2012 Image Archive

A "planning stone". Miniature terraces have been carved into the stone, which was used as a three-dimensional map of part of the valley when deciding "who would do what farming where".
The base of a Ceiba pentandra tree, one of the jungle's giants.
The trail. This is what it looks like.
These "ant skyscrapers" are entrances to an ant colony.
It is a metal bridge (27.50 meters) built on the Paucartambo river in 1981 (during the administration of Mayor Leonard Luisa Figueroa). It is located a hundred yards downstream of the Carlos III bridge. Named after the benefactor Sven Ericsson Liquet. Es un puente metálico (27.50 metros lineales) construido sobre el rio Paucartamboen 1981 (durante la gestión de la alcaldesa Luisa Figueroa de Leonard). Estáubicado, rio abajo, a cien metros del puente Carlos III. Lleva el nombre del benefactor Sven Ericsson Liquet. "7. Evolucion Historica", chapter from unknown book, p. 24
The Inca face seen in profile on the side of Pinkuylluna was partly man-made and used for solar observations.
The stern face of Wiracochan or Tunupa on the mountain Pinkuylluna overlooks Ollantaytambo.
Close-up of the edge between two blocks of stone used to build Sacsayhuamán. Besides a little bit of sand, the fit is perfect.
This VR bubble was shot hand-held. Looking down the valley one can just about see the stone structures of Tambomachay on the south (right) side of the valley.
Not what I'd consider "great art", but the message here - "Water, Yes - Mine, No" - is a very current issue in Peru. It is about a prospected gold mine in northern Peru. The method of extraction used is cyanide leaching - basically, the ground up rock is washed in cyanide which washes out the gold. This method comes with the risk of accidents and cyanide spills.
The "Pacha Mamma" mentioned at the bottom is Pachamama, the life-giving all-mother that appears in many South American belief systems; in which she is a counterpoint to the "Creator God". When the Catholics came, this setup was mapped onto the Virgin Mary as Pachamama and the Christian God as the creator God. Already one can note the conspicuous absence of one Christian figure in this setup: Jesus. It was in fact quite surprising to me how big a part Mary plays in everyday faith in Peru. There are festivals to the Holy Virgin and she appears in many shapes in churches and cathedrals, often more prominently than Jesus. Perhaps this is the old goddess Pachamama elbowing others out of her way to stand, front and center, in a new shape, on the new stage afforded her by Christianity when the prominence given to her was, intentionally or unintentionally, transferred to Mary?
This was the view from the room I stayed in. I tried some selective color on this image to make the pink walls stand out (yes, they are really pink in reality).
The inner courtyard and staircase of the hotel. Like many places in Miraflores (the name literally meaning "see the flowers"), it is almost covered in bright flowers.

Links

[a]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceiba_pentandra

[b]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/50957340/7-EVOLUCION-HISTORICA

[c]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_cyanidation

[d]

http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/gold/spills.htm