Kotosh Ruins
Trip Start
Feb 06, 2007
1
101
332
Trip End
Jan 14, 2008
Huanaco,
Peru
Thursday, June 7, 2007
To get to Kotosh we took a mototaxi up the very rough road the bus had travelled yesterday. It was far worse than the bus, and our arms and legs nearly got shaken off ! The ruins are well worth a visit. The main building is the Temple of Crossed Hands, which has replicas of the original mud hands. There are other sets of walls and buildings, still under restoration. The ruins were discovered in 1936 but not investigated until 1960, by a team of Japanese archaeologists. The complex consisted of buildings on top of buildings, so in uncovering the Temple of Crossed Hands, the team managed to destroy the building directly on top.
One set of crossed hands (the male hands), found in 1960, had disappeared by 1961, whether destroyed or stolen they don't know. The female set of hands was found in 1963, and now resides in a museum in Lima. The replicas are excellent, as are the replicas of pottery found on the site. The museum team in Lima has done a top job of reproducing old pottery. They could go into the business of forgery and get away with it !
The site has been landscaped with plants of the local area, some named, and is very attractive in its setting in a valley between mountains.
We set off to walk back the 5kms, getting choked by dust thrown up by passing trucks. Then Barb had an acacia spike penetrate right through her Teva sandal and couldn't get it all out, so we were pretty glad to hear a cab hoot its horn behind us.
Back in Huanuco there was a parade in the Plaza de Armas.
Cactus near the ruins
June 7th is the Peruvian flag day, so there were the usual bands, and also soldiers done up in full camouflage, some of them looking like bushes. We didn't take a photo in case we got arrested, but it would probably have been OK.After lunch we set off to catch a bus to Tingo Maria. Why is it that we keep getting misdirected in Peru ? Why can't people say 'I'm not sure' ? When we reached the place the hotel said to go to, we found it was another 6 very long blocks, a taxi ride. It doesn't do her any good, but Barb fumes when this happens. You have no idea if the info you are given is right or wrong, and too often find out the hard way.
The bus ride was fun. People piled on and off, and once the driver's offsider climbed to the roof with a huge bag or corn stalks on his shoulders, no hands. It was about 3 hours to Tingo Maria, and after climbing the arid hills outside Huanuco, and going through a tunnel, we were back in the jungle we last saw weeks ago outside Yurimaguas. Waterfalls were everywhere, and huge purple orchids were along the roadside.
The hostel in Tingo (Hostal Palacio) is nice, with a garden, and it's warm enough not to worry about the 3rd electric hot water service in a row that doesn't work. There are numerous cafes and restaurants, and the cake shop makes decent cake. We had 2 beers to celebrate being warm again. We asked in a pharmacy if malaria was here, and were told yes. Just as well we started doxycycline this morning, just in case.
