On my second day in Lunahuana, I went white water rafting and toured Incahuasi, the ruins of an Incan military camp and prison, which was established in 1438 by the Inca Pachacutec. I was a little hesitant to go White Water rafting because the water levels were so low, but Fernando was passionate. He said the river is powerful and even if it is low the energy will still be the same. His enthusiasm sold me on the plan and he coordinated the trip.
Just as promised, the river delivered and the rafting was invigorating. I was glad I had done quite a bit of rafting in the United States, because the introductory briefing would have been a complete loss to me, if I had not already heard it before in English. After the brief, the guide wanted to place me in the front lead position of the raft. In my worst Spanish, I tried to explain to the guide that I would probably fare better in the second position, since I wouldn’t understand the commands he would shout from the back of the boat.
We got it figured out and by the time we finished the trip, I had learned the only two commands our guide used… ‘All Forward’ and ‘Stop’ ('Todos Avanzar' y 'Alto'). When we got back into town, the group helped carry the rafts back up to the shop in the middle of town. However, we were delayed by a large religious procession with a band and a group carrying a statue of a saint. The Spaniards brought Catholicism with them from Europe and it remains very strong throughout Peru, though slightly spiced with local traditions of worshiping the earth and elements. Although I assumed this parade was for a significant local holiday or event, it is actually a common occurrence, which happens every Sunday in most towns, and some towns even have daily parades.
For my last meal at the Refuge de Santiago, I had the duck with purple corn sauce. Delicious. If I was a food writer, I might have been able to articulate the mouth watering flavors: the sweet flavor of the corn sauce that hinted of a plum sauce, but with a hint of salt, to bring out the flavor of the duck, and how nicely the quinoa complemented it. But alas, I’m not a food writer.
After lunch, I headed to Incahuasi for a few hours of exploring. Incahuasi was the first Incan ruins of my Peruvian tour, and highlighted the conquest and expansion that defined their kingdoms rapid, but brief, expansion to control the majority of the Andes. In Lunahuana they established Incahuasi as a military garrison and prison camp in preparation for their expansion north along the coast.
My host, Fernando, explained that the Huarco Kingdom was the primary obstacle for the Inca, and they had a significant settlement at the base of the valley in the present-day city of Canete. The Inca recognized that they could attack a key fort at the mouth of the valley and establish control of the canal network, which would cripple the Huarco kingdom. It was fascinating to learn about the Inca’s military strategy. I was impressed that this small military city was built with the primary intent of preparing for an attack. It made me wonder what the Huarco people were doing in Canete as this camp began to grow and their pending doom grew clear. Did they make similar preparations to strengthen their defenses? Unfortunately, the current residents of Canete do not let tourist wonder the ruins of the old Huarco fort, so I did not get to see the remains of the other half of the conflict.
At Incahuasi, the main ruins are situated in two adjacent draws, or small canyons, just south of the main road that leads up the Lunahuana valley. However, the main road actually cuts through the ruins and the ruins that remain, on the north side of the road, have been overrun by orchards.
My visit began with a bilingual discussion with the gate keeper, and by bilingual I mean I spoke mostly English, he spoke Spanish, and we sorted the rest out with sign language. The gatekeeper was a short, wiry old cowboy with a somber and leathery face under his cowboy hat, both worn from years working under the desert sun. After establishing the hours, admission, and cost of a guidebook, I paid for each and was given free rein to roam the ruins.
For the majority of my visit I was the only tourist on the site, and the only employee that I saw was the gate keeper, who quickly retired back into his shack after I paid my admission. In the center of the site was the Temple complex with a large courtyard in front of what remained of the Temple of the Sun and Incan Palace building with a back drop of barren and jagged stone hills.
Since the canal system of the valley is the only thing that supplies the agricultural area with water, the division from the orchards on the north side of the road and the barren desert ruins on the south is stark. Although the limited rainfall has helped preserve the ruins, little else is preventing them from falling apart, and several sections of the walls look like they could tumble at any moment.
From the temple, I headed east, over a small but steep hill to the prison and markets section of the settlement. The two areas had similar layouts, with buildings built up against the mountain wall and wrapped around a central courtyard area facing out to the modern highway and larger valley below. These ruins were in better condition and you could see some of the classic trapezoidal and triangular ‘windows’/shelves that the Inca built into their walls. Although they look like they were windows that were later sealed off with the outer layer of stones, the openings actually served another purpose. In the earthquake prone region, the Incas established this design to make their buildings more earthquake resistant, and many Incan buildings still survive earthquakes today while more modern structures tumble down around them.
From the prison I returned east, back over the hill and past the temple, to the military side of the camp. The camp once housed the military’s armory, grain warehouses, and barracks. As Napoleon once said, “An Army marches on its stomach;” it seems the Inca’s recognized this as well, because the remains of the warehouses were the largest section of the complex.
