Well, it's better than the pictures. So much so my eyes welled up upon
walking thru the Gate. A boyhood dream, finally come true. I mean, there
it is, in incredible hewn-stone glory, celebrating the sky, the mountains,
and the earth. It's in the most-inaccessible of places, on a sharp ridge
dropping a thousand feet to the river, and they said Let's build something
here. To guide their planting and harvest, they constructed a rounded
tower and placed openings in the walls to capture the sun on the
Solstices. To guide their beliefs, they constructed temples to the Sun,
the Moon, and the Condor. To guide their ancestry, they constructed the
Mother Earth Temple, celebrating those that came before and those that
will come after. Some of Mom's ashes are there. To guide their daily
life, they constructed celebratory platforms and grand public spaces. And
on. And on. And on. It is said a thousand people lived here...
When you try to picture this, it becomes an impossible task. The rooms
all seem so simple, yet constructed of elegant stone. There's perfectly
symmetrical niches crafted in the walls and incredibly massive lintels
spanning over the doors. There's steps so steep you hesitate to descend
and there's terrace walls hung on cliffs -- Why on earth did they do this?
Indeed, how on earth did they do this?
It certainly left us awe-struck. Makes us want to come back someday, but
take the Inca Trail in. Can't imagine the significance that would add.
Tomorrow, the higher-yet Andes and Lago Titicaca. When will all this end?
Too soon, we know...
Santiago y Elena
