How

BY MARY HUNT

the Caral civilization, dating back to 3200 BCE is the oldest known civilization in the Americas and built pyramids before the Egyptians; the Paracas performed skull surgery 2000 years ago; the Nasca; Chimu; and Tiajuanacas who were the first culture to domesticate animals, including llama used to carry goods, alpaca for their fur and meat, and vincuna.

These civilizations and cultures all preceded the Inca but the Inca, a ruling family that imbued themselves with divine authority, were the first to conquer the Andes and establish such a vast empire. The Inca reigned from 1150 to 1533, but the history is mostly lost –eradicated by the Spanish – because the Inca did not develop a written language (that is that they know of).

How did they build such big monuments and conquer the Andes?

According to myth, Lizandro relates, around 1100, the first Incan king and queen emerged from Lake Titicaca floating islands, traveled north looking for good soil and came to Cuzco Valley which was already inhabited. They transformed the land – built homes, established religion putting the sun god, Inti, ahead of the other gods, and the Incan king anointing himself the son of the sun. They conquered the tribes around Cuzco and made Cuzco the center of their universe and the spiritual center of the Andes. Then they discovered (and conquered) the Sacred Valley - sacred because of its fertile production of corn.

Over the next 350 years, the Inca expanded their empire, built a road system (known as the Royal Road) that was the most extensive and advanced

To

The arrival of warmer weather marks the reappearance of various things, with my personal favorite being iced coffee season. It’s a revitalizing method to kick off the day and a refreshing afternoon energizer when hot coffee doesn’t seem appealing.

If you, like I, are a leisurely coffee sipper, you’re likely acquainted with how transportation system in pre-Columbian South America – 25,000 miles of road stretching to Ecuador, Argentina, and Chile. It was also a communications system. They would send messages by relay runners who carried quipu – messages based on strings and knots (they did not have written alphabet). The runners – who might announce the impending arrival of a noble - could make it to Machu Picchu in four hours (we take four days).

Most of the sites we see were built in the mid-1400s by Pachacuti, the Incan “Alexander the Great.” He rebuilt Cuzco, built Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu. These sites we encounter along the Incan Trail were built specifically as resting places for pilgrims and travelers headed to Machu Picchu, for religious purpose and for protection of Machu Picchu.

From Patallacta it’s another 2-hour hike to Hatunchaca, a kind of way station, where we have a delightful lunch, as fine as the best restaurant.

The next hour is all uphill, making me all the more anxious for Day 2’s hike, which will be the real challenge. I am imagining that tomorrow will be this times 10 - four hours of this just to get to Dead Woman’s Pass. We come to a ranger station where it begins to mist and we delight in seeing a rainbow (auspicious? Some indigenous people worshipped the rainbow which they associated with fertility), then drizzle, then thunder. As we get to the Ayapata campsite (3300 meters elevation), at 4:30 pm, it is a real downpour but we get cozy inside our tents where the sleeping bag (winter grade) and mat and our duffle are already placed

Everyday Cheapskate

(whew!).

We settle into our tents and relax. Then it’s tea time! with snacks (popcorn!), and by 7:30 pm we are served a marvelous dinner cozy in the dining tent.

The rain clears out and the stars are amazing.

Lizandro points out the constellations in the Southern Sky so important to the Inca. The Inca believed the Milky Way to be a river, Mayu, the source of all water on earth and that earth and sky are connected, sacred, alive and parts of one whole. The sky had special, even religious significance in managing this civilization and organizing daily life, especially food production.

We hiked 8.7 miles this day, and climbed from an altitude of 8,923 ft to 10,829, to the Ayapata campsite, helping us to acclimate and get used to the Inca Trail. I’m feeling fine after today’s hike but I fall asleep anxious about what Day 2 will bring.

More information: Alpaca Expeditions, USA Phone: (202)-550-8534, info@alpacaexpeditions.com, https:// www.alpacaexpeditions.com/

Check with the US State Department to get the latest information on travel to Peru: (https://travel.state.gov/ content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-CountryInformation-Pages/Peru.html).

Next: Day 2: Conquering Dead Woman’s Pass

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