#2 The Inca Walls of Macchu Picchu

Photo by Toby Manzanares

The Inca Wall: Engineering so precise

a sheet of paper cannot be wedged between Inca stones.

During the 1940's my grandfather Federico Manzanares built our Monte Vista Colorado home from stone quarried in the San Luis Valley. He cut those stones with such precision that when I visited Cusco and walked the Inca Wall, I immediately thought of my grandfather. Solid as the Inca Wall, our home stands in testimony of his engineering skills.

If Macchu Picchu is on your life list, then there is no one better that Rosa to guide that part of your journey. Tour companies will charge you over $5,000 for six days, but contact her directly for this adventure.... here is her email address:  COMING SOON

Rosa Alegria Gonzales, my extraordinary Quechua speaking guide told me of the best place to observe the great Andean condors: Colca Canyon (see the map below.)

In the 7th grade, when I logged Macchu Picchu into by Life List, I did not know about the condors of Colca Canyon. Now I see Colca as a must for anyone's Life List. See the trailer below.

The Great Condors of Colca Canyon

 

 

We awakened early, took a quick breakfast and left immediately to arrive at the rim of Colca Canyon by sunrise.  As the sun warmed the canyon, condors deep down in the canyon were soon circling on the up drafting air. As the seconds slipped by, their orbital path brought them up to eye level. Then the unexpected magic happened, a circling Andean condor flew just inches over my head, I could hear the air sliding off it's wings. It was very much worth arriving before sunrise. I'd do it again in a New York millisecond.

While in Peru, I learned that over 500 Species of Potato grow in Andean microbiomes.  

 

 

In terms of world history I learned that Simón Bolivar came very close to creating the United States of South America, seeking independence from Spain. He was highly regarded by our guides while visiting Bolivia. He would have been regarded on a level higher than George Washington. Bolivar is one of the very few people ever to have a country named after them.

Gassan Sadatoshi: Japanese Swordsmiths for 800 years.

I'm on a quest to find the family of the man who made my great grandfather's Samurai Sword.

A good first step is to find one of Japan's best swordsmiths... but that was not my plan.  Finding Gassan was a gift from my new friends in Asuka Village and Sakura City near Nara.

More about how this came to be... coming soon. 

Click HERE for more about my visit with

Gassan Sadatoshi and how to visit his

Sword Making Studio near Nara

I rushed back from my pilgrimage to Hiroshima to meet one of Japan's National Living Treasures:

I met Gassan Sadatoshi at his home and sword making studio in Sakura City, not far from Nara and discovered his philosophical world view:  "Swords are not for fighting."

In the short documentary above, it makes sense to pair Gassan with my memories of the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima, I met him less than 24 hours after walking across Little Boy's ground zero, the first nuclear weapon used in warfare. 

Bora Bora

South Gate to Heaven

South Gate to Heaven

and...

Tunnel of Love ... Ukraine

From a Dream

MEET THE PEOPLE ALONG THE PAN AMERICAN HIGHWAY

The PanAmerican Highway, 19,000 miles between  Tierra Del Feugo at the sourthern most tip of Argentina and Prudhoe Alaska and further to the northern most tip of the United States...Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) Alaska. 

 

My plan is to take the route in segments, walking some, driving some the distance, with the pure goal of meeting as many people along the way as there is time to enjoy with them.

As of October 2022 I've completed  the following segments:  

* Fairbanks north  

* Fairbanks to White Horse

* Denver to Ciudad Juarez

* Mexico City

* Lima

Next?

Gorillas In The Mist

 Long on my list: Photo Safari to the Gorillas of the Congo.  I read Daniel Quinn's very moving novel: Instinct* which was made into a stirring movie starring Anthony Hopkins as an anthropologist studying mountain gorillas in the Congo (sufficient inspiration to add this to my Life List).

Photo credit: https://www.virungaparkcongo.com/information/gorilla-trekking-africa/

My wife Patricia had a Design student a few years ago that one day will be a renowned travel photographer:  Elissa Title.  She recently took a gorilla trek.

Click HERE for Elissa's safari to photograph Gorillas in the mist.

Instinct (1999) is an American psychological thriller worth watching and starring Cuba Gooding, and Donald Sutherland with Anthony Hopkins. This film was loosely based on Daniel Quinn's novel Ishmael (also worth a read).

CAIRO

Patricia slipped into Simple, an upscale boutique here in Laguna Beach California. There is a subtle but visible difference in the boutique as though arranged by an artist from a more beautiful world. That would be Sammy to whom I chat while Patricia's keen artistic eyes fondle the fabrics. This is her favorite exclusive shop. A she browses for a few minutes, someone offers to show her an even more beautiful dress.

 

Sammy is vibrant and animated. I mention my Life List which includes walking the streets of Cairo and sailing up the Nile. He directs me to the far end of his store where he introduces me to Jennie Hesham Elmished, his English wife from New York, I can hear a little London in her voice.  It's not long before the four of us are chatting over dinner.

 

 

 I drive downtown to join Sammy and Jenni for coffee and breakfast at Zinc Caffe. This is how life ought to be.  

 

“Try, try, try, try.” Sammy tells me: “That is the difference between Egypt and America. Americans try, try, try. Try new things, open minded. 

 

Buy Egypt does not try new things because of the Nile. Each year the Nile fills the Egyptian flood plane with fresh, nutrient rich silt. So rich is it that Egyptian farm work is very light. They don’t have to work the land. The rich silt grows everything in great abundance. Every year it is the same, why try anything new? No need to try, try, try.”

 

An epiphany, the Pyramids of Egypt were possible only because of that rich silt flooding from the Nile, creating an unparalleled abundance, that is the foundation of the great Pyramids.

Months later Sammy mentions an Egyptian wedding and invites us to it and a personal introduction to Cairo. Then the pandemic ruffles our plans but Jennie gives us four books to read as we think of traveling to Egypt.

 

Click HERE for Streets of Cairo article. 

 

Patricia finds a fifth book! (We are midway into this novel.)