Summer Vacation!!!

We have a little different schedule here in South America since our seasons are opposite to what most of you are experiencing.  Our summer vacation is from December 22nd until Feb 22....our plans include a trip to SF, Spanish lessons for a couple of weeks in Lima, a trip to the lower Amazon Basin in northeastern Peru, and finally a few days in Cuzco and Machu Picchu.  We'll write when we get back!

It's been a while!

     We spent our long Thanksgiving weekend with friends in Cajamarca, the dairy capital of Peru.  It is also the site where Pizarro's small group of conquistadors easily overwhelmed a huge number of Inca soldiers and captured the emperor. This was the beginning of the end of the Incas.  We visited the room where Atahualpa was held captive by Pizarro, and could see the mark on the wall where Atahualpa reached up and promised to fill the room twice with silver and once with gold up to that line if Pizarro would release him.  It took about a year, but Atahualpa fulfilled his promise. Unfortunately for Atahualpa, Pizarro didn't hold up his end of the bargain.  He took the ransom, and killed his prisoner.

     
     We visited the main square, and many old buildings,  We also walked up through the town to the hilltop overlooking the square.  The area has lots of thermal activity, and our hotel had wonderful hot springs. We also found time for a horseback ride, a visit to a cheese museum, a farm where the cows line up at the stall with their name plate when their names are called, and a zoo with some amazing birds and animals.  In the picture with all the women, they are putting a cover over a mountain lion's habitat.  He is inside that little room having his lunch!

     The town is up in the mountains, and so green from all the rain - quite the opposite of Lima.  Aside from a canceled return flight due to fog that made us wonder if we would be able to get home in time for work the next day, it was a good trip.  We ended up taking a scenic 7-hour bus ride out of the mountains, down to another town on the coast where we caught a flight back home.  All in all, we had a great time.

The First Bullfight

Here in Peru they have a short bullfighting season but get many of the good matadors from Spain to come out and tour.  Some friends were going the other day and had a spare ticket so Spencer went with them.

This is Acho, the oldest bullring in the Americas and the 2nd oldest in the world.  They've been using this arena since 1766.

You can see that the fights are popular and you can see Lima working its way up the hill in the background.

 

Here you can see all the participants in the bullfight in the ring.  It seems to take a lot of work to get the bull "ready" for the matador.

The warm up show.

The matador.