Sallustani Pre-Inca Cemetery

Sallustani Pre-Inca Cemetery

As we begin our journey towards the ancient pre-inca peoples cemetery, Sallustani,

As I lay in the middle of the round sacred space fenced with stones, with it's entrance looking north-west, dividing the day from the night, the good from the bad, the dead from the living, a place which represents the connection between the upper, middle, and lower worlds, the future, the present and the past, a place which could have been used as an astronomical calendar and for performing sacred rituals and sacrifices, I connect with this ground. I embrace this energy and I accept the unity of life, while fantasizing about what else could have happened on this enclosed sight, like lovers meeting at sunset or under the moonlight, making vows to each other.

It is unique and elevating, I feel my soul balancing with the mountain, with the 4000m altitude, with the spirits who roam around and about me. I could stay here forever... but let me move on, let me store this mystical energy within me and continue my journey, as I do. Elevated, floating like a cloud, I glance at the beauty of lake Umayo, located at the top, and humbly but passionately appreciate the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.

Lima: The Science of Chaos

The day we spent in Lima went like a dream. We experienced the whole city with its parallel contrasts – from the north end to the south end, from the poor neighbourhood across the river, where they have no canalization and people live like the Romany gypsies in Bulgaria, through the city centre, influenced by old Spanish architecture, to the modern luxurious buildings and seaside parks of Miraflores.

We began our journey in the middle ground, the city centre, with its synchrony of intense car noises at 8 o'clock in the morning, European-like atmosphere of narrow pedestrian streets and 2 magnificent squares, one with a big statue of the national hero (Jose San Martin), another with a big cathedral,naturally. Yet, even though Europe tried to establish its suffocating atmosphere, it did not know that the clouds hanging over Lima are stronger, thicker, and filled with more rotten fish smell than a European capital can ever handle, even if it was London we are talking about. No, Lima has its own tropical character, warm, heavy, and humid at the same time. It is immersed into a desert mist, loud noises, and wooden façades on 2 story buildings painted in salmon pink and yellow tones. Full of life!

Life around us was buzzing in weird colourful ways, meeting us with things unseen before. One of the most notable such would be a couple of men, one on each side of the street on every little crossing, acting as independent currency exchange pedlars (yes, if it wasn't for the representative uniform of a reflective yellow vest that distinguish them, I would have taken this whole business for very suspicious!).