The South American Explorers Club

The South American
Explorers Club
"Explorers Club is a non-profit, non-political, non-sectarian association founded in 1977
he South
purposes:
a>Peru, for tl
|port all forms of scientific field exploration and research in such areas as biology, geoT»advance
anography, archaeology and related sciences, as well as field sports such as whitegraply, anthrc
water running} Jig, backpacking, mountaineering, caving and others.
To receive cor HbHions for the support of legitimate scientific research and exploration that comes within
the Club's range or interests.
• To promote prograrhs :ipf an educational, scientific and cultural nature.
> 4 To further the exchange ;of information among scientists, adventurers and travelers of all nations with the
purpose of encouraging exploration throughout the continent of South America.
• To collect and make available reliable information on all organizations in South America which offer services
to travelers, scientists and outdoorsmen.
• To record.and publish research in the natural sciences and documented accounts of adventure/sports.
• To awaken greater interest in and appreciation for wilderness conservation and wildlife protection.
Membership
Membership is open to women and men of all nationalities and all ages, subject to ratification by the Club's
executive committee. No professional qualifications are required.
The regular annual membership fee is USS25 (or equivalent in £ Sterling or Peruvian currency).
Members receive four issues of the Club's magazine, The South American Explorer, advice on expedition
opportunities, discounts on books, pamphlets and maps and full use of the Club's information services, library, reading
room and other facilities.
Members are not permitted to use the Club or its facilities for commercial purposes or personal guin.
Correspondence
The Club's official languages are English and Spanish; however, we accept correspondence in German, French,
Portuguese and Quechua. We also accept manuscripts, news clippings, books and magazines in all of the above
languages. Replies are normally made in English or Spanish.
The South American Explorers Club is interested in establishing links with other organizations sharing a
common purpose by exchanging technical information, publications and ideas.
Magazine
The South American Explorer is a scientific and educational magazine published by the South American
Explorers Club.
Four issues of the South American Explorer are included in the Club's regular US$25 membership fee.
Subscription only: one year US$15 plus US$8 for overseas airmail postage.
The South American Explorer is interested in receiving readable and accurate accounts of scientific studies
and adventure/sports activities in South America.
We are looking for interesting narrative accounts of expeditionary activities. Although we cannot use highly
technical research reports, we want a strongflavorof the scientific objectives and values of the work. Articles describing
historical explorations, short biographies of notable South America explorers and evocative descriptions of unusual
places can also be used. Essentially the South American Explorer aspires to be a serious and authoritative source of
information about exploration and the field sciences. Editorial requirements sent on request.
III MM
JUL
AME^S
EXPLORERS CLWB
1510 York Street #214
Denver, CO 80206 USA
Tel: (303) 330-0388
Av. Portugal 146 (Brena)
Casilla 3714 (Postal)
Lima 100, Peru
Tel: 31-44-80
South Amenettn
Explorer.* Club
JEZ
BOLIVIA
Hi
Centra
Civico
Av. Portugal 146
wm n
Ubi
ShtTiilon
AV. c. i:SPAN.4
&
SOUTH
AMERICAN
EXPLORER
July 1986 — Number 13
EDITOR
EDITOR & LAYOUT
PHOTOGRAPHIC EDITOR
^FINANCIAL MANAGER
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
MAGAZINE PRODUCTION
LEGAL DEPT.
CLUB M A N A G E R
Along the 4
West Coast
Larry Rice p.26
Don Montague
Linda Rojas
Bob Ashe
William Tuthill
Tara Schetrompf
•^Eleanor G/iffis de Zuniga
Virginia Smith
Kathy McFarland
Judy Green
Fiona M u l l e n
Dan Buck ..
Sally Mathia'sen
Anne Meadows
Robert Randall
Doug Cannalte
Craig Sorenson
Tory Cusack Hartman
Susan Montague
Debra Taylor
Aquiles Tomecich
Bill Power
J. M i c h a e l D o w h n g
Ethel Greene
ADVISORY BOARD
Bruce Albright, Ivan Augsburger. J i m Bartle, Deborah
Begel, Hilary Bradt, Urs Bigger, Jamie Browder, Tim
Cahill, N o r m a Cannalte. Dan Doherty. Marianne
Dunne, Noel Dunne, Judith Ennew. Peter Frey. Peter
Getzels, Doreen Gillespie, Paolo Greer, Don Griffis,
Barbara G r e e n , Max Gunter, J o h n H e m m i n g , Tom
Jackson. Joe Kendall, Wayne Kilburn. William Leonard.
Jerzy Majcherczyk, Nichole Maxwell. James Miller, L.
Wayne Moss, Jr., Connor Nixon, Mary Nixon. Gary
Oliver. J o a n n e O m a n g , A l b e r t o P e r a z o . Doris
Peterhans, Nancy Peterson. Maria Reiche. Rob
Rachowiecki, Cesar Rojas, Teddy Ronalds, Homer
Rosa, Marcella Rosa, Marianne Sjoberg, David Smith.
Gerald Starbuck, Dave Telfer, Jane T h o m a s . Nathan
T h o m p s o n , Barry Wallace, John W h a r t o n . Agusto
Felipe Wiese, Guillermo Wiese. Ron Yates.
COVER
The "Lost City" drawn by Brian Fawcett, son of Colonel P.H. Fawcett, the
British explorer who disappeared more than 60 years ago int he wilderness of
western central Brazil. This drawing, inspired by an old 18th century Portuguese
manuscript, first appeared in The West Coast Leader of Lima, Dec. 15, 1936. The
name of the city appears over the doorway in an unknown tongue referred to in
the manuscript, and there is a hint of Grecian-like columns at the top.
More "lost city" hoopla appeared recently in newspapers across the United
States. For details, story on page 3.
The South American Explorer is the quarterly journal of the South American Explorers Club, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) c o r p o r a t i o n , located at 1510 York Street, Denver, CO
80206; Tel: (303) 320-0388. No part of this publication may be r e p r o d u c e d without written consent of the publisher. All statements in contributed articles and advertisements
are those of the author and advertiser a n d do not necessarily represent the views of the South American Explorers C l u b or its journal, the South American
Explorer.
Copyright • 1986 by the South American Explorers Club. C o r r e s p o n d e n c e to the South American Explorers Club, registered in Lima, Peru, can be sent to either the U.S. (see
above) or Lima, Peru: Casilla 3714, Lima 100, Peru (Street Address: Avenida Rep. de Portugal 146, Brena, Lima, Peru. Tel: 314480.
3
Lost (Si Found
By Doug Vaughan
I
n early 1985, a well known pre-Incan archaeolog i c a l s i t e i n Peru — Gran Pajate'n — got
'discovered.' For s e v e r a l weeks, North American
newspapers, radio and television lauded the heroics
of four Colorado adventurers who had gone off on a
two-week v a c a t i o n and found a m y s t e r i o u s ' l o s t
c i t y . ' Yet the only mystery about the 'discovery
was how such reports ended up on front pages across
the United S t a t e s . (As one wag suggested, t h i s
'news' should have been in the classifieds under
'found.') I t was r e m i n i s c e n t of the s t o r y t o l d by
G.K. C h e s t e r t o n about a man who s e t s off from
England i n a rowboat t o find new l a n d s . He g e t s
turned around in a fog and 'discovers' England.
Six months l a t e r , a n o t h e r flood of a r t i c l e s
poured across the pages of Denver's two major newsp a p e r s . R e p o r t e r s d i s p a t c h e d i n t o the ' j u n g l e c o v e r e d c l o u d f o r e s t ' t o cover a follow-up
expedition from the University of Colorado told of
newer, even grander 'discoveries.'
By any measure — column i n c h e s , p r o m o t i o n a l
hoopla, expense — i t was an extraordinary journali s t i c enterprise. Any measure, that i s , save s i g n i ficance. The reports revealed intimate d e t a i l s about
the p e r s o n a l i t i e s of the p a r t i c i p a n t s , including the
reporters themselves, but failed to provide any new
information about Gran Pajaten or the people who
b u i l t i t . Seldom have so many read so much about so
l i t t l e . As newspaper wars go, t h i s was what Mencken
would have called "a b a t t l e of w i t s between unarmed
men."
Now the entire project i s in danger of collapsing
under the weight of i t s own pretensions. How did i t
happen, and why?
CREW clears ruins i n June 1966 expedition to Gran
Pajaten — Savoy's second t r i p there.
DOUG VAUGHAN, an i n v e s t i g a t i v e reporter and s t r i n g e r
f o r The Washington Post and The New York Ti mes,
teaches journalism in Denver, Colorado.
T
he c o n t r o v e r s y over Gran P a j a t e n cannot a p proach the fury of such grand r i v a l r i e s as who
discovered the New World, the search for the source
of the N i l e , or the race t o the p o l e s . But the
competition for discovery is especially acute in
South America. Grants and j u n k e t s , tenured p r o fessorships, and bibliographic immortality hang in
the balance.
"Pre-Incan Find Might Rival Machu Picchu" — So
began the p r e s s r e l e a s e passed out by the p u b l i c
relations office of the University of Colorado in
late January 1985. I t told of four men sponsored by
CU who had explored Gran Pajate'n, "one of the legendary lost c i t i e s of the Andes" b u i l t by "an unnamed,
unknown people" in n o r t h e r n Peru. As a r e s u l t of
their foray into the wilds, CU had signed an exclusive f i v e - y e a r c o n t r a c t w i t h Peru t o study Gran
Pajate'n. The project would be headed by Drs. Thomas
Lennon and Jane Wheeler.
the easy part. From Chagual, t h e i r travels became
more t r e a c h e r o u s and p h y s i c a l l y exhausting." They
rode mules to Pataz where they met Carlos Torrealba,
"their 61-year-old guide who was part of the f i r s t
group to discover Gran Pajaten in 1963."
The Malmsbury press release continued with quotes
from Lennon:
The s i t e has a l r e a d y assumed i t s p l a c e in the
mythology of P e r u v i a n archaeology as a ' l o s t
c i t y ' [ s a i d Lennon, as quoted i n t h e p r e s s
packet]. I t has been the subject of rumors and
unsuccessful expeditions since the beginning of
this century, if not from the time of the Spanish
conquest.
