Yesterday’s tragic events in Paris serve as a reminder as to how fragile the places that we visit can be. Whether due to natural disasters or man-made events, many of the locations that we treasure can be damaged at some point in the future. The photographs that we, as travelers, capture can do more than just serve as a reminder of the time that we have spent in a place. Ultimately, some of these can serve to document the beauty of a place that perhaps may be lost in the future. Obviously, for extremely popular locations, there can be many photographs that exist to memorialize a location from many different perspectives. With that said, there are some places that are less frequented by travelers and tourists and the images that we capture and the experiences that we share serve not only to educate others about the location, but document them for future generations as well.
Great Pyramid of GizaApproaching the Cliff Dwellings in Mesa Verde
Although it certainly isn’t are intention to take photographs for historical purposes when we travel, we have definitely seen a variety of places and been able to take photographs that we will treasure forever and that we share via our site. We have seen places like Tiwanaku riddled with bullet holes because the army used the statues for target practice. Walking along the Great Pyramids of Giza, you will find graffiti on the stones that have stood there for thousands of years. Acts of vandalism occur with some frequency around the world. Some of these are easily remedied and others take an effort that is either costly or time consuming.
Tower Bridge in LondonArtifacts Found in Athens When Building a Subway Station
Hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, and other natural disasters have also changed places, both the buildings as well as the landscape, throughout the world. Having photographs before, during, and after such events allow us to truly understand the forces of nature and how the effect the world. Also, have you ever gone into a restaurant with photographs of a city from a hundred years ago up to the current day? We find those images fascinating and to be a visual timeline of a place. Whether intentional or not, all of us who travel and photograph the places that we visit are creating a visual documentation of those locations that can be shared for years to come.
Beloved Memories of Notre-Dame de Paris in 2007Temple Statue in Tiwanaku, Bolivia
One of the highlights of the Golden Circle, which is a loop that takes you to several key tourist sights near Reykjavik in Iceland, is Gysir. It is a geyser that erupts every few minutes, often very dramatically, as well as a hot springs area with mud pits. Crowds gather around to watch Geysir as it bubbles and surges until it finally sprays hot water and steam hundreds of feet into the air. The area has been active for over a thousand years and there are many smaller thermal pots in addition to the impressive Gysir.
It is More Dramatic Standing Away from GeysirSteam and Warm Ground Due to Thermal Activity Below the GroundYou Can See the Power as Geysir Begins to EruptLittle Geysir
Upon arriving to the parking area, you will join large crowds that gather around the geyser to wait and watch for it to erupt. Visiting Geysir during the winter months will really give you a sense of how much the thermal activity effects the area as you go from a completely frozen landscape to one with vegetation and steam coming from the ground all around you. We are sure that it is equally dramatic at other times of year, but the contrast between the ice and snow to the steaming mud pits and grassy areas was quite fascinating.
Dramatic EruptionBoiling WaterCrowds GatheringBuilding Up to a Larger Eruption
As you stand around Geysir waiting for its next eruption, the bubbling and boiling of the water in the mouth of the geyser is almost mesmerizing to watch. Waves of water roll out towards the edges as the water literally seems to boil. We watched several smaller eruptions that only went several feet into the air, although you could still sense the power of the geyser, until finally the main attraction occurred and Geysir spewed water and steam hundreds of feet into the air. We have seen other geysers, including Old Faithful in Yellowstone, but seeing the power of Geysir was certainly an incredible sight.
Little Geysir Eruption – Not as Dramatic as the Big GeysirGetting Closer to the Big EruptionAnother Mini-EruptionContrasting Landscapes
One of the tours that took while we were in Cochabamba, Bolivia, was to the ruins at Incallajta. They are some of the most well-preserved ruins in Bolivia and it really gives you a sense of how great the Incan civilization was. Sadly, not a lot is known for sure about the site and it seems that it is not often visited by tourists. The main temple building is massive and is probably an indication as to how important the site was to the Incan empire. In addition to being a ceremonial site, it was also the easternmost defensive fortification for the Inca, with a large wall to protect them from the rival tribes in the Amazon.
View of the Ruins from AboveBuilding in RuinsOur Guide, RemyUs in the Temple
The area all around Incallajta is extremely fertile land, which is probably why it was so important to the Inca people. Our guide, Remy, explained to us that much of the food for the empire was grown in this region, including the potatoes, strawberries, and quinoa. We saw many farms all along the hills surrounding the ruins, with the farmers working the land on the steep hillsides in the same way that their ancestors had. Food from the area was probably taken as far away as Machu Picchu and Tiwanaku. We arrived at the entrance to the site where a Quechua woman watched us curiously from the office where we paid to tour the ruins. From there we hiked up a trail through the trees until the first of the ruins became visible.
FarmlandQuechua WomanWalking to the RuinsFirst Glimpse of the Ruins
The entire site is almost overwhelming, there is so much to see and learn about the Inca people and the importance of Incallajta. We walked along the stone walls, built with the same precision found in Tiwanaku, as Remy told us about the holes that were used by the soldiers to throw rocks at any approaching army. Just as was the case with the castles of Europe, they built the holes at an angle so that spears and arrows couldn’t come through, protecting their warriors. We hiked up to the area above the temples to see the soldiers barracks, very similar to a modern army of today. As we hiked the steep hills, we had an appreciation to how good of shape these soldiers must have been in to walk the wall daily in defense of the empire.
The Stone WallHole to Throw StonesHiking the Ancient TrailsLearning About the Area
The most impressive site at the ruins is the main temple, called kallanka. Only the wooden roof and pillars a missing, making it the most interesting ruin that we saw while we were in Bolivia. The large stone wall with the window-like ceremonial nooks where they would have likely had candles burning was absolutely amazing. The temple is in such good condition that there are places where you can still see red plaster on top of the stone walls. Outside of this communal temple was a large stone that has been worn smooth from all of the sacrifices that have taken place there in the past and apparently are still taking place today.
Main Wall of KallankaPlaster on the WallInner Wall of the TempleSacrificial Stone
We climbed up to the top of an 3,300 meter (11,000 foot) hill that towers over the ruins to see the spectacular views of how vast the ruin site is. It was a pretty tough hike and we were pretty winded by the time we reached the summit, but it was well worth the effort. From the hills above, the massive size of kallanka was even more apparent than it was from standing within its walls. Clearly, with such an important structure, this was a key city in the Inca empire. Unfortunately, we may never know the true nature of things that occurred in Incallajta as there is no written records from the Inca, so the only things that we know for sure were written down by the Spanish who conquered them.
Looking Up to the TopBuilding at the TopViews from the SummitThe Scale of the Temple
We continued past several homes that are still standing, pausing to think about the inhabitants that must have lived within those walls. Most likely they were ancient priests as they would have been the only ones to have such extravagant buildings for the time period. From there we climbed down to the bottom of a waterfall and ate our lunch, grateful for the break from all of the hiking. On our way out of the ruins, we climbed to the top of what is assumed to be an astronomical observatory of sorts. From there, they would have marked the seasons and tracked the celestial movements across the sky.
Resting at the WaterfallView from the ObservatoryHome of a PriestAnother View of the Wall
It was a wonderful day walking among the magnificent ruins. As was most often the case, it was just the three of us wondering through these spectacular buildings. There doesn’t appear to be any current interest from universities to come and study the site, which seems completely baffling to us considering how truly interesting the ruins seemed to be to us. If you’re in the Cochabamba area, we would definitely recommend taking the time to visit Incallajta and walk the footsteps of the ancient Inca warriors, priests, and farmers.
