Cajamarca, Peru

In my previous letter  called City Streets ,

I realize I forgot to say just where that city street was in Peru!Pete and I were traveling in the Andea mountains, which all South Americans refer to as the Sierra.We were up 9000 feet ,the weather was cool and wet,and we were staying in a  hotel on the edge of a city if 225,000 people, Cajamarca.

The last ruler of the Inca,Atahualpa, was captured there by the Spanish conquerors,held ransom as Atahualpa promised two rooms full of silver and one of gold in exchange for his freedom ,which  gold and silver started arriving on the backs of burros from all over his empire.After the Spaniards had their precious metals they killed Atahualpa anyway.Your reasoning will be as good as mine.The only remaining  structure of the Inca that was left standing in the area is the stone building,approx 24 feet by 32 feet ,  that was  once filled with gold  and twice with silver.

We were staying in the suburb of Banos del Inca,which means baths of the Inca, because of the hot mineral water that gushes from the ground at 72 C, and provides a lot of heat and comfort to all who have been there to enjoy it, including Atahualpa and Pete and I. 

While in Cajamarca we explored other archaeological sites, including these burial niches,pictures below, carved into a hillside,as a final resting place for some  folks who lived in the area a thousand + years ago.  .The hillside looked over a fertile valley, with a small river flowing through .One very interesting thing to me is the amount of evidence still remaining of people who lived in SA for thousands of years .Stone structures have survived the weather ,just as the Adobe city,Chan Chan , next to our apartment has survived because of the dry climate.

 I will include a few pictures of what remains from a moment in history.  The pictures are out of order--  drat that tablet and its user!           mom/Debbie