Cajamarca (day 13)

In the morning we went to a wonderful artesan shop called Quinde Ex, at 237 Jr. Dos de Mayo (this is on the way up Santa Apolonia hill). The woman who was running the shop is deaf, and makes some really nice items. We bought a number of wool items from her. Most of the other artesan shops had only tourist junk, but this place was worth the visit.

Rolls of woven wool:


Since we'd already gone to Cumbemayo aqueduct our last time in Peru (highly recommended!), we chose one of the other day trips from Cajamarca, the Ventanillas de Otuzco. We tried to get a combi that was headed that way, but couldn't quite figure out where to get on, and most of the one that passed us were full. So, we ended up hiring a taxi for s/10.

When we got in the taxi, the radio was playing regular pop music which we were fine with, but (as usual) the driver decided that since we were tourists we'd probably prefer some Andean pipe music. So in popped the tape, playing the typical Andean pipe ballad that was the basis for a Simon and Garfunkel song (condor pasa?). The damn stuff stayed in my head all afternoon...

The ventanillas (s/3) were interesting but not as cool or as vast as the cumbemayo ruins and scenery. Still, this is a nice solo day trip that doesn't require going with a tour group. (If you do take a tour group to either of these sites, we highly recommend Clarin Tours in Cajamarca. They gave a great tour of Cumbemayo and also refunded our money when we decided not to go on another tour)

Ventanillas de Otuzco:

From Otuzco, we decided to hike/walk to the Baños del Inca, which is approximately 5 kilometers away on a dirt road through relatively level terrain. We thought this would be a good way to see the countryside and avoid taking two over-stuffed combis into town and then back out. The walk took about 2 hours and our route wound through farmland on the road before we broke off and followed a path adjacent to the Rio Chonta into the town of Baños del Inca. We had to ask some local kids for directions at forks in the road.

Some photos from the walk...



After another nice soak at the baños, we took a combi back into town and decided that since it was our last night here, we would go back to both Sanguchon for a Pisco sour and Querubino for dinner. Sanguchon was great, but the dinner at Querubino was (a great understatement) a bit heavy. I had the gnocchi with "Puttanesca" sauce (quotes because it turned out to be meat sauce with chorizo sausages, not the Puttanesca that I was expecting). And who knew that "Cordon Bleu" means chicken-fried steak stuffed with ham and cheese? Who can eat that much food? (I'll never eat again...)

After dinner we hobbled over to the "nightlife" district (it was Friday after all) at the corner of Amalia Puga and José Gálvez, and checked out the local clubs. Unfortunately, it seems Cajamarca suffers from "two girls dancing" syndrome. There are too many clubs and not enough people, so the dance floor never reaches critical mass. It was pretty sad.

We did dip into one place, Peña Usha Usha, where an older gentleman plays traditional music and everyone (patrons, bartender, etc.) brings their instrument and joins in. It felt a bit like joining a family dinner; we were immediately incorporated into the conversation, and they kindly (?) played some Sinatra for their North American guests, as well as songs like Chan Chan and a Cuban revoltionary song about "Comandante Ché Guevarra". Excellent. Be warned: it is hard to slip out of this place once you've gone in. There is no turning back...

Overall opinions:
Cumbemayo: 10. If you're only doing one thing in Cajamarca, this should be it.
Ventanillas de Otuzco: 6. Not that impressive, but interesting nonetheless. If you have time for only one daytrip in Cajamarca, make it Cumbemayo, not the Ventanillas.
Walk from Ventanillas to Baños del Inca: 8. This is a pleasant and not too strenuous walk. There is, however, some unattractive construction going on near Baños del Inca (new viaduct) which marrs the scenic countryside.
Querubino restaurant: 8. Food is not bad, but the portions are obscenely huge and may give you a coronary.
Peña Usha Usha: 10. Rico!