Cusco - Lima - Cajamarca (day 10)

After getting up early on Sunday (5 am) for our trip to Machu Picchu, and having some trouble sleeping due to those nasty bug bites, we decided to sleep in on Tuesday instead of going to Sacsaywaman (we both really wanted to see it, but sleep won out in the end).

Caught the 12:30 flight on Aero Condor to Lima ($96), with the plan of either catching another plane to Cajamarca (we were not sure if there were any flights that afternoon) or catching the overnight bus. Upon arrival in Lima at 2pm, we realized there was another Aero Condor flight leaving at 3pm ($104). Needless to say things got a little hectic at that point. We did make the plane (our luggage miraculously made it too) and arrived in Cajamarca around 5pm.

View of Cajamarca from the road to Cumbemayo:

Cajamarca is a dairy center in the northern highlands, known for its fine cheeses and the local (still active) gold mine which helps to drive the city's thriving economy. Cajamarca is also a hot vacation spot for Peruvians, but we've seen very few foreign tourists here. We were here two years ago and since leaving had been looking forward to our return.

Cajamarca was the site of the capture of Inca Atahaulpa by the Spanish in the 1500's. The room where Atahualpa was held for ransom still exists and is located about a block from Cajamarca's Plaza de Armas.

We found Cajamarca to be much the same as last time, and went to one of our favorite spots for Pollos a la Brasa, Pio's Chicken:

We found that the hotel we wanted to stay at, Los Balcones, was fully booked. So we headed to Hotel Prado, where we had stayed last time we were here; also fully booked! Finally ended up at Hostal Cajamarca, 1 block uphill from the Plaza.

Overall Opinions:
Pio’s Chicken, Cajamarca: 10. Excellent Pollos a la brasa at an unbelievable price (under s/10 for chicken plus salad, fries, soda & tip).
Hotel Prado, Cajamarca: 8. Concrete building lacks charm, but the room was clean and had plenty of hot water. Cost: s/70 for double with bath.
Don Paco Café, Cajamarca: 6. We’d loved this place two years ago, but the food and drink are not the same.
Hostal Cajamarca: 6. There are much better places for the same amount of money. Hot water was sporadic and water pressure minimal. Cost: s/80 for a double with bath.