Cumbe

years ago while planning my first visit to Cajamarca, I read somewhere of the possibility of camping up town from Cajamarca, next to the Frailones. I took the chance as a why not. Today marks my third time coming to Cajamarca, third time sleeping next to Cumbemayo:
Walking up there and spending one night under the Cajamrca stars, in the crazy chance that the night of the thousand fireflies will happen again....

make it pass the frailones and the aqueducts and find a nice niche for the tent: next to a stream, some flat ground, a bit of shelter from the wind, enough . Somebody whom to share your meal with and can´t get any better. Too bad for the cold, I hadnt planned for the Cajamarca winter. We reached below 0s last night. Tough morning with frozen muscles, but nothing Baños del Inca can´t warm up... eeeeeeee





this time i have to thank la señito del mercado por sus super deliciosos tallarines verdes ;)

Adios Cajamarca

Back in Lima now, couldn't stay for the best crying widow competition or for the burial of the Ño Carnavalón, maybe next year, maybe, for now all is left is to keep my fingers crossed so I can go to Puno's celebration of La Virgen de la Candelaria... keep on keeping on...

I might have missed their wedding but was not willing to miss the frantic parade of their love around town with the paint splashing that they bring along every year...
I came to visit Ño Carnavalon and couldnt have made a better decision, the city that made the carnaval so popular in Perú decades ago hasnt lost its touch... wonderful weather did nothing but enticed us to come back yet one more time



Clows wearing ojotas, princesses in polleras and arlequins singing coplas is what this carnival brings to us, what an excellent mixture of traditions! The party didnt stop for a few days (as a matter of fact it will keep on going till next week) but if you ask about where the party is, it is in the streets and in the different houses where it really takes place: maybe welcoming some carnavaleros to sing some coplas and drink your chicha, maybe going out to your balcony and treat them to a nice bucket of water, maybe even venture pass your doors the day of the entrance of the Ño Carnavalon and get paint all over you, Cajamarca enjoys its carnival like no other. They dont get upset because they got wet or painted, they just get even... watch out!!

Cajamarca

Back in Cajamarca for the Carnaval!!! Days of waterballon fights and parades and nights of coplas, doesn't get any better:

te vas a morder la lengua
cuando empieces a hablar,
no te acuerdas de esas noches
cuando te hacia gritar?