Happy Holidays! (and a trip to Cajamarca)
Greetings everyone,
I begin this blog entry early on Christmas morning from Marianella's parents home, as the household and the neighborhood remain calm and quiet after the traditional Christmas Eve celebration, which I'll comment upon later in the blog. In about 36 hours I'll be headed to the airport to return home to Minnesota with hopes of cleared runways and on-time flights dancing in my head. Before I leave the balmy climate of Peru for three weeks or so, I wanted to update my blog and let you know what we've been up to lately.
Cajamarca
If you recall the last blog entry (if you could get past the mustache, which many of you could not :-)), we were planning on going to the northern highlands city of Cajamarca over Thanksgiving weekend, but inclement weather prevented us from landing there and instead we had to choose a time within the month so as to not lose our money. So the week before Christmas was when we ventured off to Cajamarca and enjoyed a peaceful weekend away from the stresses of work.
A bit of a history lesson here-Cajamarca is the site of one of the most significant events in not only Peru, but all of South America's history (and for that matter, world history also). This is the place where Francisco Pizarro captured and eventually killed Atahualpa. Who were these guys? Pizarro was a conquerer from Spain and Atahualpa was the last Inca emperor and in 1532 it was in Cajamarca's city square that the Inca Empire was effectively ended forever and the European influence upon South America began, colonizing much of the continent for the next 300 years.
The remains of the Inca Empire are negligible in Cajamarca these days, just the Ransom Room (pictures below) where Atahualpa was held for nine months after his capture and where he had rooms filled with gold and silver in his futile attempt to free himself from bondage. The Spanish influence in the city certainly lives on in the architecture throughout the city, particularly when viewing the Churches, adding to the incredible display of Catholic Churches established by the Spaniards in this country. On Saturday, we casually soaked in the city, visiting the Ransom Room, gazing at the Churches and a museum, climbing up to an overlook of the city.
The modest, historic Ransom Room:
On the walkways of Cajamarca:
Marianella with town historian, Samuel, overlooking the city:
Early Sunday morning, pictures from the Main Square:
On Sunday, we began the day by visiting the Inca Baths, natural hot springs where Atahaulpa was supposedly lounging when Pizarro's men came into Cajamarca. Located a mile or two outside of the city, it was a refreshing way to start the day. With vim and vigor, we set out on our scheduled tour, which took us to a dairy farm (we were able to see the basic process of converting milk to cheese and butter, which was pretty cool for this formerly reluctant farm boy), strolled through some beautiful wild flower beds, and ended our tour by visiting the Ventanillas de Otuzco (Windows of Otuzco) which were ancient graves carved in the rock of the hillside in pre-Inca times.
Steam at the Inca Baths:
Ventanillas de Otuzco:
And that pretty much concluded our trip to Cajamarca. As weekend trips go, it was peaceful, relaxing, and interesting, and really what more can you ask for when you go somewhere on a Saturday morning and return on Sunday evening?
Christmas in Peru
You may or may not recall my description of Christmas in Peru from last year, but I'll give you the quick version once again, this time with video. It is a surreal event for someone who grew up in northern climates and equates the holiday with snow and cold; although not as hot as last year, I did spend the day in t-shirt and shorts and we slept with the windows open again this year. The biggest difference between the traditional celebrations however is the all out fireworks displays which seemingly occur from every rooftop once the clock hits midnight on December 25. Words don't do justice, so I'm including video this year. In the U.S., the event would have personal claims lawyers salivating; watching elementary school kids lighting off fireworks does cause the heart to beat a little harder, especially when you see the aerial display flying every which way, but the joy from the pyromaniacs and God's watchful eye seems to overcome the likelihood of injuries. As one who never has gotten too excited about fireworks back home, I find myself enjoying these displays a great deal. The videos below were taken from the rooftop of Marianella's parents home, overlooking the little park in front of their house.
