One day trip to Tiwanaku

by Natalia Lucía Siles Costa (Bolivia)

I didn't expect to find Bolivia

It was a cloudy morning on a Sunday in El Alto, one of the most populous cities in Bolivia and definitely one of the most chaotic and fascinating cities in the world. I met with a group of friends at the door of the tourist train car heading to Tiwanaku, an ancient archaeological city where you can go on a day trip. The railway carriage was quite comfortable. Reclining seats, heating and a small tv. While we passed out a large coffee thermos, we wondered what the difference would be between our seats that had cost less than $6 per person and the “luxury seats” that costed twice as much. Camila went over to investigate and came back with a smile, telling us that there wasn't much difference. After about three hours of delicious clickety clack with a view of the Altiplano: a combination of infinite heavenly sky, distant mountain ranges, a plain full of grass, thatch, seeded crops and some lonely llamas... we reached our destination. Tiwanaku is an ancient architectural complex of the ancient andean culture called by the same name that reached its peak between 500 and 900 AD. It consists mainly on seven structures made of giant stone blocks, cut and shaped with amazing precision. How its builders transported such rocks (some blocks are up to 8 meters high!) is a mystery that has raised various theories. The most curious theory perhaps is the one involving giants. Since the train stopped there only for a few hours, we decided to skip the entrance to the museum and go straight to the ruins. We did not have a guide, but luckily Olivia had read so much about our destination that she was able to answer most of our questions. We climbed the stairs of the Kalasasaya temple, which was built as an astronomical observatory. In fact, astronomy was a very important part of the ancient Tiwanaku culture. According to Olivia, a renowned astronomer in Bolivia, set up his own observatory near by the ruins and it was open to the public every night for less than a dollar. Inside the temple, we find one of the main attractions, The Sun Gate, a stone arch carved from a single block of andesite rock and through which is said that the first ray of sunlight passes on every June solstice. In Kalasasaya we also found the famous monoliths, giant stone beings with curious geometric symbols carved on them. At our next stop, the semi-underground temple, we walked down the staircases and arrived at an open courtyard surrounded by walls full of small monolith heads. They stood out as if they were gargoyles. We observed the peculiarities of each head, some thin, others round, but all with broad noses and wide-open eyes. We learned that for the ancient civilization this temple represented the "world below" where leaved the dead, the unborn beings and other magical creatures. Then, we arrive at Putuni. Compared to the other temples it was not as impressive. There were several stone blocks resting on the floor, that had apparently fallen. There were no other turists there apart from us. We were just about to leave when David, the most outgoing among us, approached the old man that was sitting on one of the blocks. He was really old but his hair was entirely black, without a single gray hair, and he was wearing a large red poncho. After a few minutes we were all around him listening to stories, like we were children. What most captivated me wasn’t that he spoke of strange flying objects seen in Tiwanaku, but rather the certainty with which he said, pointing to one of the blocks: -Underneath there’s an underground tunnel connected with Cuzco. But that’s yet to be unveiled. He also told us that he liked going to the ruins to rest and talk to the visitors, he said it was his du ty because the tour guides weren’t as well prepared anymore. We could have stayed there all day listening to the wise villager, but our train had to go back. We promised ourselves to return to Tiwanaku. The mysteries there were more that we expected to find.