200 000! it´s nestled again between some mountains, although not as high as huaraz, at only 2700m above sea level. they have put a limit on buying houses and land here, as everyone is flocking here due to the gold ...

... zoo, set admist a pine forest. Very nice, lots of exotic Peruvian animals. Was considering some trekking -hiking options but with the summer here see lots of rain, pretty much all day so figured maybe another time, somewhere else. So heres a few things Ive been noticing while in Peru: Pluses + Peruvian music has grown on me alot While there do not ...

... pretty on the sidelines. Ewa got Cynthia´s nieces email for Wojtek. A possible wife. And then we checked out the cool skulls, and the mummy in a box. A real one. And a mummified child and monkey. And a collection of pottery and old cloths. The place has an eeriness old museum about it, even though it only four rooms. The kind of places you´d love to spend a night in. Later we went to the Ventanillas de Otuzco. A series of ...

... been turned into a gardens with private bathrooms around it that you can rent for 10 sols, for pretty much as long as you like. The hot spring water is channeled directly into your bath, which is big enough for four or five, and then basically you just stew for a few hours and sooth those aching muscles from those random hikes into the mountains. I.e. yesterday. This place is really fantastic and a must for anyone ...

... get rain on a daily basis, but there is no time table for these changes so just look out for the black clouds rolloçing over the mountains. Today the sun came out after breakfast and we decided then that its was time to break in those mountain boots with a 20 km hike to Cambe Mayo. The guide says this takes four hours if you ask directions and take short cuts along the way. If you are a Gringo with know idea which peak your heading for it ...