Savoy? The perceptive page-skimmer might conclude
from this allusion that the Pajaten country was too
rugged for t h i s Savoy fellow and infer that Lennon
and Co. rushed in where even gods fear t o tread.
The p r e s s r e l e a s e , prepared by Diane H. Johnson,
continued:
In the early 1960s a Peruvian expedition managed
t o reach Gran P a j a t e n and spent t h r e e weeks
there, clearing away vegetation to photograph and
map the ruins, but Gran Pajaten was again abandoned to the jungle and had not been considered
for scientific study u n t i l the Boulder group made
the arduous t r i p in the summer of 1984. [Emphasis
added]
The press packet contained a second story by publicist Jeannine Malmsbury. She recounted how Boulder
p h y s i c i a n Alan Stormo's l u s t for adventure had
brought CD t o t h i s h i s t o r i c a l l i a n c e w i t h the
government of Peru:
During a 1983 vacation to Peru, Boulder p l a s t i c
surgeon Alan Stormo was intrigued by a travel
agent's story of a lost Inca village in an Andean
t r o p i c a l cloud f o r e s t . . . . [ S a i d Stormo] "I'm an
adventurer, so t h i s was j u s t naturally something
I wanted to follow up on,"
When Stormo got back to the States, he was referred
to Lennon, and they began p l a n n i n g a t r i p t o t h e
ruins. Wheeler joined the CU anthropology department
in 1984, and she directed them t o Mariella Leo, a
'Peruvian zoologist who knew more about the Gran
Pajate'n than any other sources they'd found."
Lennon and Stormo, now j o i n e d by Boulder
businessman John Lovett and Stormo's friend Dr. Stan
Brenton, "left Denver in mid-July on what was to be
a hair-raising, two-week trek...."
The four flew to Miami on J u l y 19th, 1984, then
to Lima, then Trujillo. They took a single-engine
Cessna to Chagual on the Rio Maranon — "that was
'The people of Pataz are diligent about guarding t h e a r e a , " said Lennon, "and t h a t ' s one of
the r e a s o n s the a n t i q u i t i e s have been so w e l l
protected.
"The d i f f i c u l t y of the t e r r a i n played perhaps
the biggest role in discouraging more investigat i o n of the s i t e , " Lennon s a i d , r e c a l l i n g the
words of American explorer Gene Savoy who accompanied the Peruvians there in the 1960s, "Re said
the p l a c e was so g o d - f o r s a k e n t h e r e had to be
e a s i e r a r e a s t o e x p l o r e so he went n o r t h t o
continue his adventures," Lennon said.
The group l e f t P a t a z w i t h two g u i d e s , t e n
p o r t e r s , s i x pack mules and four r i d i n g mules
[Malmsbury r e l a t e d ] . [The reader may offer odds
on who rode.]
Making t h e i r way over a 14,000-foot mountain
pass...they continued t o P u e r t a d e l Monte...for
the f i n a l and t o u g h e s t leg of t h e trip....The
l a s t day of t h e f i v e - d a y t r i p . . . " w a s t h e
hardest," said Stormo, because the jungle became
more mountainous as they neared the 8,600-foot
elevation of Gran Pajate'n.
When they reached the s i t e , the party found
pre-Incan mosaic on five of the 18 ancient buildings, most of which were overgrown and inaccessible. They photographed p r o l i f i c a l l y . . . .
On a tight schedule to meet a f l i g h t a t Chagual, the group headed for a second s i t e named
for male s t a t u e s adorning t h e b u r i a l towers
perched on several sheer c l i f f s surrounding Gran
Paj aten.
There they d i s c o v e r e d p e r p l e x i n g l y w e l l p r e s e r v e d wood c a r v i n g s , one of the c o u n t l e s s
fragments of ancient culture that CU archaeolog i s t s and biologists eventually w i l l study....
The party retraced i t s route back t o Pataz; a
t r i p made more gruelling by the onset of r a i n and
a mishap involving Brenton...[who] f e l l head over
heels on a slippery slope into the creek below,
knocking him unconscious and causing a concussion
and injured shoulder.
B
ut there was no public a i r i n g of these exploits
u n t i l CD's announcement six months l a t e r . Tant a l i z i n g the media with the press packet, Johnson
embargoed the news u n t i l a January 31, 1985, press
conference. Then she used her cachet as an 'awardwinning science w r i t e r ' t o a t t r a c t i n t e r n a t i o n a l
coverage of the event. Nearly two dozen representatives of the p r i n t and electronic media waited t o
meet Messrs. Stormo, Brenton, Lovett and Lennon, who
eagerly embellished the material prepared by Johnson
and Malmsbury, often with unintended irony:
Stonno, on the rigors of the expedition:
We went over l o g s . We went under l o g s . I don't
see how the p o r t e r s got our gear through....I
t h i n k t h e r e i s something m y s t i c a l about the
Andes. Every day we did something new, wonderful,
exciting — and dangerous.
Brenton, on the quest for adventure:
We had no idea if i t was something r e a l , or j u s t
something out of a Peruvian newspaper.
(The r e l a t i o n s h i p between r e a l i t y and newspaper
accounts was s t i l l open t o d e b a t e , but not for
long.)
Lovett, warming to the camera-lights:
Everybody had been so skeptical. They kept saying, "How could a c i v i l i z a t i o n exist there?" We
t a l k e d t o a l o t of d i f f e r e n t people t o t r y t o
decide whether or not we should go, and how to
plan our t r i p , and we kept getting conflicting
stories.
l o v e t t ' s greatest fear?
"We'd go through this major ordeal and walk up
and find a Coors beer can."
On Brenton's brush with death:
He couldn't have dene i t b e t t e r off a trampoline.
He j u s t disappeared....I looked over the edge,
and he was on a l l fours. There was blood, and I
thought, "Oh, God." Without q u e s t i o n , he was
lucky to be alive.
Brenton, on his own near-demise:
No regrets. I've seen something very few people
in the world have seen^.Jf we had the weather
going in that we had going back, we wouldn't have
made i t .
Lennon, on the significance of the project:
No one has s c i e n t i f i c a l l y addressed t h i s c i v i l i zation. You could not ask for a more important
project.
Wheeler, on the prospects for future research:
These two s i t e s were found by chance.
we w i l l find more.
Certainly,
And finally, Arnold Weber, President of the University:
This i s a major archaeological s i t e involving a
c i v i l i z a t i o n that i s l i t e r a l l y unknown and flourished for a thousand y e a r s before the fabled
empire of the Inca, then m y s t e r i o u s l y d i s a p peared.
No one knows what happened to Gran Pajate'n's
mysterious inhabitants. But i t i s thought they
may have been k i l l e d by disease spread through
Peru by early Spanish treasure-hunters.
This i l l u s t r a t e s the rule of serendipity'. I t
also i l l u s t r a t e s the b e s t of the u n i v e r s i t y . . . .
This might not change the world, but i t i s a
perfect example of the university taking the lead
in identifying the nature of c i v i l i z a t i o n .
This puts the University of Colorado in the
mainstream of pre-Columbian studies.
T
he next day, front-page a r t i c l e s in newspapers
from coast t o coast trumpeted the 'discoverj'.'
Reporters with reputations for r e l i a b i l i t y and accuracy, rushed to meet deadlines and some wrote t h e i r
stories from telephone interviews only. "Lost City
Found in the Andes," announced The Washington Post.
"A Legendary lx>st City* in the Andes Gives Hint of
Mysterious Culture," proclaimed The New York Times.
Television followed in hot pursuit. Many of the
reports brimmed with analogies t o a c e r t a i n fedorahatted, whip-wielding adventurer-anthropologist of
the silver screen (see sidebar).
Meanwhile, the t a l e grew ever mere harrowing with
the r e t e l l i n g :
One of the fabled 'lost c i t i e s ' of the Andes has
been found.M.The region i s so remote, the peaks
and r i v e r s have no names..."When you walk i n , "
Lennon said, "you. walk off the map." [The Washington Post]
Repeating Lennon's claim that the s i t e had been the
" s u b j e c t of rumors and unsuccessful expeditions,"
the Post noted:
The site...was f i r s t located in 1963 when Peruvian farmers wandered into the area. Their r e port prompted a brief v i s i t by local archaeolog i s t s . But because the s i t e i s hard t o reach, no
detailed study was undertaken.
I t l a p s e d back i n t o o b s c u r i t y u n t i l . . .
StormcJieard the legend and learned the s e t t l e ment had been found but not studied.
Based on a telephone interview with Lennon, The New
York Times repeated the canard that
Peruvian archaeologists spent a few days of r e conaissance and then abandoned [Gran P a j a t f n ]
again t o t h e j u n g l e . The l o s t c i t y was ' l o s t '
again.
After d e s c r i b i n g t h e r u i n s , t h e Times s a i d , 'The
e x p l o r e r s a l s o d i s c o v e r e d the s i g n s of t e r r a c e d
fields cut into the steep mountainside...."
"CU w i l l e x p l o r e ' l o s t c i t y ' found by team in
Andes," d e c l a r e d The Denver P o s t . But t h e "most
s t a r t l i n g discoverj'," was the well-preserved wooden
figures, euphemized by Johnson as 'assertively male'
— that i s , with erect penises (although the f a s t i dious newspaper was not so assertive as to describe
them).
The B o u l d e r i t e s "found evidence of a ' l o s t
c i t y ' . . . p r e v i o u s l y . . . t h e s t u f f of legends...." The
UBICACION DE LAS RWNAS DEL
CJECUTADO
Post continued:
I t has been l i t t l e explored s i n c e 1963. T h a t ' s
when some Peruvian farmers, lost in the jungle,
stumbled a c r o s s two s i t e s w i t h 18 p r e - I n c a n
burial towers. The remote ruins were revisited
j u s t once in 1964-65 by a group of Peruvian
explorers, whose t r i p a t t r a c t e d l i t t l e s c i e n t i f i c
note-Other adventurers may have found i t hard
t o reach....
The crosstown r i v a l , the Rocky Mountain News,
trod a l i t t l e more cautiously into t h i s forbidden
terrain:
The f i r s t American look a t Gran Pajate'n was made
i n J u l y [1984] by a CU r e s e a r c h e r and t h r e e
adventurous Boulder residents, accompanied by a
dozen P e r u v i a n n a t i v e s who t r e k k e d through a
mountainous rain forest....
