Touring Cajamarca

Today was a super fun day. We started out by taking showers as Los Banos Del Inca. As mentioned in a previous post, this place is a natural hot springs where you can swim, bathe, and take showers. Since we don't get heated water at the home where we live, we are very grateful for the warm showers at Los Banos Del Inca. This afternoon we visited Santa Polonia. This place marks the spot where the last Incan King fell to the Spaniards. It is at the top of a hill and is a pretty good climb up a bunch of stairs (especially at 9,000 ft above sea level). The pathway up was lovely with lots of beautiful flowers. The view of Cajamarca from the top was awesome! There was also a beautiful white and blue church near the top of the hill, which we went inside. On the way down (we took a different route down) we discovered tons of little tourist shops. We were super excited because as of then we had not found any tourist shops in Cajamarca. We purchased a cute purse for me for about $3.50 and a money pouch for Stephen for about $1.00. Everything is so cheap here! We also eyed a few items that we plan to buy later.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, we happened upon two girls who are volunteering with us. They are actually both originally from Peru. We went out to eat for a late lunch/early dinner with them. Afterwards, Stephen and I visited a nearby market as well as a few more of the beautiful churches near the central square of Cajamarca. We also bought some delicious crumpet-like treats and a caramel-milk sauce to dip the crumpets in. The Peruvian girls introduced us to this tasty treat and we love it. As we made our way back home, we went in and out of different stores and just enjoyed this lovely city! To be completely honest, we had a little bit of culture shock when we first got here, but the city has quickly grown on us and we sure love this place! It was a fun day of touring and site-seeing!

This evening on our way into the home where we are staying, we saw Sandro (the father of the home). He was on his way to go clean the church. We asked if he needed help and he said he could use our help if we had time. The church is only two blocks from Sandro's home. Instead of carpets (like churches in the USA), the floors are all tile. We swept all the floors and then mopped them. It seems it is our eternal calling to clean churches! We are very happy to do so though. :)

1. We bought the llama blanket pictured here a few days ago. For the last week we have been attempting to share a mummy bag (and it hasn't really worked). We bought this cute llama blanket for about $7.00. It is very thick and warm.
2-3. On our way up to Santa Polonia.
4. At the top of Santa Polonia.
5. The lovely white and blue church.
6. My new purse!
7. Shopping at the market.
8. Gorgeous church near the central square.
9. The yummy treats mentioned above.