Alright, it's really just a short time now before I'm back home in Minnesota. These trips back always seem to go so fast and don't cover everyone I hope to see, so if I don't see you or talk with you on this return trip, expect to hear from me through the the blog sometime in mid-February, Marianella and I have an exciting trip coming once I return to Peru. Take care everyone and Happy Holidays! ~Tim & Marianella
I begin this blog entry early on Christmas morning from Marianella's parents home, as the household and the neighborhood remain calm and quiet after the traditional Christmas Eve celebration, which I'll comment upon later in the blog. In about 36 hours I'll be headed to the airport to return home to Minnesota with hopes of cleared runways and on-time flights dancing in my head. Before I leave the balmy climate of Peru for three weeks or so, I wanted to update my blog and let you know what we've been up to lately.
Cajamarca
If you recall the last blog entry (if you could get past the mustache, which many of you could not :-)), we were planning on going to the northern highlands city of Cajamarca over Thanksgiving weekend, but inclement weather prevented us from landing there and instead we had to choose a time within the month so as to not lose our money. So the week before Christmas was when we ventured off to Cajamarca and enjoyed a peaceful weekend away from the stresses of work.A bit of a history lesson here-Cajamarca is the site of one of the most significant events in not only Peru, but all of South America's history (and for that matter, world history also). This is the place where Francisco Pizarro captured and eventually killed Atahualpa. Who were these guys? Pizarro was a conquerer from Spain and Atahualpa was the last Inca emperor and in 1532 it was in Cajamarca's city square that the Inca Empire was effectively ended forever and the European influence upon South America began, colonizing much of the continent for the next 300 years.
The remains of the Inca Empire are negligible in Cajamarca these days, just the Ransom Room (pictures below) where Atahualpa was held for nine months after his capture and where he had rooms filled with gold and silver in his futile attempt to free himself from bondage. The Spanish influence in the city certainly lives on in the architecture throughout the city, particularly when viewing the Churches, adding to the incredible display of Catholic Churches established by the Spaniards in this country. On Saturday, we casually soaked in the city, visiting the Ransom Room, gazing at the Churches and a museum, climbing up to an overlook of the city.
The modest, historic Ransom Room:
On the walkways of Cajamarca:
Marianella with town historian, Samuel, overlooking the city:
Early Sunday morning, pictures from the Main Square:
On Sunday, we began the day by visiting the Inca Baths, natural hot springs where Atahaulpa was supposedly lounging when Pizarro's men came into Cajamarca. Located a mile or two outside of the city, it was a refreshing way to start the day. With vim and vigor, we set out on our scheduled tour, which took us to a dairy farm (we were able to see the basic process of converting milk to cheese and butter, which was pretty cool for this formerly reluctant farm boy), strolled through some beautiful wild flower beds, and ended our tour by visiting the Ventanillas de Otuzco (Windows of Otuzco) which were ancient graves carved in the rock of the hillside in pre-Inca times.Steam at the Inca Baths:
Ventanillas de Otuzco:
And that pretty much concluded our trip to Cajamarca. As weekend trips go, it was peaceful, relaxing, and interesting, and really what more can you ask for when you go somewhere on a Saturday morning and return on Sunday evening?Christmas in Peru
You may or may not recall my description of Christmas in Peru from last year, but I'll give you the quick version once again, this time with video. It is a surreal event for someone who grew up in northern climates and equates the holiday with snow and cold; although not as hot as last year, I did spend the day in t-shirt and shorts and we slept with the windows open again this year. The biggest difference between the traditional celebrations however is the all out fireworks displays which seemingly occur from every rooftop once the clock hits midnight on December 25. Words don't do justice, so I'm including video this year. In the U.S., the event would have personal claims lawyers salivating; watching elementary school kids lighting off fireworks does cause the heart to beat a little harder, especially when you see the aerial display flying every which way, but the joy from the pyromaniacs and God's watchful eye seems to overcome the likelihood of injuries. As one who never has gotten too excited about fireworks back home, I find myself enjoying these displays a great deal. The videos below were taken from the rooftop of Marianella's parents home, overlooking the little park in front of their house.Alright, it's really just a short time now before I'm back home in Minnesota. These trips back always seem to go so fast and don't cover everyone I hope to see, so if I don't see you or talk with you on this return trip, expect to hear from me through the the blog sometime in mid-February, Marianella and I have an exciting trip coming once I return to Peru. Take care everyone and Happy Holidays! ~Tim & Marianella
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