1/9/18
We left Cuenca on Day 9 with one extra friend ready for an adventure. Diego's wife, Juana, joined us for the remainder of our trip through Ecuador. Today, we could be visiting Ingapirca, the second largest Inca ruins besides Machu Pichu. Ingapirca means "wall of the Inca". It appears as though this was a small settlement of less than 100 people, most likely a place of worship.
We learned many things about Inca culture. They were masters of architecture, so much so that they never even used mortar to hold their stones together. When archaeologists reconstructed parts of the structure, they had to use mortar because no one can figure out how they did it! The Incas revered the sun. It can be seen in much of their infrastructure. Everything lined up with the sun. Even the grave on the ruins had a notch in the top. The day that the princess in the grave passed away can be known because the sun lines up with the stone on that day.
Next, we ate lunch at a local restaurant near the ruins. As we continued driving, we observed the common farming technique of creating terraces. On hilly land, terraces maximize growing area. Here, it is very common to grow quinoa and potatoes.
The rests of the day was just driving really. We finally arrived at Hacienda Abraspungo. Hunter, John, Aiden, and Kevin presented here. Somehow, we were still exhausted even from driving all day. There was a change in plans that meant we would be waking up extra early to get a jump on the day tomorrow. After a discussion about how the trip is going so far and what we might do differently in the future.
We learned many things about Inca culture. They were masters of architecture, so much so that they never even used mortar to hold their stones together. When archaeologists reconstructed parts of the structure, they had to use mortar because no one can figure out how they did it! The Incas revered the sun. It can be seen in much of their infrastructure. Everything lined up with the sun. Even the grave on the ruins had a notch in the top. The day that the princess in the grave passed away can be known because the sun lines up with the stone on that day.
Next, we ate lunch at a local restaurant near the ruins. As we continued driving, we observed the common farming technique of creating terraces. On hilly land, terraces maximize growing area. Here, it is very common to grow quinoa and potatoes.
The rests of the day was just driving really. We finally arrived at Hacienda Abraspungo. Hunter, John, Aiden, and Kevin presented here. Somehow, we were still exhausted even from driving all day. There was a change in plans that meant we would be waking up extra early to get a jump on the day tomorrow. After a discussion about how the trip is going so far and what we might do differently in the future.