While members of Lennon's team...were not the
f i r s t people to view Gran Pajaten, they are the
f i r s t to p a r t i c i p a t e in a successful attempt to
launch a scientific investigation of the area.
The hometown Colorado Daily made a unique c o n t r i bution to the coverage of Gran Pajaten by singlehandedly increasing the annual p r e c i p i t a t i o n by a
JOSf
SAHAUONDS
C.
APPOB
8RAN
ARQTO
VICTOR
PAJATEN
HHfNTtL
•
PART OF a map o f Gran P a j a t e n f r o m Duccio Bonavia's
Las m i n e s d e l A b i s e o , 1968.
factor of ten — a rough measure of the exaggeration
index readers might use in evaluating subsequent
stories:
Gran Pajaten, the goal of many unsuccessful expeditions, has remained v i r t u a l l y untouched for
centuries. I t r e s t s above an unnamed r i v e r a t an
altitude of 8,600 feet and receives 1,500-2,300
inches of r a i n f a l l annually.
The Chicago Tribune w i t l e s s l y repeated t h i s gush. In
182 f e e t of r a i n a y e a r , Lennon's ' r a i d e r s ' would
have needed an ark.
After the i n i t i a l deluge of p u b l i c i t y came a
veritable torrent of magazine coverage. Within a
week of the f i r s t f l u r r j - , t h e t r u t h about Gran
Pajaten was lost in a blizzard of misinformation
based on r e p e t i t i o n of the factoids strewn through
the major newspapers by the e v e r - b o l d e r Boulder
Boys:
"We've found an unstudied c i v i l i z a t i o n and an
unnamed people, [Lennon t o l d Science News] ....The
s i t e has been t h e s u b j e c t of rumors and u n successful expeditions since the beginning of the
LEFT: Dp. A l a n
Stormo b r e a k i n g the
e x c i t i n g news t o
the p r e s s .
BELOW: P r o f e s s o r s
Thomas Lennon and
Jane W h e e l e r .
century, but t h i s is the f i r s t scientific study
of the area."
In 1963, Peruvian archaeologists were able to
photograph and map some of the ruins, but they
did not get any indication of the s i t e ' s scope
and richness, and Gran Pajater. receded once again
into obscurity.
An even greater mystery confronted Time magazine:
Why the Incan culture declined so quickly remains
unknown; many authorities blame European-borne
diseases like smallpox, against which the natives
had no defenses.
This was suspiciously reminiscent of the befuddlement at The Washington Post, where
the cause of the Inca empire's collapse, around
1530 A.D., long has been a mystery. Archaeolog i s t s say t h e new s i t e could h e l p e x p l a i n the
cause.
Lenoon t o the rescue:
One of the major questions i s 'what happened?' We
think there's a good chance we'll find mummies in
the tombs and they may t e l l us whether there were
epidemics that swept through the area.
Time d u t i f u l l y r e p e a t e d Lennon's c o n f i d e n t p r e diction. But he confided more to Science News:
I saw dozens of well-preserved human remains a t
the burial s i t e s . We hope to study the bones and
see what diseases affected these people.
As we shall see, his self-assurance was founded
on more than h i s own observations. 'This place is so
r i c h , " Lennon told the The Washington Post, "there's
no doubt in my mind we're going to come up with a l l
sorts of new insights about these people.
Not to be outdone, Newsweek t r i l l e d :
A r c h a e o l o g i s t s have long suspected that there
were many more 'lost c i t i e s ' of the Andes than
the fabled Machu Picchu, but u n t i l recently they
have been more the s t u f f of legend than of
science. Now the mist may be l i f t i n g .
Not, however, without some unanticipated and unsolicited assistance.
m
issing from these elaborate descriptions of the
[wonders of the 'lost city* of Gran Pajaten and
p e r i l s of the Boulderites were any but the most
the pe references to the body of existing s c i e n t i fleeting
fic work performed by Peruvian and foreign scholars
since the s i t e f i r s t came to the world's attention
two decades ago.
When Dan Buck read about Gran Pajaten in the The
Washington Post and The New York Times — b o t h
stories on page one, the same day — he was amused.
A Peace Corps volunteer in Peru in the 1960s and a
member of the South American Explorers Club, Buck
compiled an 18-item b i b l i o g r a p h y of p u b l i c a t i o n s
concerning Gran Pajaten and fired off l e t t e r s t o
editors of both papers. To The Post he wrote:
"Is there a fact-famine a t the Post? Must we
organize a r e l i e f effort and a i r l i f t history and
geography books into the confines of our city's
major newspaper?"
As for Gran Pajaten being lost, well, the l a s t
five editions of The South American Handbook, the
standard tour guide to the region, have carried a
reference t o the r u i n s , advising v i s i t o r s to
check with the t o u r i s t office in Cajamarca for
directions.
A r c h a e o l o g i s t s and a d v e n t u r e r s have been
v i s i t i n g the ruins for the l a s t 20 years. Dis-
cussions and photographs of Gran P a j a t e n have
appeared i n numerous periodicals, professional
j o u r n a l s , and books. American e x p l o r e r Gene
Savoy devoted a chapter of his book, Antisuyo:
The Lost City of the Amazon (1970), to the ruins
a f t e r h i s v i s i t s i n the 1960s [Gran Pajaten]
is clearly marked on many maps of Peru.
[As for the mysterious decline of the Incas],
has no one a t the P o s t beard of F r a n c i s c o
Pizarro?"
Neither paper chose to p r i n t Buck's l e t t e r s . But
the eyebrows thus r a i s e d must have been set t o
t w i t c h i n g when Gene Savoy c a l l e d t h e Associated
Press to restake his claim to having been the ' f i r s t
[North] American' to v i s i t Gran Pajaten.
Discovery,' as you might have guessed by now, i s
as slippery and treacherous a term as the path which
launched Brenton i n t o the creek and the Boulder
Bunch into stardom. In order to evaluate tbe d i s pute triggered by the CU announcement, let us briefly review the h i s t o r y of Gran P a j a t e n , which i s
familiar to many Peruvians, historians, travelers
and — one would hope — scholars like Lennon.
I
t took less than three centuries for the Incas
to conquer a t e r r i t o r y nearly 4,000-miles-long
and to dominate dozens of d i s t i n c t t r i b e s . According
to the early chronicles, in the 148Cs the Inca Tupac
Yupanqui b u i l t a m i l i t a r y road across the Maranon
River toward t h e Chachapoyas t o c o n t r o l these
t r i b e s . With an army of some 60,000 w a r r i o r s , he
stormed t h e i r seven great c i t i e s of stone, including
the Chachas c i t y of Pfas, b e l i e v e d by some t o be
Gran Pajaten.
After Francisco Pizarro executed the Inca Atahaulpa and seized Cuzco in 1533, the Spanish deftly
exploited the divide-and-rule strategy established
by the Incas. From the jungle redoubt of Vilcabamba,
p r o t e c t e d from the i n v a d e r s by s t e e p , f o r e s t e d
slopes and r a g i n g r i v e r s , the l a s t of the Incas
ruled the remnants of the old empire u n t i l defeated
by the Spanish in 1572.
We know very l i t t l e about what happened t o the
Chachas people after the Conquest. We do know that,
whatever i t s other faults, the Inca empire extended
earlier c i v i l i z a t i o n s ' irrigation-based agriculture,
food storage and road systems for trade and communications in a way that allowed a substantial population to thrive. The invading Spanish disrupted an
economy already wracked by the c i v i l war of succession between I n c a s Atahualpa and Huascar; the
conquest severed contact between r e g i o n s , spread
d i s e a s e , and c o n t r i b u t e d t o famine. I n c e s s a n t
battling over booty by the Spanish warlords gave way
to systematic plunder of feudalism. Peasants were
dragooned into the great mines of Huancavalica and
Potosi. F i r s t the urban centers, then the countryside were depopulated, the laborers relocated and
demoralized. And, over t h e c e n t u r i e s , t h e p r e Conquest c i t i e s , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e hidden i n the
j u n g l e s , got 'lost.'
The romance of searching for l o s t c i t i e s lured
successive waves of e x p l o r e r s . Vilcabamba, l a s t
refuge of the Inca, attracted the most attention.
In 1865, Antonio Raimondi v i s i t e d San Francisco de
la Victoria de Vilcabamba (Vilcabamba the New), the
town established by the Spanish after they sacked
Vilcabamba the Old. A decade l a t e r , Charles Weiner
crossed into Antisuyo and was told of a stone c i t y
perched over the Rio Urubamba.
But i t was not u n t i l 1911 that Yale archaeologist
Hiram Bingham was led by local peasants t o Machu
Picchu. The s e t t i n g was so s p e c t a c u l a r , and h i s
subsequent forays so unproductive, t h a t he thought
he had found the real thing; so Machu Picchu entered
the imagination of Europe and North America as 'The
Lost City of the Inca," a notion furthered by his
b e s t - s e l l i n g book.
The effect of Bingham's work was as much inspirational as s c i e n t i f i c , triggering further exploration
and mapping of the Urubamba V a l l e y . But i t a l s o
deflected a t t e n t i o n from the less hospitable t e r r i tory further to the northeast. Written accounts of
the region between the Huallaga and Maranon, the
purported domain of the Chachapoyas, were sketchy.
Fray Bernardino Izaguirre l e f t a report of missionary work (1619-1621); Fr. Alvarez de Villanueva gave
an account of his travels in the area (1781-1791). A
hundred years l a t e r , the Geographic Society of Paris
published the reports cf two b o t a n i s t s , Vidal Seneze
and J . N o r t i z i , who ranged the upper Huambo, a
tributary of the Huayabamba, in 1876-1877. They r e ported sighting ruins at Cochamal, Toyora, Omia,
Anayac and Calca. They were f o l l o w e d i n 1919 by
August Weberbauer, who located ruins along the edges
of the forest. Eis drawings, published by the Geographical Society of Lima in 1920, depicted a road
leading from the h i l l t o p s i t e of Puerta del Monte,
near the 16th century mining town of Pataz, into the
montana. But exploration and archaeology remained
c o n c e n t r a t e d on t h e g r e a t c o a s t a l c i t i e s of t h e
Chimu and Mochica cultures, the area between Cuzco
and Machu Picchu, and more accessible s i t e s in the
sierra, such as Chavfn de Huantar and Kuelap in the
north and Tihuanaco in the south.
