Tiwanaku

On Monday, we woke up fairly early, got some tasty pancakes from our hostel and walked over to the La Paz cemetery to find a bus to Tiwanaku, the ancient ruins to the north of the city.

I had received instructions to walk "past the cemetery to the right of the florists" to find these particular buses (such an odd organizational system for public transport), so it took us a few minutes to figure out where exactly we were supposed to go.  On our way, though, we saw plenty of interesting things.  We walked through several blocks of market, which was chaotic, colorful, and full of people hurrying from one place to another.  You can buy everything there, from used happy meal toys to colanders to car parts.

We soon found the side street where the minibuses picked up, and within an hour we were on our way to Tiwanaku.  We drove through miles of Bolivian Pampas (high plains), which gave us a beautiful view of the mountains in the distance but looked completely different from La Paz.  It reminded me a bit of Wyoming.  On our way, we chatted with some Argentinians who were convinced that corporations (especially US corporations) are ruining South American culture.  I wasn't 100% sure I agreed, but they were certainly interesting to talk to.  Even Tim and Kyle joined in the conversation.  They are understanding better and better!

Tiwanaku is definitely a wonder.  It was inhabited as early as 1500 BC, although most of the complex was built around AD 600-800.  Still, it's so old!  Like Roman old!  Much older than Machu Picchu.

What interested me most about Tiwanaku was the variety of sculpture found there.  First of all, there are these giant monoliths depicting religious leaders.  They have square faces, intricately carved designs, and depictions of the vessels they used for hallucinogens.  Some of the monoliths are only a few feet taller than people, but the largest one was probably 30 or 40 feet high, all one piece, and quite intimidating.  How did they move and carve a stone so large?  Especially in a place where there are very few rocks to begin with?  Well, some anthropologists theorize that they floated them across Lake Titicaca on giant reed rafts.  Pretty amazing, huh?

Besides the monoliths, there were a series of dozens and dozens of ceramic heads nailed to the walls of one of the principle temples.  Tim, Kyle and I theorized that perhaps Tiwanaku was an alien landing site and that the aliens taught the natives how to carve... those faces do NOT look human.

The Tiwanaku site also includes a couple of incomplete pyramids, as well as quarters for the upper-class residents of the city.  There was a central patio surrounded by many tiny bedrooms - the Tiwanakans must have been incredibly short to fit in those sleeping spaces!

We had a very enjoyable day, except for one problem - at the incredibly high altitude (even higher than La Paz) on the exposed plain, Tim and especially Kyle ended up frying in the Andean sun.  I'm not sure Kyle's skin will ever recover.

Once we got back to La Paz, we were absolutely famished, so I suggested we share a Pique a la Macho (which basically translates to Spicy Man Food).  Pique is a dish that combines french fries, hot dogs, beef, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, bell peppers, a beer sauce and ketchup.  It sounds like a bit much, but if you share it, it's just perfect.  Mmmmm...