Thursday was full of sightseeing, of philosophy, of soaking up another way of looking at life and death and the in between.
Emerita took me around all day - from early morning in a communal taxi taking us from Calca to Cusco - two other people were going too, and so we shared. And the first stop was the sacred place of Q'enqo, where we walked around for an hour or so - the magnificence of these sights is that .... all the structures the Incas left behind are either carved right out of mother earth, like these steps or this seat, right in the rock, there it is firm and unmovable or delicately designed to fit into what is all around...
but with clear connection to both above and below. A walkway between two enormous pieces of rock, hewn smooth and beautiful, no rough texture here. When looking at where the path went to and from it seemed it was part of a transition path between upper and nether world, the world of spirituality and the world of wisdom and afterlife below.
Across the paved the road a part of the royal road had been excavated, looking at it, and thinking about the energy that was used in building thousands of kilometers of comfortable traveling road like this. Keeping in mind that there were no big front end loaders and trucks to carry stuff here or there. There were backs and hands, arms, legs, tired bodies galore.
Down at Saqsayhuaman which is an even larger area I fell instantly in love with how there were shelves and steps carved in the rocks everywhere - places to pray, to leave offerings, to meditate. We went through an S-shaped tunnel, the middle cavity opening in the photo was the exit, for a minute or so in there we were in full darkness and deep quiet - another transition tunnel. I am in awe!
Another humongous rock - carved steps upside down, we walked in under them, these steps are very strong in many woven or painted art depictions both from then and now, the steps which connect us with the above and with the below - both essentials in life.
The boulders are ....big as houses - and it is hard to get the right impression - we walked through this passage way looking up at the step carvings and as we came out the other end and continued up a path we turned around and ......
on the top side of this giant was .... a seat, an altar, site for reaching out and strengthening your connection to the heavens, the sky, the stars, the sun, the moon. The precision and the sharpness of the corners of this piece tickles me pink - sort of when I realize I have managed a really delicious selvage on a piece of weaving =-)
Walking down into the centre of this enormous construction of worship we also took a walk along the large wall, zigzagging along ----- well, these are not small rocks, and they were not built around already standing boulders, there are foundation rocks to be seen where the excavations have gone deep enough. Tons and tons of boulders, moved and carved - there are no bumps in between the rocks they are all smooth as sliced butter.
The wall zigzags along, there are speculations that one or more golden snakes were decorating the wall, these walls were once shiny with precious metal, gold and silver - gold being male, silver being female, all these tonnes of rocks were covered and shiny in the hot sun.
Looking at this I am thinking, hm, what a tapestry - but I will have to wait until I get back home to Canada to execute that idea.
Emerita took me around all day - from early morning in a communal taxi taking us from Calca to Cusco - two other people were going too, and so we shared. And the first stop was the sacred place of Q'enqo, where we walked around for an hour or so - the magnificence of these sights is that .... all the structures the Incas left behind are either carved right out of mother earth, like these steps or this seat, right in the rock, there it is firm and unmovable or delicately designed to fit into what is all around...
but with clear connection to both above and below. A walkway between two enormous pieces of rock, hewn smooth and beautiful, no rough texture here. When looking at where the path went to and from it seemed it was part of a transition path between upper and nether world, the world of spirituality and the world of wisdom and afterlife below.
Across the paved the road a part of the royal road had been excavated, looking at it, and thinking about the energy that was used in building thousands of kilometers of comfortable traveling road like this. Keeping in mind that there were no big front end loaders and trucks to carry stuff here or there. There were backs and hands, arms, legs, tired bodies galore.
Down at Saqsayhuaman which is an even larger area I fell instantly in love with how there were shelves and steps carved in the rocks everywhere - places to pray, to leave offerings, to meditate. We went through an S-shaped tunnel, the middle cavity opening in the photo was the exit, for a minute or so in there we were in full darkness and deep quiet - another transition tunnel. I am in awe!
Another humongous rock - carved steps upside down, we walked in under them, these steps are very strong in many woven or painted art depictions both from then and now, the steps which connect us with the above and with the below - both essentials in life.
The boulders are ....big as houses - and it is hard to get the right impression - we walked through this passage way looking up at the step carvings and as we came out the other end and continued up a path we turned around and ......
on the top side of this giant was .... a seat, an altar, site for reaching out and strengthening your connection to the heavens, the sky, the stars, the sun, the moon. The precision and the sharpness of the corners of this piece tickles me pink - sort of when I realize I have managed a really delicious selvage on a piece of weaving =-)
Walking down into the centre of this enormous construction of worship we also took a walk along the large wall, zigzagging along ----- well, these are not small rocks, and they were not built around already standing boulders, there are foundation rocks to be seen where the excavations have gone deep enough. Tons and tons of boulders, moved and carved - there are no bumps in between the rocks they are all smooth as sliced butter.
The wall zigzags along, there are speculations that one or more golden snakes were decorating the wall, these walls were once shiny with precious metal, gold and silver - gold being male, silver being female, all these tonnes of rocks were covered and shiny in the hot sun.
Looking at this I am thinking, hm, what a tapestry - but I will have to wait until I get back home to Canada to execute that idea.