Pisac's Mysterious Ruin

Anything can possibly go wrong went wrong on this trip...

Being blocked from accessing Machu Picchu, our tour guide decided to take us to this incredible site - Pisac's Mysterious Ruin. 

We drove all the way up there. Looking down to the Sacred Valley through the soft green terraces was incredible (Picture 1). However, hiking up to the ruin complex presented a challenge to our local tour guide. So, he literally didn't take us up there (Picture2, the upper right corner on the hill). Because the ruin wasn't on our original itinerary, I didn't know much about it until after we got home. The more I read about it, the more I realized how regrettable it was to not push the guide to take us up there!

Oh well, again, life is the art of imperfection!! 

Cuzco, Peru

January 29, 2024 

Regarding Pisac's mysterious ruin, historian Victor W. von Hagen once pronounced: “Nowhere in all the empire of the Incas is there finer masonry, nor is there elsewhere, even at Machu Picchu, a plan so bold.”

The chief puzzle surrounding Pisac is just what exactly it’s supposed to be.

The problem is partially the site’s architectural diversity.  Barracks, fortifications, civilian residences, temples, aqueducts, agricultural precincts: no other Inca ruin, including Machu Picchu, encompasses such a broad array of infrastructure.

Some scholars, focusing on the complex’s sweeping agricultural terraces, argue that Pisac is a kind of royal Hacienda or estate built by the Inca Pachacutec in the mid-1400s.  According to this theory, the visionary emperor erected a rural villa to commemorate his defeat of the Cuyos, a rival Andean group who resisted Inca rule.  Pisac’s terraces thus would have provided corn, potatoes, and peppers for yet another imperial country home, Machu Picchu.

It’s a case of too little information, clearly. Regarding Pisac’s function, the historical record is conspicuously silent. None of the chroniclers from the Spanish Conquest mentions it, no recorded battles took place there, no swashbuckling Yalies looking for lost cities broadcast its existence to the world.

What Pisac does have is aesthetics, and in spades. Comprising over four square kilometers of agricultural terraces dotted with clusters of striking edifices, it’s five times the size of Machu Picchu, with some of the most heart-stopping views in Peru. 

 

Salineras de Maras

The Salineras de Maras, in the Cuzco Region of Peru at an altitude of 10,560 ft., is made up of ~4,500 natural salt wells near the town of Maras. Each of the wells has a dimension of 5 square meters. 

The salt wells are fed by a hypersaline underground spring that originated 110 million years ago during the formation of the Andes Mountains. The ancient legacy of the Maras Salineras stretches across millennia. Emerging from the peaks of Qaqawiñay mountain, briny waters surge forth, embracing the sun's potent rays that, upon evaporation, give rise to the distinctive natural salt wells synonymous with Maras.

 

The little person diligently taking photos under the hot summer sun was me 😊

Cuzco, Peru
January 29, 2024

 

The Unimaginable

After 32.5 hours of non-stop traveling – covering 3 countries and 6 airports, we’re finally home!!

What’s the chance of someone flying all the way to Cuzco, Peru but didn’t get to see Machu Picchu due to local protests blocking the access???

It happened to us!! The local strikes started on 1/28/24, two days before our scheduled date to visit Machu Picchu. The disappointment was enormous… Oh well, life is the art of imperfection!!

In the meantime, enjoy the video our tour guide made in January of last year. I initially planned to make a video just like this... Maybe next time.

 

My Amazon Orders

Do you remember your very first Amazon order? When and what?

I do, and here are the first 2 books I ever ordered from Amazon -- I was so diligent, curious and devoted to my career 20+ years ago...

The first THING I bought from Amazon was our very first GPS. It has since provided me with total independence over the past 17 years -:))

Hard to believe how Amazon has fundamentally changed our way of life!! Again, I truly believe we are living in the history-making times.

10/11/2002: Biostatistics: A Foundation for Analysis in the Health Sciences (Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics)

12/9/2002: Understanding Health Care Outcomes Research

3/10/2007: Garmin nuvi 350 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

My Tennis Season

Last year, I played tennis outdoor from 6/7/22 to 11/26/22 for a total of 77 times. I considered it as my "tennis season."

This year, the season started early on 4/8/23, and it lasted all the way through 12/15/23, for a total of 158 times. I'm not sure if this is the END of my "tennis season". If it goes into 2024, how would I define the "season?"

Nonetheless, tennis is a THING for me now. Looking forward to the next season -- or the continuation of this season into 2024.

 

Happy Holidays to all!

 

Social Media Diet

The email below reminded me of how disciplined I used to be... Wow, 20 days of ditching social media totally and completely -- how COOL is that!!

Well, I finally started my "social media diet" again -- first time since 9/10/2022. Not sure what happened to me over the past 14 months, but anyhow, it once again brought me back to my sanctuary -- the calm, peaceful and quiet world where you can really listen to yourself and reflect...

All of the sudden, I have so much more time too. Finally finished processing all the photos from Canada, Red River Gorge, and my backyard.

Attached are the photos from "my backyard" -:))

Naperville, IL

October 2023

On Thursday, December 9, 2021 at 08:39:58 PM CST, Pei Tang <tang_pei@yahoo.com> wrote:

Due to recent scandals in China, I've learned a new Chinese phrase called "社会死亡."  The English translation is "Social Death."  It means: to avoid the spread of the scandal, the person involved has been blocked from all social media channels. Therefore, socially, the person is considered "dead," as no one can find or contact him/her.

In my case, I have been practicing voluntary "social death" periodically over the past 7 years. The first time was the most dramatic. I spent a 3-day weekend (5/2/14 to 5/4/14) without a cell phone, a computer, a TV; without my car, or any other modern devices. I simply stayed home -- made tea, cooked meals, read books and walked around the neighborhood... It was a profound experience, with a lot of inconvenience, of course.

Since then, to avoid too much disruption in life, my "social death" experience has been limited to only shutting down social media for 1-2 weeks. Each time, I loved the serenity it brought to my soul...

Well, I just did it again for the past 20 days, which was the longest time of all. The calmness was incredible!!

 

Social Death is really not as horrifying as many have imagined. You live in your own world and mine your own business -- the simplicity of life is lovely. When you finally decide to reemerge, you'd realize that you haven't missed much after all. In my case, over hundreds of headlines and stories for the past 20 days, maybe only two things were note worthy: Omicorn and Inflation.

Omicron: I've gotten my booster shot, what more can I do?

Inflation: Here is my little strategy. The rest is out of my hands. Why worry???  Haha!

The Road Home

Naperville, IL