Cajamarca is a major city of 110,000 in the Highlands of Northern Peru. At 2750m it is a beautiful old colonial city that played an important role in pre-Inca, Inca and Colonial times.
We stayed right in the centre of town in an old traditional hacienda with a big open courtyard and even much of the original furniture - a pretty fancy place for $35 a night. A bit of a splurge but what can you do…
Cajamarca’s history actually warrants a 2 minute history lesson: Although the Incas were only in Peru for 150-200 years, they just happened to be the guys that had conquered all of the local Nations at the time that the Spaniards arrived in Cajamarca in November 1532. Then, in one day the Spaniards overthrew the Inca’s (even though they were outnumbered 40,000 to 150 – according to Spanish history books).
It was actually in the main square right in front of our hotel where Pizarro (the Spaniard leader) actually captured Atahualpa (the Inca emperor). Recognizing the Spaniards lust for gold, Atahualpa offered to fill a large room once with gold and twice with silver in return for his freedom. The conquistadors agreed to the offer and let Atahualpa believe that they would release him and allow him to return to his northern lands around Quito after the ransom was paid.
Needless to say, the Spaniards reneged on their promise and eventually killed Atahualpa about six months later in this same square. They were nice guys though as they allowed him a quick hanging instead of the more traditional burning at the stake… Although there isn’t much left of Inca Cajamarca (Other than Atahualpa’s prison), many of their stone buildings were torn down and the stones used in construction of the Spanish homes and churches that remain today. The incredible churches and colonel architecture make for a very enjoyable walking tour.
The trip from Cajamarca to Celendin (only a 4 hour bus trip) was a little wild as our driver seemed to think he was driving a sports car on a rally track – his poor assistant was kept busy handing out plastic bags “bolsas” for kids to puke into as the bus climbed switchback after switchback! But it was also kind of neat as we were the only gringos on the bus and even though the bus was full leaving Cajamarca, we just kept stopping to take on more passengers. Locals were crammed into the aisle like sardines. This one poor woman kept trying to turn another lady in the aisle because the infant that was wrapped securely to her back couldn’t turn his head and kept drooling all over the lady in the seat. It really was a fascinating cultural experience.
Celendin is a small agricultural town where we needed to stop to try and arrange transportation to Chachapoyas. The “Book” recommends an easier and less scenic route to Chachapoyas than what we have chosen and describes our route as “a beautiful but rough route that is often impassable during the rainy season” – we are officially 1 week beyond the traditional rainy season – and “…travelers should carry food and water on the 12-15 hour trip as the few restaurants en route are poor and unhygienic”. Hmmm, sounds like it will be an interesting trip…
No comments:
Post a Comment