Chavin de Huantar.
Early AM bus ride - 3 hours, that rivaled yesterday's ride. We drove south on the rode to Lima. We then turned onto a gravel road up the mountain. The valley grew narrower and narrower and we passed small conical houses with thatched roofs. The people here seemed to tend flocks of sheep & goats. We stopped next to a lake for a photo op and bought stuff at a very small store. We saw many women in colorful skirts and hats. The road reached an altitude of 13,400 ft when we entered a tunnel to the other side. We had crossed the Corderello Blanco. The streams now flowed into the Atlantic Ocean. We were in the Amazon Basin! As we came through the tunnel, we were greeted by a mammoth Christ figure with an arm outstretched toward us. This statue had just been completed last year. It had the appearance of being made out of plastic, or frosting. The view was straight down to Chavin de Huantar. We switchbacked down an incredibly steep mountain road into the town. More terraced farming and heards, now including llamas, and more beautifully costumed inhabitants..
We toured Chavin, also a World Heritage site with Doug Sharon. This site, dating fom 1,000 BC, represents the convergence of the cultures from both the Amazon and the coast. It appears to be entirely a ceremonial and religious site. The bus back to Hauras was just as spectacular. The bus driver, who had 22 years of experience on this road, managed to pass slower vehicles and to make room for oncoming vehicles to pass all on this one lane road. There are no guard rails and a sheer drop off that easily was hundreds of feet.
We returned to the hotel and then walked into town in search of an internet café. Part of the group went to a Chifa (Chinese restraunt). We found the Internet cafes all crowded so we returned to the hotel, had desert and went to bed.
