Pre-Inka Cosmology

We are at 4000 Meter height above sea level in the Argentinean Andes on our way to the ancient town Tastil on board of El tren a las nubes / The train in the clouds. At the start in Salta we were already at an altitude of 1187 Meter. The incredibly daring trajectory of this railway line in the highest mountain rage of South America and the thin air makes for an unforgettable travel. 

In the small museum on site in Santa Rosa de Tastil I see her and fall in love: la bailarina de Tastil. The graciousness and elegance of her movement puts this petroglyphe of a dancer from the 14^th century at the side of the great classical ballerinas of or time. 




The Atacamas, an enigmatic people of pre-Inka times created the lovely figurine and engraved the geometrical patterns of their cosmology in stone. I was lucky and found an artist who made impressions of these mysterious patterns and sold me the labyrinth shown next to me. It seemed appropriate to pose with this Andean image in a jacket of La Martina, the Argentinean Ralph Lauren,  so to speak.

More recent are the wests and sweaters knitted with alpaca wool which the descendants of the Atacamas are offering en route.