The tour to Peru proved to be no leisure trip. Norsk Tur made certain of that. Helena Teijnow, our tour guide, proved to be adynamic source of interesting observations and knowledge, a pleasure to be around. And Nordea's, Cecilie Jørnholt, kept on top of it all, daily steering us safely onwards. Every other day we changed hotels, and every day we were introduced to special and interesting experiences.
Never the less,this is not written as a travel log; others would do better than I with that. This is more a contemplation on the 28th October, the end of the Mayan Calendar, and an overall view of the Peruvian Earth/heaven soul.
It is a well-known fact that the Andes Mountain-chain is the longest in the world. And indeed, the mountains are tall and mighty. The highest mountain measures 6962 meters and when arriving they seemed even more awesome and spectacular than ever could have been imagined. I do believe that mountains have souls. Being there it became obvious.
I once before had the pleasure of experiencing the Brazilian Amazonas but Peru was entirely new to me. Yet my stay was filled with an intuitive perception of that country. I instantly recognized our guide in Macho Picchu as an old friend, and she me. A forgotten Inca friend, perhaps?
Our group counted 26 people. Could some of us have known each other in other lives? Maybe as an Inca - or a Spaniard and conqueror? Or for that matter, from any other, ancient time? Well, most likely I was the only one wondering about just that!
But the Incas believed in incarnations.
A personal meditation in the Machu Picchu’s Sun-temple, way up high, became timeless, special and precious.
According to the Incas the world is separated in three dimensions. Heaven is called: Hanan Pacha, Earth is: Kay Pacha andThe Underworld called: Ukhu Pacha. In the Underworld rested the souls of men and women waiting for their next lives to make them ready for their return trip to God.
Wiracocha is the God who thought out and created the Universe. The Sun was after Wiracocha, the second greatest divine being.
Mankind was not regarded as God's most outstanding creature. As any other creation of God they had to submit to the responsibility of maintaining the balance of the delicate Eco system. All nature was considered as sacred. But there were special places where Heaven was one with the Earth. For the Incas it was unthinkable to imagine God and not offering Him something in return - and help others finding Him.
Their faith was a highly evolved religion, building on ethics and rituals. A four-sided pyramid, or a trapeze construction, was the representation of the Hierarchic Order that rules the Universe.
The Great Mother, Pacha Mama, protects her children so they are able to live and fulfill their destiny. She is by many regarded as a many dimensional being who represents a gradual, cyclic ascension - with a following descent between lives to grow nearer God.
When arriving Peru, summer had just announced its onset. The country is situated a bit south of equator, and their seasons are opposite to ours. Here the sounds of the birds were sounding strongly, clearly. And in areas lucky enough to having received watering we were amazed by a manifold of stunning colours. But other than that much seemed extremely dry and colourless. The rain would arrive later.
The very end of our trip was approaching and we were brought to Paracas were we were to stay at a hotel by the Pacific Ocean. And, yes, it truly was breathtaking!
Our schedule had pleasantly slowed down by now; being at the edge of the Pacific Ocean was quite enough. Yet, on the 27th of October could those who would like to see the mystical Nazca lines enter a little plane and be brought there. The day after was put aside to watch the incredible life of animals on the Ballestas Islands, viewed from a boat.
But - due to practical reasons the two days were switched around.
The 28th,the very ending day of the Maya calendar, we found ourselves in a small plane ready to watch the Nazca lines from up high. Strangely enough they cannot be seen on the ground, only from the skies, 1500 feet above. The Nazca geoglyphs (designs and pictures drawn on the ground) are found on a plateau stretching out about 80 km.
Ardent men of science have been searching for how they at all could have been made when they are impossible to see from the terrain. And there are indeed numerous theories but yet no definite answers. What does it mean? How were they made – by whom – when?
The mysterious drawings included: Condor, astronaut, spider, monkey, hummingbird, Alcatraz, dog, hands, whale and many more lines and drawings. They continue to intrigue and amaze. Could they have been made by extraterrestrials? Scribbled from a giant seismograph?
Maria Reiche, who spent her life studying the lines, believed them to be a monumental astronomic calendar, whose images marked different periods or solar phases.
Many believe that the waterlines on the ground could have been used creating them.
I somehow have lost all fear of flying and thoroughly enjoyed the way our little plane angled itself in various ways to make better views of the drawings and lines on the ground.
When the last picture was shot my battery went empty. The same day I lost my wrist-watch and another watch simply stopped. My alarm clock continued its mission, than goodness!
On our way home we flew over a town called Ica, situated only five miles from our hotel. One hour after returning we were hit by an earthquake. The quake had its center in Ica and measured 7 on the Richter scale. Fortunately little damage was done. But the quake went deep, and was felt even as far away as the capital Lima.
I support stronger than ever the opinion that the Mayan calendar ended on the 28th of October, 2011.
An end I hope can put light on civilizations who regarded all nature as sacred- and such aid our planet to survive in a quantum leap of evolution; introducing a fresh start bringing more compassion to an aching Earth, all life.
To be excluded from new possibilities and what they offer could prove disastrous.