Cajamarca

Having been here for about four months now, I am finding myself growing desensitized to the poverty. It’s hard to explain, but I’m going to give it a shot. Though I am still made aware daily of the absurd disparity between the standard of living for an average American and the average Peruvian, each time I leave Lima for the countryside, the material poverty out there seems less debilitating. The land is so rich, the vistas so arresting, and the kindness and immense national pride in each small community so charming, that it’s hard to see the people that live there as deprived. Though the houses are in disarray and the children frequently barefoot, there is an overwhelming sense of cultural richness that somehow blinds me to their heart-breaking poverty. Perhaps after taking a look at the pictures I took this past week while visiting Cajamarca, you will have a better sense of what I mean.

 

Cajamarca is a small city in the Northern Highlands region of Peru. It’s origin dates back over 2000 years and was home to several pre-Incan cultures including the Caxamarca, the Inkas and then Spanish. It is now known as “little Cusco” for it’s beautiful colonial architecture. I made the trip especially so that I could make a research visit to the Yanacocha gold mine in the region, but I found the surrounding landscape equally inspiring. My friend Takako joined me for the trip.  We took a tiny turbo-prop plane from Lima.  It was a little nerve racking the way the plane bumped and dove in the turbulence, but we lived.

the smallest plane I've ridden in to-date

I could see straight through to the cock-pit

For our first afternoon, we took it easy, adjusting to the 2,700m altitude of the city in preparation for out visit to the mine which is at about 4,100m.  We, very slowly, climbed the Santa Apolonia hill that rises just a few blocks south of the Plaza de Armas.  At the top of the hill is a beautiful little park that affords a terrific view of the city.

 

climbing up Santa Apalonia

view of the Cathedral in the Plaza de Armas

view of Santa Apalonia and the city from the surrounding hillside

Cumbe Mayo (Quechua for “thin river”) is a region and frequent tourist destination a few miles outside of the city.  Cumbe Mayo is known for its amazing volcanic “rock forest” and for the 5 mile long pre-Incan aqueduct that cuts through the land.  The continental divide runs through the area and around 1500 B.C., the Andean inhabitants built the channel to divert water that would have run east to the Amazon and eventually to the Atlantic Ocean, to the Pacific side and to the city of Cajamarca.   The perfectly straight canal, which turns at perfect 90° angles as it cuts neatly through the verdant hills is an architectural marvel.   It is also lined with petroglyphs, many of which are still undecipherable.

3 angled turn, a Caxamarcan symbol of the soul's path on it's ascent to heaven

section of the aqueduct

3000+ year old petroglyph

stone out-cropping in Cumbe Mayo

We were joined by a few local girls, who posed for pictures and sang us traditional songs- for tips, as we made our way through the site.  The rock formations in the stone forest were otherworldly. Subject to millions of years of wind and water erosions, the volcanic batholiths now stand like pillars, separating earth from sky.  It was a majestic sight.

our official and unofficial tour guides

We also made a visit to the Ventanillas del Otuzco, a wall of tombs that date back to 900 b.c. In the mid 14th century when the Spanish conquered Cajamarca killing the Incan Emperor Atahualpa, they raided the tombs, destroying the mummies in the process. On the tour we also made a visit to a local flower farm and dairy. Cajamarca is known for it’s dairy products. They actually make a product called mantecoso, which is butter-cheese. YUM!

Ventanillas (windows) de Otuzco

large chamber for a priest or person of high rank

Takako and Me at the dairy farm

guinea pigs

Takako and a baby cow

very typical painted political signs for the upcoming presidential election in April

a family washing their tuk-tuk in the river

A few more pictures from around town...

lots of people still wear those traditional hats

Iglesia Belén

One night we went to a peña, or traditional live music venue.  We were the only two there, along with the owner Jaime, his wife and son, and his friend Victor.  They gave us a lesson in regional history and played a few songs for us.  They were so friendly and welcoming.  If you ever find yourself in Cajamarca, I highly recommend a visit to peña Usha Usha.

from left: Victor, owner Jaime, and Jaime's son playing classical South American
songs for us at the Peña Usha Usha

Victor strumming a classical Peruvian tune from Rachel Sitkin on Vimeo.

the Cathedral at night

Here are a few shots from the Yanacocha mine, though I'm saving the best ones for myself. The mine tour was very interesting. I have been on a few now and this one focused the most on their environmental accountability and social responsibility. Yanacocha is owned by a Colorado based company and they are doing a lot to lessen their environmental impact. Also, in the ten years since the mine opened, the population of Cajamarca has tripled and the mine has done a lot to help them keep up with services, donating a percentage of their profits to educational programs as well.