The Costa del Sol was truly a welcome sight! We had a quick lunch at the hotel restaurant, which is excellent, and quickly off on a tour. Another van-this one much nicer and another climb up a mountain. Cajamarca has experienced a tremendous influx of residents in the past 20 years and construction is everywhere! We had a great view of the city from the mountain. It's the second largest city in Peru (which is the world's 20th largest country). Once we got to the top, we arrived at Cumbemayo. We were at an altitude of 11,300 miles above sea level. Seconds after getting out of te van, the sky opened up--hail.
We walked down some slippery rock steps to view archaeological pre-Inca remains. I stood in a cave made 1,000 years before Christ (yes, that's 3,000 years old) and saw petroglyphs (rock carvings). I wonder what they were telling us! We then hiked down a bit to see the aqueduct (also 1,000 BC), that is still in use. The extreme right angles proved their vast knowledge of mathematics. When we stood on the continental divide, the water from one side went to the Atlantic Ocean, the other side to the Pacific. After a climb back up what I'd call an uphill creek bed, we saw the warm, dry van! Back at the hotel, my hot shower was truly enjoyable.
Thankfully, I'm with a group that wants to see and do as much as we can squeeze in. We decided to do some shopping and visit the San Francisco Church. The Church was beautiful--we could only enter the smaller chapel. Quite elaborate statues and carvings, etc.
We scored some wonderful finds on our shopping excursion. One of my favorite parts of the day was the tea break. Cocoa tea to help our adjustment back to lower altitude, and lovely to sit and relax with this amazing group.
Tomorrow we have a very early flight back to Lima for our last day in Peru.
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