59. Sajsayhuaman

59.

Sajsayhuaman.

Next day I hike up the hillside blooming with wildflowers above Cuzco to the ruins of the great Inca city, Sajsayhuaman.

I sit on a large square stone at the top of the heap of ruined stonework.

Below me is a broad green vale where llamas graze. Flanking the valley are terrace-walls made of the famous colossal stones changing color as steamy clouds pour overhead filtering the sunlight.

It IS tempting to call these amazing ruined walls “architecture of the Gods”. They are so strange!

On a hilltop toward Cuzco a big white statue of Jesus spreads stiff arms. Two lovers stroll by below me. I place myself in the center of a ring of huge stones––perhaps the foundation stones of an adobe tower or observatory—and turn my face toward the setting sun.

This ancient acropolis, now covered with grass, wildflowers and little tourist paths, is a good-vibe place for me. The inheritors of this vanished magnificence live in little mud huts near the stream that flows down the valley. You can hear their dogs, chickens and transistor radios.

They say Pizarro destroyed Sajsayhuaman four hundred years ago. Could such a city and such a civilization utterly disappear in such a short time?

Or is the wisdom and skill which built this vanished civilization still available to those who seek it?

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