O
ne of t h o s e i n s p i r e d by Bingham was Douglas
Eugene Savoy. Savoy was 30 years old in 1956
when he lost his small publishing company, his house
and h i s wife in Portland, Oregon. Instead of s t a r t ing over, he wangled h i s way i n t o a b o t a n i c a l
expedition t o Peru i n 1957, only t o have the venture
collapse on h i s a r r i v a l . So he parlayed h i s limited
s k i l l as a photographer and an endless reservoir of
charm into free-lance assignments for the Peruvian
Times. In T r u j i l l o , he met Douglas Sharon, then a
Canadian archaeology student and now with San Diego's Museum of Man, and Jose' Eulogio Garfido, Director of the National Museum of Archaeology' in T r u j i l lo. I t was the s t a r t of a fruitful collaboration. He
also met and married a Peruvian s o c i a l i t e , Dolly
Clarke, with whom he had a child.
Savoy has always been the f i r s t to admit that he
i s not a professional archaeologist; but he had one
essential — curiosity — and plenty of bravado. He
was fascinated by the Mochica, the Chimu, and other
pre-Columbian cultures.
Savoy founded the Andean Explorers Club in 1957
to pursue the fragmentary t a l e s of advanced cultures
in the densely forested region beyond the c o r d i l l e 9
ra. He moved h i s f a m i l y t o the v a l l e y of the Rio
Santa in order t o be closer t o the Chavin site. But
on January 10, 1962, three million tons of rock and
glacier broke off Huascaran, Peru's highest peak,
crashed down a gorge and swept through the villages
below, k i l l i n g thousands. Typhoid and c h o l e r a
followed in the landslide's wake, claiming hundreds
more, i n c l u d i n g t h e Savoys' t h r e e - y e a r - o l d son,
Jamil.
Savoy resumed h i s aerial surveys, tracing p r e Conquest roadways, mapped by Victor von Hagen i n
1925, that linked the northern coast and highlands.
Ee explored and photographed f o r t i f i c a t i o n s and compared them to descriptions in the old chronicles. A
p i l o t friend, Rafael Flores Resell, told him that a
hunter from Huamachuco named Teodorio Ganoza had
followed one such road a few years before in the
v i c i n i t y of Fataz; he went down the eastern slope of
the Andes between the Maraiion and the Huallaga, and
s p o t t e d r u i n s along t h e way. Soon a f t e r . Savoy
learned that road engineers had heard reports from
local hunters and farmers that there were ruins in
the area of Pajaten, the colonial v i l l a g e abandoned
by the Franciscans, and had noted t h e i r approximate
s i t e near t h e Rib Pajate'n on t h e i r map. Another
woodsman, Eduardo Pena Mesa, confirmed t h i s t o
Savoy.
Taking to the a i r in 1962, Savoy and p i l o t Mirko
Ristivojevich flew over the eastern ridge in search
of the m i l i t a r y road Garcilaso said Tupac Yupanqui
had b u i l t in his campaign against the Chachapcyas.
Spotting one, they followed i t north where i t d i s appeared in dense vegetation. Veering back to the
west, they s p o t t e d a sheer c l i f f j u t t i n g up 500
feet. Ganoza had said that ruins might be found at
the base of such a promontory. But a trek to the
s i t e would have t o wait three years while Savoy took
up BiEgham's search for Vilcabamba. (He and Antonio
Santander found i t in 1964.)
M
eanwhile, a group of farmers — Carlos Torrealba, Santos Escobedo, Calixto Rios and Nicolas
Garcia — set out from Pataz on August 26, 1964, in
search of new land to cultivate. Six days out they
climbed a h i l l t o p and found a w e l l - p r e s e r v e d
circular structure 46 feet wide, decorated in stone
r e l i e f with winged figures with human heads. They
reported t h e i r find t o newspapers in Trujillo, which
passed i t to papers in Lima, and thence to Victor
Pimental, Assistant Director of Tourism.
His a e r i a l sightings confirmed by the Pataz farmers. Savoy mounted an expedition with the help of
the National University in T r u j i l l o and the Archaeological Foundation of La Libertad. On September 9,
1965, Savoy, Sharon, and Carlos Lopez, a landowner
from Huamachuco, drove from T r u j i l l o t o Huamachuco,
where they hired Manual Crespin and Gerardo Agreda,
two woodsmen familiar with the terrain. Next day,
they drove to Consuso; then 12 hours of winding road
t o Chagual on the Maranbn. On September 1 1 , they
rode mules up t o Pataz where townspeople advised
them not to proceed — the ruins were haunted by
s p i r i t s and t o e x p l o r e them would be s a c r i l e g e .
Besides, said others, the ruins 'belonged' to those
who f i r s t found them. The l o c a l s r e l e n t e d when
10
Savoy agreed t o take on seven p o r t e r s (Escobedo,
Rios, E d i l b e r t u Aranda, J o r g e Valtodano, Gaspar
Solon, Juan and Americo Villalobos) led by Torrealba. Now a party of 13 and taking the route familiar
to Torrealba, they plunged into the forest. Savoy
wrote about t h e i r l a s t s t r e t c h into Gran Pajaten:
Gritting our teeth, we labored a thousand feet up
the side of the forested mountain; a d i f f i c u l t
climb under heavy packs and a s t e a d y downpour....At 9,300 f e e t we h i t secondary w a l l s .
Fifty feet more and we ran into a twenty-foot
stone Mrall. We snaked around i t , hacked a hole in
the vegetation and wriggled through only to be
confronted by a second wall. This one supported a
stone s t r u c t u r e . One of the men ambled up and
t o l d us t h e r e was a b i g c i r c u l a r r u i n a t the
crest with carvings.
Carl, Doug and I sat down trying t o figure our
l o c a t i o n . As n e a r a s I could t e l l we were a t
BELOW:
Gene S a v o y , e x p l o r e r and a u t h o r ,
first
v i 6 i t e d Gran Pajate'n i n 1965.
He d e s c r i b e s h i s
e x p l o r a t i o n s i n Gran P a j a t e n end o t h e r P e r u v i a n
s i t e s i n A n t i s u y o (1970).
(Photo by Dale W i t t n e r ,
c o u r t e s y o f the Andean E x p l o r e r s Club)
OPPOSITE:
S a v o y ' s p h o t o o f Gran P a j a t e n s t o n e w o r k s h o r t l y
a f t e r being c l e a r e d .
RUINS a t
Gran P a j a t e n .
(Photo Gene
Savoy)
approximately latitude 7° 45' S., longitude 77°
18' W. That put us somewhere in the greater Pajaten t e r r i t o r y between the Apisoncho and a small
stream c a l l e d P a j a t e n t h a t e m p t i e s i n t o the
Huayabamba. Wanting t o salute the missionaries of
times p a s t , we decided t o c a l l the r u i n s Gran
Pajaten in honor of the famous colonial ruins of
Pajaten, an abandoned F r a n c i s c a n m i s s i o n some
t h r e e or four days' hard t r a i l n o r t h of our
position, [from Antisuyo]
Over the next three days, Savoy's group p a r t i a l l y
cleared nearly ten acres, unveiling eight buildings,
a courtyard, two long stairways and several streets.
Savoy was l a t e r convinced that these were part of
the ruins of Pias, the f i r s t of seven c i t i e s conquered by Inca Tupac Yupanqui n e a r l y 500 y e a r s
before.
In November 1965, the Patazians guided another
group of 14 t o Gran P a j a t e n . The group, led by
Pimental and archaeologist Pedro Rojas Ponce, included representatives of the m i n i s t r i e s of education and public works and the army.
Among other things, they uncovered terraces, "the
lower l e v e l s of which extended so f a r down the
mountains that there were tropical palms on them."
They finished clearing ten acres begun by Savoy's
men, revealing eight circular buildings whose archit e c t u r e and o r n a m e n t a t i o n suggested the Huaylas
style. While surveying, Rojas Ponce noted "tombs of
a kind usually found in the northern Andes."
The following June, a full-scale expedition was
organized with government backing. This time a h e l i copter f e r r i e d in s c h o l a r s and work crews — 35
people in a l l . The investigation was planned t o take
a month but was limited to 15 days by t o r r e n t i a l
rains. Nevertheless, the crews uncovered eight more
buildings, mapped 12 square miles of ruins and gathered b o t h p r e - I n c a n and l a t e - I n c a p o t s h e r d s and
remarkably well-preserved wooden figures for study.
Their efforts were recorded by the international
press, including a film crew from the BBC. Dignit a r i e s , i n c l u d i n g a supposed descendant of Czar
Nicholas I I , also flew in. Press coverage of these
events b e a r s a s t a r t l i n g s i m i l a r i t y t o the
'discovery' 20 years l a t e r .
S
avoy reported his i n i t i a l t r i p in the Peruvian
Times (°EI Gran Pajaten Expedition: A Lost P r e Inca Civilization in the Andes," Oct. 8, 1965).
Soon the s t o r y was p i c k e d up i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y :
'"Lost City* Discovered i n Peruvian Jungle: Relics
of Unknown C i v i l i z a t i o n , " announced The Times of
London on Oct. 25, 1965. The b u l l e t i n declared Savoy
had returned with "news of what i s probably an even
g r e a t e r d i s c o v e r y " than Vilcabamba. 'The Pajaten
r u i n s belong t o a h i t h e r t o unknown c i v i l i z a tion...and may w e l l t u r n out t o be an even more
important discovery than that of Machu Picchu..."
Tajaten: A Lost City Found," reported Americas
magazine in June 1967, with maps and photos.
'THE
LOST CITY OF PAJATEN: I t was b u i l t on a mountaintop
in the midst of clouds — but no one knows when, or
by whom or why," declared Horizon (Autumn, 1967).
The s i t e "rivals anything the Incas b u i l t . "
Even Esquire got into the act with a p i t c h for
t o u r i s t s t o j o i n Savoy on h i s f o r a y s : "WANTED:
Paying Guests to Trace the Lost Cities of Penu."
(Sept. 1967).
