Before leaving the Londres area we visited the ruins at El Shincal. There are only a few walls and some stairways up to two lookouts remaining. The stone work is much rougher than the usual Inca stone work we have seen. Climbing up onto the lookouts gave very good views of the valley south and east, and perhaps that is why the village was built here - good protection.
A little way north at the town of Belem we hit the first of the dust that would prove to be a signature of the day. A strong wind blowing down the river valley whipped up dense clouds of dust. Out of the valley onto the flat land the wind persisted for the rest of the day and we were treated to sporadic clouds of dust that at times obscured the road.
Camping
We stayed the night at hostel Pacha Cuty. It's along San Martin from the square. A friendly place with hot showers, nice kitchen and warm company. We parked in the street outside. It was a bit of a squeeze to get under the trees and far enough away from the center of the road. Would not work for a vehicle larger than ours.
We discovered later that there are two campgrounds in town, at least one looked open.
