Didier would simply laugh at him. Anyway, maybe it was just his weariness. He was no longer sure if he should take seriously what he felt, maybe his senses were misleading him.
Presently the mist thickened so much that they could hardly see anything beyond a few yards ahead. The track they’d been following veered suddenly to one side and then disappeared behind some dark shapes looming in the background. As they drew closer the shapes became more distinct and they were able to make out some granite rocky ledges still partially hidden by the lush dense vegetation.
Calmly, with a steady measured step, they approached the rocky formations. Now they were so close they could touch them with their outstretched arms. Didier stared, his eyes wide open in disbelief and amazement. What he was looking at was not a work of nature. He reached out and stroked the precisely cut and perfectly polished stone blocks in front of him as if to reassure himself that they were real. They felt wet and icy cold to the touch. The huge chunks of granite fitted together so well that not even a knife could be inserted between them. It was obvious that the construction had been shaped by human hand and probably formed the walls of an immense building.
They followed the stone blocks and eventually came to an opening leading to a long passageway. They entered it and found themselves walking through a pleasant coolness emanating from the stone walls. The passage led to several rectangular-shaped rooms constructed around a vast trapezoid interconnected with other passages and narrow winding corridors. The floors of the interiors were partly covered with granite slabs, and partly overgrown with lavish vegetation. There were shady ferns and wet mosses, and some powerful tree roots that had forced their way between some of the rocks. Florent and Didier moved from room to room, criss-crossing the vast, rocky maze, looking closely at each new structure emerging from the mist.
‘Frankly, it is absolutely amazing, said Florent, breaking the stunned silence. ‘This is something ancient. I wonder how they managed to cut these huge granite blocks so evenly, and polish them so smoothly, achieving such a perfect fit. And with only their hands.’
‘It’s extraordinary,’ Didier agreed. ‘Do you think we have found some lost city of the Incas?’
‘It could be. These ruins look like the Pre-Columbian constructions,’ Florent said. ‘I studied history and was especially fascinated by the Inca empire. It was one of the main reasons why I came on this trip to South America. I can hardly believe it but it could be the legendary city of Paititi. Many people have tried to find it but always in vain. It would be miraculous if we have stumbled upon it.’
‘What? Partitia? Never heard of it,’ Didier said.
‘Paititi,’ Florent corrected him. ‘It was probably the last capital of the Incas. Its name in Quechuan means Homeland of the Jaguar Father. ‘Let me tell you,’ said Florent enthusiastically, eager to show off his knowledge on the subject.
‘At its height, the great Inca empire covered present-day Peru, Ecuador and parts of Bolivia, Colombia, Chile and Argentina, with its capital at Cuzco. The Incas called their country Tahuantinsuyu, which in Quechuan roughly means Land of the Four Corners.
‘When the great ruler Huayna Capac died in 1527, when there was a smallpox epidemic, the empire was divided between his two sons: the older one, Huascar, controlled the southern provinces from Cuzco, and the younger, Atahualpa, the northern ones from his capital in Quito. Atahualpa, however, wanted to rule the whole country and unleashed a bloody civil war which ended in the drowning of Huascar.
‘The victorious Atahualpa set off with his people on the long journey to Cuzco. Along the way, he stopped in the Peruvian city of Cajamarca, setting up camp just at its outskirts. There, the news reached him that some white, bearded strangers from across the sea
Presently the mist thickened so much that they could hardly see anything beyond a few yards ahead. The track they’d been following veered suddenly to one side and then disappeared behind some dark shapes looming in the background. As they drew closer the shapes became more distinct and they were able to make out some granite rocky ledges still partially hidden by the lush dense vegetation.
Calmly, with a steady measured step, they approached the rocky formations. Now they were so close they could touch them with their outstretched arms. Didier stared, his eyes wide open in disbelief and amazement. What he was looking at was not a work of nature. He reached out and stroked the precisely cut and perfectly polished stone blocks in front of him as if to reassure himself that they were real. They felt wet and icy cold to the touch. The huge chunks of granite fitted together so well that not even a knife could be inserted between them. It was obvious that the construction had been shaped by human hand and probably formed the walls of an immense building.
They followed the stone blocks and eventually came to an opening leading to a long passageway. They entered it and found themselves walking through a pleasant coolness emanating from the stone walls. The passage led to several rectangular-shaped rooms constructed around a vast trapezoid interconnected with other passages and narrow winding corridors. The floors of the interiors were partly covered with granite slabs, and partly overgrown with lavish vegetation. There were shady ferns and wet mosses, and some powerful tree roots that had forced their way between some of the rocks. Florent and Didier moved from room to room, criss-crossing the vast, rocky maze, looking closely at each new structure emerging from the mist.
‘Frankly, it is absolutely amazing, said Florent, breaking the stunned silence. ‘This is something ancient. I wonder how they managed to cut these huge granite blocks so evenly, and polish them so smoothly, achieving such a perfect fit. And with only their hands.’
‘It’s extraordinary,’ Didier agreed. ‘Do you think we have found some lost city of the Incas?’
‘It could be. These ruins look like the Pre-Columbian constructions,’ Florent said. ‘I studied history and was especially fascinated by the Inca empire. It was one of the main reasons why I came on this trip to South America. I can hardly believe it but it could be the legendary city of Paititi. Many people have tried to find it but always in vain. It would be miraculous if we have stumbled upon it.’
‘What? Partitia? Never heard of it,’ Didier said.
‘Paititi,’ Florent corrected him. ‘It was probably the last capital of the Incas. Its name in Quechuan means Homeland of the Jaguar Father. ‘Let me tell you,’ said Florent enthusiastically, eager to show off his knowledge on the subject.
‘At its height, the great Inca empire covered present-day Peru, Ecuador and parts of Bolivia, Colombia, Chile and Argentina, with its capital at Cuzco. The Incas called their country Tahuantinsuyu, which in Quechuan roughly means Land of the Four Corners.
‘When the great ruler Huayna Capac died in 1527, when there was a smallpox epidemic, the empire was divided between his two sons: the older one, Huascar, controlled the southern provinces from Cuzco, and the younger, Atahualpa, the northern ones from his capital in Quito. Atahualpa, however, wanted to rule the whole country and unleashed a bloody civil war which ended in the drowning of Huascar.
‘The victorious Atahualpa set off with his people on the long journey to Cuzco. Along the way, he stopped in the Peruvian city of Cajamarca, setting up camp just at its outskirts. There, the news reached him that some white, bearded strangers from across the sea
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