Postcards from abroad
Travelling through miles and miles of sugar-cane fields, we finally arrived at an isolated site by the sea with three enormous pyramids, two unexcavated and the third the reason for our trip. Huaca Cao Viejo, the largest, is topped by a 30 metre platform and, during its excavation, deep within the pyramid, the tomb of… Continue reading The Lady of Cao: turning Peruvian archaeology on its head
Okay - we know that archaeological sites are not everyone’s cup of tea. But really - what wonders there are close to Trujillo. Trujillo itself (named after Pizarro for his home town in Extramadura, Spain) is incredibly Spanish-looking - pictures to come. But we started the day by hiring Manuel and his gloriously comfortable and… Continue reading Time to learn more about the pre-Inca civilisations
Today we travelled from Cajamarca to Trujillo in a little taxi - a journey of some seven hours by the time I had guided our taxi driver through Trujillo in Spanish (using Google Maps). Although the change in scenery was dramatic as we dropped 3,500 metres and went from lush green mountains to sandy and… Continue reading The tombs and Cajamarca surprises
After an unsuccessful attempt to go on tours to see two archaeological sites near Cajamarca, we hired Marcello to drive us first to Cumba Mayo (‘Narrow River’ in the local language - you’ll see why shortly) and later to an ancient necropolis (more about this tomorrow). When we arrived after quite a drive up and… Continue reading Ancient canals
We are spending some time in Cajamarca which is still high in the mountains but surrounded with farms of dairy cattle - it is apparently famous for its cheese. The town has an inglorious past. Founded before the Inca took over, Atahualpa ruled the Inca northern empire and Huascar the south with the empire stretching… Continue reading Cajamarca – the thirteenth largest city in Peru (and the most under-visited)