A wonderful trip

I want you to tell you about an interesting experience I had last saterday. I was invited by professor Ruben Stehberg to visit three big inca sites in the surroundings of Santiago. The trip was organized by the International University SEK and Ruben went there with their students of archaeology. 

The first site we visited was Chada´s ruins, located 40 km south of Santiago, in the ancient road to the south that crossed through the Chada´s pass. The settlement is located in a small hill and corresponds to an Inca W´aka, that means a sacred place. There are two perimetral walls around an hole, that was an ushnu, a place that connected the three worlds: the upper world, the underground and the place we live.

We continue another 30 km south until we rich a La Compañía hill. There we visited the southernmost inca settlement, a big fortress, with long rocky walls. The landscape there was incredible, with the Andean mountain and the central part of the Cachapoal valley.

Finally, we started the return to the city, and near San Bernardo, we visited another inca fortress: the pucara of Chena. I enjoyed very much the trip and I learned a lot about the inca conquest of central Chile.

INDIANA JONES

My favorite movie is Indiana Jones. I love it. I saw it, for first time, when I was 12 years old. It was the best movie I saw in my all life.

Indiana Jones was produced by S. Spielberg and G. Lucas, two excellent movie directors. There are four movies and all then are amazing; Indiana Jones and raiders of the lost ark, Indiana Jones and the temple of doom,  Indiana Jones and the last crusade and Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull.

All the movies are marvelous, but my favorite is the Indiana Jones and the last crusade because it shows Indiana Jones life, from his childhood to professor and archaeologist. 

The movie shows all the adventures he lived with his father during their survey of the Saint Grial. Most of the history was filmed in Petra, a Nabatean old city settled in the Jordania´s desert.

This movie make me dream with the archaeology, with the archaeologist and his fascinate world. Until now I feel thou sent emotions when I see this film.

This infant dreams had influent me all my life and my most important decisions.

My favorite Archaeologist

Ruben Stehberg L. studied Archaeology, in the University of Chile; Engineer, in the University of Santiago and he is also PhD in Natural Sciences in the University of  La Plata, Argentina. He works at the National Museum of Natural History (Chile), as  manager curator  of the  archaeological lab.

He develops three investigation areas; The inca expansion to the central area of Chile; the ethnohistory of the Aconcagua valley and, the historical antarctic archaeology.

Ruben Stehberg had discovered many  segments of inca roads  between the Huasco river in the north to the Cachapoal river in the south. Also he found the southern most inca fortress near Rancagua, known as Cerro Grande de la Compañia fortress. Finally,  was the first arqueologist that made archaeological excavations in the Antarctic.

I admire him because, I think his research is very important for the chilean archaeology. I have many others reasons for admire him: he was the first archaeologist I met in my life; he invited me to my first expedition and my first excavation, and he  inspired me the interest for studying  the inca archaeology.

THE AYMARA CELEBRATION OF WINTER SOLSTICE IN CHENA PUCARA

There are around 15.000 aymaras people living in the metropolitan area of Santiago. Most of them come from the northern altiplano, after the big cooper mines took their water.  The Andean people celebrate each year the summer and winter solstice. The aymaras of Santiago celebrate both ceremonies in the Pucara de Chena site, after the Chilean goberment declared the site us a ceremonial park for the indigenous people.

The Andean new year, 21 of June 2012, all people, aymaras, quechuas and others are invited with their families to celebrate another solstice, with Andean music, rituals and mead, from 10 to 17 hours. 

There will be free buses starting from Baquedano square at 10, 11 and 12 hours.

The ceremonial park of Chena is located 20 km south of Santiago, front of San Bernardo city. If you go through the Panamericana highway you will see a signal in the 20 km.

                                                

                                                    Tray to go. You will have a nice moment.

My fauvorite picture

I love this picture! I took it in 2005 , during an archaeological expedition to the Antarctica.

The picture was taken in a Chilean camp site, based in the Rugged island, an isolated place in the South Shetland  island.

It was a during a calm night, with few clowds when I could see the beatifull sunset in the horizon,  incredible!

There is a long travel to get the Rugged island, starting in Punta Arenas city. First you take the military Chilean “Hercules” airplane to the Frei Base in the kind George island; then we continue in a Chilean navy until you get near the island; finally, an helicopter leaved us with the load on the Rugged island.

During our 21th day expedition, we survey the island, walking fifteen kilometer a day, looking for historic places.

The antarctic has beautiful lanscapes, with a lot of wild life and untouched places.

This place brings me back many memories. It was my first  extreme expedition, very important for me, because my dream fulfillment. Now this picture is part of my life. 

The Inca Fortress

Hello!!! I want to tell you about a nice inca archaeological site located 90 km south of Santiago: the Cerro Grande de la Compañía fortress. The site is located in the Rancagua valley, in an isolate hill of 677 meters above sea level, in the middle Cachapoal River. The hill is very cliffy, but it is possible to go up from the south, were the slope is more smooth.  

If you go there, you will see the strategic position of  the site, than permit you to look all around the valley. Also, in his top there are many old stones structures made by rocky walls, some of them used to live, others for storage food (named collcas in quechua language) and others to surround a square. There are also, two big and long perimetral walls that surround and protect all the site. The longest one has 800 meters long. 

The site is possible to visit, but you have to ask permission to enter to the administrators who live there, and you have to pay something to him. 

                                            The site it is amazing!!! You need to visit it it.

My favourite piece of technology

My favourite piece of technology

I have my first GPS, “eTrex Summit HC”, I bought it in the Garmin Gps Store in the Parque Arauco shopping center, last year. I paid four hundred dollars.
My GPS is small, grey, easy to transport and simple to use.
I use the equipment for several archaeological purposes, for example to make a truck between many points; to locate new sites and calculate the altitude of them. There´s as very exactly virtual map.
At the present, all the archaeological scientific papers need to use the Global Positioning System (GPS).
I use my GPS in every travel and expedition that I make. I like my GPS, because it´s my best travel friend!!!
Without my GPS my trip would be lonely and confuse.