Laguna Seca Hotel And Spa Cajamarca

... and the air was fresh and crisp due to the altitude (somewhere over 3,000m). The aqueducts were like little canals that had been carved into and through the rock and were decorated with carvings of animals and other symbols. When the Spanish arrived they carved their own Catholic symbols (mainly crosses) alongside the originals in an attempt to stamp out indigenous beliefs. All in all it was an interesting day. <br><br>The rest of the days were passed ...

... town. I headed back to Cajamarca, rand randomly through that city, and then did laps around a track with Eric. At 65 degrees F, the climate was perfect. At an altitude higher than Denver, CO, I figured it was a great place to get my lungs into shape. On my last couple of laps I picked up a couple of running buddies-11 year old boys that were just finishing soccer. I think kids are the same everywhere. As we ran together they talked about school, asked about cars, asked if I liked ...

... and 12,000Kg of silver. Now here comes the great shock: Atahualpa was not released. He was sentenced to death by burning at the stake which was reduced to death by strangulation because he accepted baptism before he died. Those merciful Spanish! El Cuarto de Rescate (the Ransom Room) is the only Inca structure left in Cajamarca. Actually, it is not the ransom room but the room where Atahualpa was ...

... the ground. The trail began through a narrow cut in the rocks. and continued along steep mountainside where we passed groups of locals herding sheep and women spinning yarn. They all wear a distinctive hat with a tall crown and the women wear multiple layers of skirts. What also struck me was that there wasn't much smiling going on and a lot of begging. It makes me wonder about their lives.

... who control traffic. They have parking monitors who constantly tweet their whistles to have motorists move along, like they whistle every time they breathe. Motorists are also in love with their horns. They use the horns to warn pedestrians and other motorists they are coming, and that their brakes don´t work very well...Honking horns seems to be a disease much worse than scurvy or swine flu. Yesterday we got ...

... atahualpa was held at ransom by the spanish before his death in the 1500. it really is just a bare stone room made of huge stones (inca stylee), but there is a line on the wall, which apparently was the height of his extended arm above his head, and was the level at which the spanish wanted the room filled with gold for his freedom. there is even a huge stone at which they thought he would have been executed against. interesting, but it only took a few mintues to look at ...

... 12 different things offered to your face, do you need some fly swatters? how about giant nail clippers, no - then surely some crazy glue. Trash- everywhere, the idea of a trash can is just begining to take effect. Busses, people just chuck their garbage out the window, or walking around, trash goes on the ground. From Cajamarca headed north to Chiclayo

... the bus. Bugger! We chased it a bit, but it was a lost cause. So I found myself without a waterproof mac in the middle of one of the rainiest places in the Andes and in the middle of the wet season. And it would seem, a place where the don´t sell waterproof jackets. Anyone out there who wants to make money, open a cagool shop in Cajamarca. It´s a gold mine waiting to be tapped, I´m telling you. Of course you will probably be ...

... by the hike in taxi prices that increase proportionately with the amount of rainfall. You may pay 2 sol (50p) instead of (25p). I guess I shouldn´t complain, London taxis charge you that just to look at them, and most of them don´t come with the complimentary plastic Jesus and illuminous purple rosary beads hanging from the rear view mirror. Not sure what religion the pink fluffy bird represented though. It was on this ...

... that wound it´s way through this shanty town and after a while we were following it into the mountains. Every half an hour or so we got a slightly wider view of the Cajamarca; climbing 100-200 meters an hour. Eventually the city slowly moved from sight as we headed north on a muddy track that meandered through sporadic hamlets and single farm houses, and everything was fine for about an hour and a half when we passed through a slightly bigger ...