Savoy had already decided to press further east
and north in search of additional ruins. As early as
Oct. 1, 1965, he t o l d La P r e n s a of Lima t h a t a t
least two more c i t i e s lay beyond Gran Pajaten. By
the time the chopper expedition was landing, the
11
Lima papers were carrying a e r i a l photos by Savoy of
seven h i l l t o p s i t e s with ruins extending 20 km by 5
km around Gran Pajate"n. Savoy confidently predicted
he would find "seven c i t i e s hidden by jungle" in a
t e r r i t o r y 100 km by 250 km i n the v a l l e y s of the
Pajate'n, Apisoncho, Catenella and Huayabamba Rivers.
O
ver the next three years, Savoy and his group,
usually including Sharon, Lopez and Carl Landegger of The Explorers Club of New York, found 39
additional s i t e s , including what Savoy believed to
be six of the seven Chachapoyas c i t i e s . These expeditions were filmed by the German team of Ingo and
Eckart G r i l l , who shot the s c a l i n g of the high
c l i f f s of La P e t a c a and Diablo Huasi above the
Utcubamba to examine tombs; by Charles Kuralt and
David Burke of CBS, and Dr. George O'Neill of City
College of New York, whose documentary included more
walled tomb inspections with the assistance of German a l p i n i s t Frank Hentschel, as well as the by-now
familiar shots of Gran Pajaten. Savoy himself described these ventures in his book, Antisuyo: The
Search for the Lost Cities of the Amazon (Simon and
Schuster, New York, 1970).
Meanwhile, Peruvian archaeologists Rojas Ponce
and Bonavia published more scholarly accounts of
t h e i r work a t Gran Pajaten, Noting that the s i t e was
marked improperly on the old highway maps, Bonavia
renamed the s i t e Abiseo a f t e r the n e a r e s t r i v e r
drainage — a system of nomenclature developed by
Donald Lathrop, who translated Rojas Ponce's work
for the j o u r n a l Archaeology (Vol.20, No.l, 1967).
B
onavia proposed (at the 28th International Congress of Americanists, 1966) a likely scenario
for what happened to the inhabitants: The s i t e f i t s
the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of the s o - c a l l e d v i l l a s —
r e l a t i v e l y independent, s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t agricultural
communities — that were reported as existing in
great profusion by the Spanish a l l along the ce.ja de
selva ('eyebrow of the jungle'), which marked the
l i m i t of the Inca empire. Here the terrain, rain and
poor soil conspired a g a i n s t c u l t i v a t i o n , b u t t h e
people carved terraced h i l l s i d e s , linked by precipitous stairways to take advantage of the climatic
variation between the chilled heights and the sultry
r i v e r v a l l e y . They p l a n t e d corn f o r food and t o
b u i l d the s o i l . So long as they were h i g h l y o r ganized, they thrived. Under Inca dominion, t r i b e s
in t h i s area preserved t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l practices.
Soon after the Spanish Conquest, a l l signs of the
Inca c o n n e c t i o n t o Gran P a j a t e n d i s a p p e a r e d . By
1676, missionaries found the settlements had r e v e r t ed to autonomous agricultural u n i t s . Two centuries
l a t e r Raimondi wrote: 'The people have disappeared,
the road was completely closed and the active veget a t i o n had invaded the whole t e r r a i n , nature returning to recover i t s ancient dominion." Lacking cent r a l p o l i t i c a l control and planning, the cultures
c o l l a p s e d , and t h e j u n g l e took over. 'La maleza'
(rot) invaded the cultivations, destroying the frag i l e microenvironment so carefully and a r t i f i c i a l l y
created. Although the precise sequence and mechanism
of decline i s speculative, i t i s safe to say that
the resulting slump in production of domesticated
TWENTY-YEAR-OLD newspaper c l i p p i n g n o t i n g the many a d d i t i o n a l s i t e s s u r r o u n d i n g
Gren P a j a t e n .
Limn, Yicrnes 17 dc Junio do 1966
Las Ruinas del Gran Pajaten, que Ocupan Angosto y Largo Valle, se Hallan Rodeadas por Siete Colinas
Pajaten
"Las rufnas del Gran Pa.aten so extjenden a LO lorgo'de
JO kl/omciros por cir.co de anrr.o - est an dispti'sa's en siete cnnras.snme.ion.tfi a las de
Roma, ubicadas entre Ins rim
Tumac Pajaten y Catenlla, y
12
Tiene Siete Colinas Como
tlobch fer.cr por lo mends una
ar.licuedad de do.= mil afios".
Es la conclusion a la que ha
llenam cl exjilc „ lor noneamerieano y divr icjnr de las
ruinas. Gene Sa\u.. dpsp;i"s de
con.vromar vistas aereas toma-
dns con el sistcma Infra rojo
y con telescopic). Antique en la
foio no se pucrie (npreclar con
cbridad. las flochas indican las
colinas .'nine las que. seeun Savoy. sc exiienden las ruinas que
en su tiempo habrian s.do po-
blades por ios Cliachapoyss.
Agrefia que las ruinas del Gran
PajaU'n, denomination que les
nio ricspuos de su prfmwa experiifidn en cl ano 1965, tendrian tambien relacion con las
de Vilcabamba hacia el s'ur y
row: Gem ea»o7
Roma
las de Colombia, hacla r! norL a p ) . c , c n c i a d(1 c f r i : „ n [
del mismo tipo en Ins tres sitios, dice Savoy, es prueba de la
concxinn existcme.
A 1981 S.A. map
showing Gran
P a j a t e n , and
directions to the
ruins appearing
in the Last 5
editions of the
S.A. Handbook.
plants (which were, after a l l , imported to the zone)
led to lower levels of n u t r i t i o n accompanied, p r e sumably, by an i n c r e a s e i n epidemic i l l n e s s and
infant mortality.
%ran Pajate'n i s not r e s t r i c t e d to the h i l l t o p
ruins," Savoy concluded (Peruvian Times, Aug. 21,
1970), "but is a metropolis of the jungle composed
of a large assortment of remains."
In the mid-1970s, archaeologist Jaime Deza Rivasplata explored s i t e s on the periphery of Gran Pajaten. Pataz r e s i d e n t Manual V i l l a l o b o s guided a
French teacher, Giovanni Ellena and two companions
t o Gran Pajate'n; they got l o s t , b u t r a n i n t o a
building group with anthroporaorphic sculptures fashioned from wood and tenoned into the frieze-work.
Guides from Pataz led others t o the main ruins and
the s c u l p t u r e s , i n c l u d i n g I t a l i a n explorer Piero
Amighetti and Pierre Abribat and Jaquelin Chambon of
France.
These wooden figures came to the attention of
Federico Kauffman Doig, a prominent archaeologist.
He enlisted the aid of Lima Tours and made his own
inspections in June 1980, 1981 and 1982, with Gianc a r l o Ligabue of t h e Centro S t u d i Ricerche of
Venice. They named their expeditions Ttupa Rupa,' a
Quechua word meaning "hot climate,' used by Javier
Pulgar Vidal t o d e s c r i b e the f o r e s t zone of the
Huallaga. They studied the wooden figures in d e t a i l ,
concluding they were pre-Incan, On a fourth v i s i t in
1984, Kauffman Doig and his team spent five days
clearing a t r a i l to another s i t e with four pucullos:
one had been decorated with six figures, but only
five were l e f t . (The s i x t h found i t s way t o a
c o l l e c t o r i n Lima.) All the f i g u r e s had e r e c t
penises, thus the nickname given by the locals t o
the s i t e , Los Pinchudos ( l i t e r a l l y The Pricks').
In 1978 the Peruvian tourism bureau sponsored
lectures and an exhibition of photos by Jorge Leon
Linares, a member of the 1965 and 1966 expeditions.
Meanwhile, in September 1983, a group of Polish
kayakers spent a day and a h a l f a t Gran P a j a t e n ,
having taken seven days to get there from Pataz and
another week to get out, because of encountering
heavy early rains and losing the way.
By 1984, therefore, a considerable body of work
by Peruvian and foreign archaeologists and anthropologists had been compiled and published in Peru and
the United S t a t e s , along w i t h d e s c r i p t i o n s and
photos of the s i t e in the popular press. The route
to Gran Pajaten was familiar enough for The South
American Handbook t o advise simply, "Ask a t the
Tourist Office in Cajamarca for details." And Hirca,
one of the l a r g e r t o u r i s t a g e n c i e s i n Peru, had
begun offering two-week excursions: "8th Day — Trek
to the new [sic] discovered 'los Pinchudos' Ruins,
where t h e r e are wooden idols." (Apparently, there
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Gran Pajaten
( p r e - l n c a ) . ask at Tourist O f f i c e in C a i a m a r c a for details Also w o r t h
- H .... •• rn. h u a . r r i c ' u i •• ares i •• i i-j.-•• -i S a u s a c o c f a
t. "
' - r a ' . . r:> i. •'• .»; v .
t n o s e >' V ' r a ^ n u n r v i i H near A v a i " u c v , o ^ e a ' ! ^
^ ' I ' I ^ . * " ' '••::).• • r .-* i r u •- 'i v - o : . ' ' I'
were few takers.) In 1983, the Peruvian government
established Rio Abiseo National Park, a preserve of
1,060 square miles around the major s i t e s .
Much of t h i s information was readily available to
Stormo, Lennon and friends before they l e f t for Gran
P a j a t e n i n 1984. That ' h a i r - r a i s i n g ' j o u r n e y we
shall now retrace:
D
r. Alan Stormo, then 54, a Boulder p l a s t i c surgeon, took his f i r s t v i s i t t o Peru in July 1983
on a t o u r organized by P o r t s of C a l l , a Denver
travel club. One of the de rigeur stops was Machu
Picchu, Suitably inspired, Stormo l a t e r met Carlos
Arbe, owner of an Iquitos lodge on the jungle leg of
the tour. Arbe confided t o Stormo that there were
many more 'lost c i t i e s ' b e s i d e s Machu P i c c h u and
gave him a t a t t e r e d c l i p p i n g about Gran Pajate'n.
Thus educated, Stormo returned home, enlisted his
neighbor Dr. Brenton and friend Lovett. The three
would-be explorers sought counsel a t the university
and were referred t o Lennon.
Lennon had come t o Boulder in 1974 after a s t i n t
in the Peace Corps i n Ecuador. He took a m a s t e r s
degree in anthropology in 1975 and went to Peru in
1976 and 1977 as a Fulbright fellow t o study 'preHispanic water management systems' around Titicaca.
