Tiwanaku
I took a day tour to Tiwanaku – a site of pre-Columbian ruins not far from La Paz. The tour was cheap and easy – and it included and English-speaking guide, so I signed up. It's one of the oldest ruins in South America.
I had to text the tour agency a couple of times in the morning of my tour because the office was closed and the bus was a bit late, but they reassured me it was coming – and it did! The trip to the site wasn’t too bad – a little dull but not terribly long.
When we arrived, I could see from a distance that there had once been much more than what exists now. There is a big hill that hasn’t been fully excavated or reconstructed – the local people are very superstitious and believe that excavation causes natural disasters. Sometimes the locals will “undo” some of the digging. So apparently, they’ve laid off a bit on the archeological digs. Also, according to our guide, a lot of the stones and precious metals were removed by the Spanish and used to build churches. So even if they could rebuild the original structures, they couldn’t do it with the original materials. That’s a bit sad. If the stories are true, there was once so much gold (and/or silver?) on the buildings that people could see it for miles, shining in the sunlight.
I had to text the tour agency a couple of times in the morning of my tour because the office was closed and the bus was a bit late, but they reassured me it was coming – and it did! The trip to the site wasn’t too bad – a little dull but not terribly long.
When we arrived, I could see from a distance that there had once been much more than what exists now. There is a big hill that hasn’t been fully excavated or reconstructed – the local people are very superstitious and believe that excavation causes natural disasters. Sometimes the locals will “undo” some of the digging. So apparently, they’ve laid off a bit on the archeological digs. Also, according to our guide, a lot of the stones and precious metals were removed by the Spanish and used to build churches. So even if they could rebuild the original structures, they couldn’t do it with the original materials. That’s a bit sad. If the stories are true, there was once so much gold (and/or silver?) on the buildings that people could see it for miles, shining in the sunlight.
One place in the ruins featured a lot of different faces carved into the walls. They say one of the faces is that of an alien. Well, I say, if that face is that of an alien, then the face opposite it in the square is that of a muppet! Judge for yourselves. My group agreed with me:
|
|
After touring the ruins, we went to the museum. It wasn’t the most interesting of museums, but it did have a lot of information – AND it contains the largest monolith ever found in the Andes, the Bennett Monolith, a carving of a man 7.3 meters tall. It’s been moved a few times and coincidentally (most probably coincidentally) each move was followed by natural disasters. It has since been returned to the museum, near the original site. This picture totally isn't mine... because photos were forbidden.
I not only enjoyed the ruins and the history lesson, but I liked the wildflowers and fresh air. It was an enjoyable excursion. If the guide was correct, I saw wild chinchillas! I suspect they were actually some strange variety of groundhogs, but… I dunno.
More info here, if you’re interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiwanaku
I have a lot more to post about La Paz and the area, so there may be a flurry of posts all at once. Check for more tomorrow!
More info here, if you’re interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiwanaku
I have a lot more to post about La Paz and the area, so there may be a flurry of posts all at once. Check for more tomorrow!