The afternoon sun was unforgiving, and I was running out of time in Lunahuana. I returned to the beautiful Refuge, picked up my bags and began my arduous journey to Paracas. Todos avanzar!
Just as promised, the river delivered and the rafting was invigorating. I was glad I had done quite a bit of rafting in the United States, because the introductory briefing would have been a complete loss to me, if I had not already heard it before in English. After the brief, the guide wanted to place me in the front lead position of the raft. In my worst Spanish, I tried to explain to the guide that I would probably fare better in the second position, since I wouldn’t understand the commands he would shout from the back of the boat.
We got it figured out and by the time we finished the trip, I had learned the only two commands our guide used… ‘All Forward’ and ‘Stop’ ('Todos Avanzar' y 'Alto'). When we got back into town, the group helped carry the rafts back up to the shop in the middle of town. However, we were delayed by a large religious procession with a band and a group carrying a statue of a saint. The Spaniards brought Catholicism with them from Europe and it remains very strong throughout Peru, though slightly spiced with local traditions of worshiping the earth and elements. Although I assumed this parade was for a significant local holiday or event, it is actually a common occurrence, which happens every Sunday in most towns, and some towns even have daily parades.
For my last meal at the Refuge de Santiago, I had the duck with purple corn sauce. Delicious. If I was a food writer, I might have been able to articulate the mouth watering flavors: the sweet flavor of the corn sauce that hinted of a plum sauce, but with a hint of salt, to bring out the flavor of the duck, and how nicely the quinoa complemented it. But alas, I’m not a food writer.
After lunch, I headed to Incahuasi for a few hours of exploring. Incahuasi was the first Incan ruins of my Peruvian tour, and highlighted the conquest and expansion that defined their kingdoms rapid, but brief, expansion to control the majority of the Andes. In Lunahuana they established Incahuasi as a military garrison and prison camp in preparation for their expansion north along the coast.
My host, Fernando, explained that the Huarco Kingdom was the primary obstacle for the Inca, and they had a significant settlement at the base of the valley in the present-day city of Canete. The Inca recognized that they could attack a key fort at the mouth of the valley and establish control of the canal network, which would cripple the Huarco kingdom. It was fascinating to learn about the Inca’s military strategy. I was impressed that this small military city was built with the primary intent of preparing for an attack. It made me wonder what the Huarco people were doing in Canete as this camp began to grow and their pending doom grew clear. Did they make similar preparations to strengthen their defenses? Unfortunately, the current residents of Canete do not let tourist wonder the ruins of the old Huarco fort, so I did not get to see the remains of the other half of the conflict.
At Incahuasi, the main ruins are situated in two adjacent draws, or small canyons, just south of the main road that leads up the Lunahuana valley. However, the main road actually cuts through the ruins and the ruins that remain, on the north side of the road, have been overrun by orchards.
My visit began with a bilingual discussion with the gate keeper, and by bilingual I mean I spoke mostly English, he spoke Spanish, and we sorted the rest out with sign language. The gatekeeper was a short, wiry old cowboy with a somber and leathery face under his cowboy hat, both worn from years working under the desert sun. After establishing the hours, admission, and cost of a guidebook, I paid for each and was given free rein to roam the ruins.
For the majority of my visit I was the only tourist on the site, and the only employee that I saw was the gate keeper, who quickly retired back into his shack after I paid my admission. In the center of the site was the Temple complex with a large courtyard in front of what remained of the Temple of the Sun and Incan Palace building with a back drop of barren and jagged stone hills.
Since the canal system of the valley is the only thing that supplies the agricultural area with water, the division from the orchards on the north side of the road and the barren desert ruins on the south is stark. Although the limited rainfall has helped preserve the ruins, little else is preventing them from falling apart, and several sections of the walls look like they could tumble at any moment.
From the temple, I headed east, over a small but steep hill to the prison and markets section of the settlement. The two areas had similar layouts, with buildings built up against the mountain wall and wrapped around a central courtyard area facing out to the modern highway and larger valley below. These ruins were in better condition and you could see some of the classic trapezoidal and triangular ‘windows’/shelves that the Inca built into their walls. Although they look like they were windows that were later sealed off with the outer layer of stones, the openings actually served another purpose. In the earthquake prone region, the Incas established this design to make their buildings more earthquake resistant, and many Incan buildings still survive earthquakes today while more modern structures tumble down around them.
From the prison I returned east, back over the hill and past the temple, to the military side of the camp. The camp once housed the military’s armory, grain warehouses, and barracks. As Napoleon once said, “An Army marches on its stomach;” it seems the Inca’s recognized this as well, because the remains of the warehouses were the largest section of the complex.
The afternoon sun was unforgiving, and I was running out of time in Lunahuana. I returned to the beautiful Refuge, picked up my bags and began my arduous journey to Paracas. Todos avanzar!
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