The next year he set up a private consulting firm
that compiled archaeological and historical inventories for proposed s i t e s of mines, power plants and
dams. Lennon's major professional achievement came
in September 1981: A work crew uncovered signs of
old b u i l d i n g w h i l e d i g g i n g a p i p e l i n e . The s i t e
proved t o be very old, a daub—and-wattle structure
that pushed back the evidence of habitation in that
part of the Rockies by several hundred years. Lennon
j o i n e d CU's a n t h r o p o l o g y d e p a r t m e n t i n 1982 as a
part-time research associate after getting his
doctorate.
Two y e a r s l a t e r , a n t h r o p o l o g i s t J a n e Wheeler
j o i n e d the f a c u l t y a s an a s s i s t a n t p r o f e s s o r .
Wheeler took her doctorate in 1973 from the Univers i t y of Michigan, studied archaeozoology a t Camb r i d g e and P a r i s and spent p a r t s of 12 y e a r s i n
Peru. She lectured a t the Dniversidad Nacional de
San Marcos on a Fulbright from 1974-1976 and studied
cameloids for the French National Center for Scient i f i c Research in the Junin-Palcomayo area and the
Lake Titicaca basin. About her f i r s t encounter with
Stormo, Wheeler l a t e r t o l d t h e Denver P o s t , "I
thought he was a nut." When she realized they were
d i s c u s s i n g Gran Pajate'n, she l e n t them a book —
a p p a r e n t l y Savoy's Antisuyo. Wheeler s t e e r e d t h e
t r i o to Mariella Leo, who had spent two years in the
northeastern jungles. Wheeler also cleared bureau13
m^
^s
c r a t i c t a n g l e s from t h e i r p a t h , and Carlos Arbe
arranged l o g i s t i c s in Peru. CU President Weber wrote
a check for i£10,000 to cover expenses.
The four l e f t Boulder on July 19, 1984, flying t o
Lima, then T r u j i l l o , then Chagual on the Rio
Maranbn. They rode mules provided by Arbe to Pataz,
where they were met by a 'suspicious' Torrealba, who
allegedly was disarmed by ample beer, Leimon's charm
and fluent Spanish. They l e f t the next day for Gran
Pajaten with Torrealba and another guide, 10 porters
and six pack mules, using the familiar route — over
the pass at Los Alisos, past the lakes, across the
fango to Puerta del Monte, 'surprised' despite a l l
their presumed research to find evidence of t h e i r
many predecessors.
Five days out of P a t a z , they ' d i s c o v e r e d ' Gran
P a j a t e n , r i g h t where i t was supposed t o be, and
dropped back to t h e i r campsite at La Playa. When
they hiked up to Los Pinchudos on the sixth day, the
wooden figures greeted them with an 'assertively
male' s a l u t e . On t h e seventh, they "hacked and
crawled t h e i r way" back to Puerta del Monte. "[T]he
mule man was l a t e with the animals, and the group
was forced t o camp in t h e r a i n , a l l t h e p o r t e r s
jammed i n t o one leaky t e n t . " On t h e e i g h t h day,
Brenton inadvertantly vaulted t o the bottom of a 35foot cliff. On the ninth day, they departed.
A
cranky German once quipped that history does
indeed r e p e a t i t s e l f : t h e f i r s t time as
history, the second as farce.
14
Imagine Gene Savoy's i r r i t a t i o n (or was i t
mirth?) at the claims by CU. Imagine the derision
and outrage of o t h e r e x p l o r e r s , a r c h a e o l o g i s t s ,
Peruvians and ordinary t o u r i s t s who f e l t slighted or
hoodwinked by the academic a r r i v i s t e s . And imagine
the consternation in c e r t a i n quarters when the South
American Explorers Club said i t would present i t s
Hoax of the Millenium Award to the Boulder Boys "for
their remarkable achievement i n bamboozling the
North American p r e s s and t h e U n i v e r s i t y of
Colorado." "Oops" went the media:
"CU exploration nothing new, author claims," the
Rocky Mountain News advised on Feb. 7, 1985, court e s y of t h e AP w i r e (note t h e use of the v e r b
' c l a i m s , ' which c a r r i e s the connotation of being
unsubstantiated). The News placed the debunking 31
pages deep in t e r r o r i s t bombings and drunk-driving
mayhem. The Denver Post, properly wary of the verac i t y of the wire services, buried the Savoy rejoinder ("Explorer lays claim t o f i r s t s on 'lost city" 1 )
in a remote cloud forest of pulp, then dispatched a
r e p o r t e r t o Boulder: "They a r e e x p l o r e r s , advent u r e r s , " publicist Diaue Johnson said, quoting Lennon's d e s c r i p t i o n of Savoy and h i s i l k . "They go
charging through the j u n g l e f i n d i n g wonderful
things....We never said we have set [sic] on v i r g i n
s o i l , but no one's done any thorough research."
A week l a t e r The Washington Post reconsidered:
"Lost City Well Known; Tourist Guidebooks Tout Peruv i a n Ruins." R e p o r t e r Boyce Rensburger wrote that
Lennon "did not c l a i m the d i s c o v e r y of the
STONE HEADS with mosaic crown. Position of arras and
legs suggest f l i g h t symbolism. [Photo Gene Savoy)
site._Jkit the [CD] announcement suggested that the
s i t e had faded i n t o o b s c u r i t y . " Lennon now t o l d
Rensburger, "I don't deny anything Gene Savoy says,
but I take exception t o the idea that there's nothing l e f t t o do a t Gran P a j a t e n because he d i d i t
a l l . " Savoy never dished out that p a r t i c u l a r red
herring, any more than he moved beyond Gran Pajaten
because i t was 'god-forsaken.'
Rensburger said in a subsequent interview that he
had been 'seriously misled' by Lennon in t h e i r earl i e r telephone conversation: "I was given the impression that t h i s was a poorly known s i t e , b r i e f l y
v i s i t e d . " (Rensburger, who r e c e n t l y r e c e i v e d an
award from the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims t o the Paranormal for h i s diligent
work, was not the only good reporter eating crow.)
The New York Times r a n i t s c l a r i f i c a t i o n i n a
page-two editor's note reserved for s e l f - f l a g e l l a tion in cases of "significant lapses of fairness,
balance or perspective. 'John Noble Wilford, who has
a Pulitzer Prize for science writing, said he, too,
had been 'misinformed' by Lennon about p r i o r work a t
the s i t e ; he said he f e l t a b i t foolish for not
having checked further.
The MacNeil-Lehrer Report also issued a c l a r i f i cation.
Bruce Bower of Science News likewise backtracked,
thanks t o Dan Buck and o t h e r g a d f l i e s : "In h i s
i n i t i a l conversation..Xennon said that future work
[by his team] would mark 'the f i r s t s c i e n t i f i c i n vestigation of the area.' [Now Lennon] said that the
Peruvian l i t e r a t u r e cannot be ignored. ' I can't see
myself as having said there was no s c i e n t i f i c work
before ours,' he says."
Bower went on t o quote Douglas Sharon: "In 1963
Gran Pajate'n was a l o s t c i t y , but not anymore."
Betty Meggers, a s p e c i a l i s t i n South American
archaeology at the Smithsonian I n s t i t u t i o n , added:
"A full-scale investigation w i l l be interesting, but
of predominantly local significance—.The knowledge
that results from further work c e r t a i n l y won't be
revolutionary." Meggers was a l s o quoted i n The
Washington Post retraction: "I don't understand why
they made such a big deal out of t h i s . The Peruvian
highlands are f i l l e d with ruins a l l the way from
Machu Picchu [500 miles t o the south] on up." And
Thomas Patterson of Temple University said: " I t ' s
curious to me that of a l l the s c i e n t i f i c work done
in Peru, t h i s recent expedition captured so much
attention-.
As reporters dug deeper, Lennon warmed t o t h i s
theme of good intentions misunderstood. He told Mary
Chandler of People he ' f r o z e ' a t t h e p r e s s c o n ference — " i t was not my element." People went on:
'lennon says he was not in any way trying t o conceal
the achievements of his predecessors. He says he
was prepared t o discuss the history of the s i t e , but
nobody in t h e p r e s s seemed t o be i n t e r e s t e d . "
Miffed at the South American Explorers Club, Lennon
said, "thejr show no good w i l l t o t h e p r o j e c t . I
question their integrity. I'm going to be l e f t for a
lifetime with the crap they've said."
"To have the p r o j e c t c a s t as a hoax h u r t s t h e
p r o j e c t i n t h e s h o r t - t e r m , " he t o l d t h e Boulder
D a i l y Camera. He got a s y m p a t h e t i c h e a r i n g from
reporter Todd Malmsbury, whose wife wrote some of
the original CO press releases. "At every opportunity possible we have attempted t o recreate the h i s t o r y of people who have gone t o t h e a r e a and t h e
work that has been done there," Lennon said. Malmsbury quoted Sharon's oxymoronic description of the
s i t e as " r e l a t i v e l y V i r g i n i a marvelous opportunity
for science."
QJ publicist Diane Johnson refused t o take the
blame. She said she had reviewed tapes of the press
conference: "In the f i r s t five minutes...there were
six references t o others who had been on the s i t e .
We did not announce the discovery of anything. The
p r e s s got c a r r i e d away w i t h t h e I n d i a n a J o n e s
theme." She said she brought a bibliography with 15
c i t a t i o n s to the press conference, but no one asked
for i t . Nor did she offer i t . Nor did she attempt
t o c o r r e c t the m i s x m d e r s t a n d i n g s u n t i l c r i t i c s
attacked.
John Lovett was especially indignant. A member of
the South American Explorers Club, he said the club
had provided inaccurate information when he sought
advice for his sojourn t o Gran Pajaten: 'They told
me i t was an easy two-day walk [from P a t a z ] and
t h e r e was a road t o t h e s i t e . There was a road
alright — about 1500 [AX).] I t was the Inca highway." (Actually, i t was probably pre-Incan; the main
Inca road i s further east, on the other side of the
Maranon.) Lovett denied he and h i s compatriots were
headline-grabbers: I t wasn't "the point of our expedition to give ourselves notoriety. We never even
gave c r e d i t t o o u r s e l v e s most of t h e t i m e . " The
controversy over who 'discovered' Gran Pajaten was
" p e t t y j e a l o u s y , t h e h e i g h t of c h i l d i s h n e s s , " he
said.
