Ingapirca
Saturday, February 3rd, 2007We got up at the crack of dawn today to catch the one bus Ingapirca. Woo hoo, we thought, our first major Incan ruin! Flat stones that miraculously fit together without morter, the largest South American empire, centralized state economy, conquest and forced labor, fierce resistence to the Spanish… what’s not to like about the Incas?
However, after climbing all over huge ancient Mayan temples that poke their heads out of verdant jungles, Ingapirca was a disappointment. Whereas the Mayan history is one of mysterious abandonments of entire cities and a vibrant continuing culture, the Inca history at Ingapirca is just one of conquest. The Incas conquered the Cañari (who had lived there for thousands and thousands of years), razed their city and used their stones to build their sun temple. Forty years later, the Spanish arrived, conquered the Inca, razed their city, and used their stones to build their church. Hundreds of years later, after countless grave robbings, the city was re-discovered by archaeologists. Not much is left.
We did, however, run into a retired couple from Richland, WA, where I played many a soccer tournament in my youth (and was hopefully unaffected by the mounds of radioactive waste left from the power plant). The man, however, turned up his nose at Seattle, where he grew up, so I don’t like him. Also, a nice retired Canadian couple who chatted with us throughout the entire tour. We may have learned more about their travels than about the site. But, we didn’t mind because the site really wasn’t all that great shakes and the Canadians were funny. It’s always nice to know that, if we play our cards right, we’ll have more travel in us after retirement.
-Megan (with help from Sarah)
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