Lovett, Lennon and Johnson a l l blamed overzealous
reporters for the overly good and subsequent bad
publicity.
Had any one of them stepped out of the national
spotlight to describe precisely what research he had
conducted before embarking on the venture, armed
only w i t h $10,000 of the s c h o o l ' s money and a
yellowed Peruvian newsclip, he light have avoided
having gullible reporters jump t o the conclusion
t h a t p r i o r v i s i t s , so long as t h e y w e r e n ' t mentioned, must not have happened.
T
he South American Explorers Club received only
one l e t t e r defending CD — from P i o t r Chmielinski, a member of the Polish kayak team t h a t v i s i t e d
Gran P a j a t e n a f t e r running the Colca i n 1983.
Chmielinski had called club president Don Montague
e a r l i e r , expressing indignation for the favorable
publicity CD was reaping and noting the lack of any
public acknowledgement of the valuable advice the
Polish group had provided the Boulder vacationers
p r i o r t o t h e i r journey.
But he l a t e r c a l l e d
Montague again, t h i s time urging him to c a l l off a
scheduled press conference, claiming i t would hurt
the project.
In deference to Chmielinski's pleas for cooperat i o n , Montague almost c a l l e d off the p r e s s conference. But the disingenuousness of the purported
' c l a r i f i c a t i o n s ' by Lennon and his associates — and
15
the hypocrisy of their characterizations of Savoy —
persuaded Montague and co-founder Linda Rojas to
proceed:
"The flim-flam surrounding this project doesn't
rise to the level of a good hoax," Montague told
reporters. "It lacks the creativity of, say, P i l t down Maru...Frankly, I'm baffled. It's as if a group
of Peruvians came up here for a couple weeks, then
ran back home to announce they'd discovered Mesa
Verde." Montague suggested an expedition to the Lost
City of the Flatirons to investigate whether intelligent life could be found in Boulder.
Rojas passed out T-shirts emblazoned with the
motto "I found a lost city." 'The university's conduct," she said, "cast doubt on the credibility of
further work. They should set the record straight so
as not to jeopardize what could be significant
research."
Montague ticked off a l i s t of prior visitors to
the site, ending with mention of the Polish kayakers. At that, Chmielinski and Moore took issue with
the club's critique: The trek to Gran Pajaten was
'very tough,' he said. (So tough that it became lost
again?) "Who does not live in jungle cannot find."
Both he and his companion Moore argued the club
should be 'grateful' that CO was embarking on the
project. Neither mentioned that Moore was under
consideration for a job with the project. Moore said
she represented 'only myself.'
Their comments were gleefully transcribed by
Boulder reporter Charlie Brennan of the Rocky Mountain News. Brennan's coverage of the initial announcement had been egregious; his response to the
c r i t i c i s m from Savoy and the South American Explorers Club, flippant. But when I interviewed him
at the height of the flap he was apologetic: "We had
five hours to slap this thing [the page-one story]
together on deadline..." he explained. "I have to
plead for some mercy....We have to rely on people
like Leimon who have the word 'expert' tacked over
t h e i r heads." But at the Club's press conference,
like the priest who refused to gaze into Galileo's
telescope, Brennan declined to look at any of the
material listing previous v i s i t s to and research
conducted at Gran Pajaten. Instead, Brennan f e l t
vindicated by Chmielinski and Moore's position. He
also admitted he wanted to go on a junket to Peru
A
month later, Brennan finally gave Gene Savoy
some attention, but it wasn't flattering. The
copyrighted story began on page one of the Rocky
Mountain News ("Law snarls cult leader bucking CU")
and ran over two full pages inside (headlined "Founder of f a i t h or fraud: Cult b u i l t on belief i t s
leader's son was divine" and ' W s rival explorer
branded a fake" and "Savoy: Rituals, claim of divinity disturb many"). Brennan recounted Savoy's role
as leader of the International Community of Christ,
Church of the Second Advent for the Establishment of
the Religion of Cosolargy, in Reno. The sect's 500
members believe Savoy's son Jamil, who died of cholera at age three in Peru, was a Christ-like messenger of God. "He's crazy," Brennan quoted George
Clarke, the brother of Savoy's second wife. Another
man, whose wife l e f t him to j o i n Savoy's church,
told Brennan, "It's my personal belief that the man
Gran Pajaten ruin cleared two decades ago. (Photo Gene Savoy)
i s a fraud." Brennan claimed that the Chief Deputy
District Attorney of Beno had stated that Savoy's
s o l i c i t a t i o n of donations to find the Inca's House
of the Sun at Pitcos was a 'potentially fraudulent'
misuse of the church's tax-exempt s t a t u s . No
charges have ever been f i l e d , however, and R i l e y
f e l t compelled t o w r i t e t h e Rocky Mountain News
after Brennan's a r t i c l e was printed: 'The quotations
which Mr. Brennan a t t r i b u t e s t o me are denied. Further, I believe Mr. Brennan should be admonished to
be more c a r e f u l i n making q u o t a t i o n s and t o
d i f f e r e n t i a t e between f a c t u a l and h y p o t h e t i c a l
s i t u a t i o n s . " The l e t t e r was not published.
What any of t h i s had to do with Gran Pajaten —
other than establishing Brennan's credentials with
the University — is speculative, inasmuch as none
of the accusations and innuendi directed a t Savoy
affected his c r e d i b i l i t y as an explorer or the fact
that he had v i s i t e d and w r i t t e n about Gran Pajaten
long before any of the Boulder Boys knew of i t s
existence. Which raises the question: Did Brennan
inspect the religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the CU crowd?
Bad Dr. Lennon been a Muslim, a Mormon, a Mennonite
or member of some o t h e r l e s s c o n v e n t i o n a l m i n i empire of rel igio-f inance, would Brennan have branded him a c u l t i s t ? If Dr. Wheeler worshipped vicuna
dung i n s t e a d of a p r o p e r d e i t y , would h e r fundraising for research be described as 'fraud*?
Savoy blamed the Brennan a r t i c l e for disrupting
the funding he expected for an upcoming expedition
Wheeler circulated Brennan's piece a t the National
Geographic but w r i t e r Loren Mclntyre accompanied
Savoy on h i s t r i p anyway, i n s i s t i n g he was a
'legitimate explorer.' But Science Digest cancelled
i t s financial backing overnight, according t o Savoy.
The counter-offensive continued with an attempt
by CD officials t o get the Peruvian government to
prohibit 'unauthorized' v i s i t o r s t o Gran P a j a t e n .
Hirca Tours s t i l l o f f e r e d i t s two-week t o u r —
through various European and US. tour companies,
including Trekperu, a Denver-based a f f i l i a t e whose
p a r t n e r s include Cesar Rojas, a member of South
American Explorers Club and husband of Linda Rojas.
'For some reason somebody i s i n business t o embarass
the university," P a t t i Moore, newly appointed coord i n a t o r for the CU p r o j e c t , t o l d r e p o r t e r s . " I
haven't figured out the motive yet." But the University's motive in maintaining a p o t e n t i a l l y lucrative
monopoly on Rio Abiseo National Park would become
increasingly transparent.
The bad publicity made CU o f f i c i a l s so anxious
that they began looking for conspirators and saboteurs amongst themselves. They found one about the
time they l o s t t h e i r sense of humor. On Feb. 13,
Lennon r e c e i v e d a l e t t e r signed by 'El Rey' ( t h e
king); another arrived a few days later. El Rey
warned that the ruins a t Gran Pajaten were sacred
and ought not be disturbed. The l e t t e r made reference to "a strange, short one with a shining head"
— apparently meaning Dennis Van Gerven, a skeletal
biologist who j u s t happens t o be 5 feet, 4 inches
t a l l and bald; Van Gerven was set to go t o Peru t o
study the remains i n the burial chambers. Lennon
took the l e t t e r s t o Paul Shankman, Chairman of the
Anthropology Department. O r d i n a r i l y a r e a s o n a b l e
man, Shankman nonetheless figured the reference to
Van Gerven "might conceivably be interpreted as a
p o t e n t i a l t h r e a t . " So he turned them over t o t h e
university police. Scoffing a t the need for a warrant, they searched the office of James McGoodwin, a
professor who had made some d i s p a r a g i n g remarks
about the project. McGoodwin claimed in a subsequent lawsuit that he also was subjected to a polygraph t e s t that "was used as an attempt to...coerce
a confession." McGoodwin said a l l t h i s "so intimidated, upset and frightened him" that he had to seek
professonal counseling. El Rey i s s t i l l a t large.
B
y spring, the second wave of self-congratulatory releases was in full flower: The CU alumni
magazine announced Gran Pajaten "holds the remnants
of a pre-Inca c i v i l i z a t i o n that has never been fully
investigated." [emphasis added] I t mentioned, of
course, the 'world wide media attention' focused on
the project, but omitted the bad l i g h t in which i t
was bathed as a r e s u l t . Somewhat chastened, Johnson
wrote in another school publication that Torrealba
' f i r s t found' Gran Pajaten and Teruvian archaeolog i s t s soon followed,' but she gave no hint of the
e x t e n t of p r e v i o u s work or the debt owed Savoy.
I n s t e a d , she a g a i n o f f e r e d c l u e s t o more ' d i s coveries': "Although 18 structures are known a t Gran
Pajaten, Lennon suspects the Andean highlands hide
many more." That h i s suspicions were based on the
work of others would be tantamount to a confession
that funds were being s o l i c i t e d under false p r e tenses, and Lennon already was having trouble a t tracting financing.
Because the University's budget i s closely cont r o l l e d by the s t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e , d i s c r e t i o n a r y
funds, rather than taxpayers' money, would have to
be used. Soliciting foundation grants takes time and
probably would arouse some opposition from skeptical
academics. That left c o r p o r a t e s p o n s o r s and r i c h
patrons. Fortunately, John Lovett knew Lou Whittaker, the climber who led a U.S. team to Everest.
(No, he d i d n o t c l a i m t o d i s c o v e r i t , only
'conquer.1) Whittaker a r r a n g e d c o n t r i b u t i o n s from
two companies for whom he wrorks: JanSport supplied
840,000 worth of equipment, i n c l u d i n g 25 packs,
tents, sleeping bags and clothing; New Balance gave
30 pairs of hiking boots, 20 p a i r s of lighter-weight
boots and another 20 p a i r s of running shoes for the
porters, supposedly worth over $5,000 r e t a i l . Other
companies gave prepared food and other equipment a t
cost; Union Carbide donated f l a s h l i g h t s and b a t t e r i e s . Lovett also arranged an i n t e r e s t - f r e e loan
of $25,000 from a Boulder bank. Dr. Brenton and a
f r i e n d donated Lennon's s a l a r y of $6,000 for the
summer.
But the strategy of trying t o bar other groups
from t o u r i n g Gran P a j a t e n became a p p a r e n t when
Lovett got two friends t o pay $10,000 each for the
privilege of accompanying the expedition: Judson and
Lisa Dayton of Minneapolis are h e i r s to the DaytonHudson Corp., f o u r t h - l a r g e s t non-food r e t a i l e r i n
the country, owners of Target and B. Dalton stores.
S t i l l , the p r o j e c t came up 850,000 s h o r t of i t s
$200,000 budget; the university had t o provide half
of the funding. President Weber gave $1,000 from his
own pocket and l e f t t o run Northwestern University.
In May, Lennon and an advance team l e f t for Gran
Pajaten. They were accompanied by Miguel Cornejo
Garcia, archaeologist from the University of Truj i l l o , and Rolando Paredes E u z a g u i r r e of the
National I n s t i t u t e of C u l t u r e . I n l a t e J u n e , 22
porters hauled nearly five tons of food and equipment t o the base camp at La Playa.
The 8,000 pounds of food included 384 ounces of
popcorn, 56 pounds of banana chips, 480 packages of
chocolate pudding, 90 packages of chocolate chips,
45 of oatmeal c o o k i e s , 120 packages of s a l t i n e s ,
1,000 r o l l s of Life Savers, 1,000 Baby Ruths, 1,000
Butterfingers, 960 Snickers, 2,500 bags of M & Ms
(1,250 peanut and 1,250 p l a i n ) , 720 Hershey b a r s ,
1,500 Twix bars, 144 b o t t l e s of powdered Tang, 48
15-ounce cans of c h i l i with beans, and 1,500 packages of pre-cooked vacuum-sealed fare. Supplies also
included 1,350 r o l l s of t o i l e t paper and 6,000 z i p lock p l a s t i c bags. Goods and supplies came from the
United States because, said P a t t i Moore, "—I don't
know a l l the wholesalers in northern Peru"
Although Moore supposedly had packed the supplies
for 35-pound l o a d s , "the maximum a p o r t e r can
carry," someone apparently miscalculated: As CU.
photographer Greg Jones related, "Ihey haul loads
equal t o a t l e a s t h a l f t h e i r body weight —
stupefying, eye-bulging loads, so heavy seams s p l i t
on their pack-bags. They work 10 hour days, five and
a half days a week, at a constant pace."
As for the donated running shoes (never mind
h i k i n g b o o t s , which were r e s e r v e d for g r i n g o s ) ,
radioman Jim Snyder said, " I t ' s amazing what [the
p o r t e r s w i l l ] do. Many of them wear j u s t these
thongs, s a n d a l - t y p e t h i n g s t o t a l l y open t o the
weather and the cold—We had cold, icy r a i n with
winds 25 or 30 mph...and I ' d seen one or two of
these porters going along barefoot."
Brennan divined the secret to the porters' prowess: "It's been said that if the [Peruvian] porters
have coca leaves and candy, they w i l l dc anything
for you....American c a n d y . . . c a r r i e s t h e weight of
gold i n the eyes of the native porters-.."
Later he would write that porters could e w e r "in
two hours — w i t h l o a d s weighing as much as 90
pounds — what i t took some of the most physically
f i t [North] Americans three or four hours to comp l e t e w i t h no packs on t h e i r backs." [Emphasis
added.] One p o r t e r made the t r i p from P u e r t a del
Monte back to Pataz and returned to La Playa with a
load of kerosene in j u s t 36 hours. "Americans normally need four days t o make the same trip."
The porters were paid $8 a day. Moore faced down
a s t r i k e by the porters and muleteers for more pay
by threatening to replace them.
B
y then, three more paying customers had been
recruited: Brennan of the News, self-described
'couch p o t a t o ' Dana P a r s o n s of t h e P o s t , and Todd
Malmsbury of the Boulder Daily Camera. Brennan's
and Malmsbury's qualifications were w e l l - e s t a b l i s h ed: Both bad become apologists for the CU publicity
staff. Other than a piece describing the controversy
over CU's i n i t i a l c l a i m s as ' s i l l y ' — a c u r i o u s
display of j o u r n a l i s t i c even-handedness — Parsons'
chief a t t r i b u t e for the t r i p was h i s lack of e x perience. "I realize an experienced trekker probably
wouldn't have much trouble with t h i s t r i p , " he ad-
18
An
"Assertive"
Pi nchudo
mitted, "nor an experienced camper. I am neither."
Parsons' trepidation was not eased by a t a l e from
Leimon and Wheeler about another group who had been
t o Gran Pajaten: 'Ihey got off the t r a i l , couldn't
relocate i t , and starved t o death." Whether t h i s was
a typical case of CU's exaggeration or an equally
typical example of reporter's misinterpretation i s
anybody's guess: Suffice to say there i s no evidence
that anybody has yet died on t h e i r way in or out of
Gran Pajaten.
Before the Denver media could reconnoiter Gran
Pajaten, The New York Times, on J u l y 7, 1985, announced, "RDINED CITY RXM) IN JUNGLE IN FEHU, Exp l o r e r [Gene Savoy] Says S i t e Covers 120 Square
Miles and Contains Thousands of Buildings." Savoy,
l e a d e r of a 25-member e x p e d i t i o n , supported by
Eauffman Doig's N a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e of Amazonian
Culture and Enturperu, the s t a t e tourism bureau,
announced the discovery of Gran Vilaya, a citadel on
a ridge overlooking the Rio Maranon, 80 miles north
of Lennon's crew. But the Denver papers and t e l e vision stations were too enraptured by local p r e parations for v i s i t i n g t h e i r very own 'Lost City in
the Sky' to even mention Savoy's l a t e s t coup, even
though Associated Press carried the news around the
world. All Ihe Denver Post could muster was a truncated w i r e - s e r v i c e b r i e f w i t h the note t h a t CU
officials could not be reached for comment.
But they were a v a i l a b l e for P a r s o n s ' l e n g t h y ,
flattering profiles of Wheeler and Lennon, According
to Lennon's wife
The much-heralded 'discovery* near La Playa a few
days e a r l i e r was g r a c e l e s s l y d e t h r o n e d : " I t was
discovered four years ago and includes about 100
houses," Parsons noted.
By July 31, the Post declared, "New find dwarfs
Gran Pajaten."
He's r e a l l y an i n t e l l i g e n t p e r s o n but he's not
l i k e a l o t of o t h e r i n t e l l e c t u a l s . . . . T o m does
things like read yoga books, he liked Buckminster
Fuller, and he's into being more real than a lot
of o t h e r people. [Lennon wasn't a f u l l - t i m e
p r o f e s s o r , because] Tom never could stand the
stuffiness and p e t t y p o l i t i c s you see in universities.
Even the presence of t o r r e n t i a l rains has failed
to dampen the t h r i l l i n g prospect that a new s i t e ,
possibly the find of the summer for t h i s archaeol o g i o c a l p r o j e c t , i s b i g g e r than b e l i e v e d . . . i t
may c o n s i s t of b e t w e e n 150 and 200 b u i l d ings...five t o s i x t i m e s l a r g e r t h a n t h e Gran
Pajaten site...With the discovery of Cerro Cent r a l , archaeologists now know for c e r t a i n that
Gran P a j a t e n was n o t an i s o l a t e d c i t a d e l on a
hill.
"This i s what a r c h a e o l o g y i s a l l about,"
Lennon noted.
Wheeler discussing the aura of the project:
Danger i s the a p p r o p r i a t e word. I t ' s a more
appropriate word than adventure. We don't consider i t an adventure, we consider i t a colossal
logistical headache t o make sure we don't lose
anybody. That's what other people would equate
with adventure. But i t i s dangerous. I t ' s full
of precipitous dropoffs — c l i f f s which you can't
see because of the vegetation. You can take one
misstep by accident and j u s t be gone, 500 feet
down.
J
ust before the reporters arrived in Peril, Lennon r e l e a s e d h i s own news. On J u l y 13, he
relayed a cryptic radio message to Boulder, alluding
to something exciting. On July 21, Brennan reported
from Miami, en route t o Lima, the 'discovery" of a
"honeycombed cluster of 100 rooms' near La Playa.
We knew there were some additional ruins there
[Stormo said]. They had b r i e f l y been described
by a German who was wandering around the area in
the early 1900s. They have never been thoroughly
described. Certainly, nothing of t h i s type has
been identified before.
After the reporters got t o Gran Pajaten on July
25th, they s t a r t e d p r o c l a i m i n g , "There a r e r u i n s
everywhere." More 'surprises' were waiting. On July
27, the Post greeted Denver with a banner headline:
"CD's dig h i t s i t b i g , " over P a r s o n s ' c o p y r i g h t e d
story:
A large, previously unrecorded s i t e with at l e a s t
49 b u i l d i n g s . . . h a s been found by U n i v e r s i t y of
Colorado archaeologists.
'This i s a dream come true," Lennon said.
He was careful to add, however, that while the
area i s not recorded, i t may have been discovered
by previous e x p e d i t i o n s . . . .
[T]he new find leads them to believe that they
may locate other s i t e s that are as large or even
larger....
In a d d i t i o n t o t h e s c i e n t i f i c s e c r e t s t h i s
l a t e s t f i n d may h o l d , i t should a l s o h e l p CD
raise money t o continue i t s research.
Wheeler said, "I think i t ' s usually easier (to
raise money) when you get results."
Back in Denver, Professor Shankman, CU Anthropology Department Chairman, told the News, "No one
a n t i c i p a t e d a n y t h i n g q u i t e t h i s big....They s e t
aside this huge, unknown area, and now we're finding
out what's t h e r e — and wow!" By August 2 , the
reporters had seen Cerro Central with t h e i r own awestruck eyes, "among the f i r s t t o see the s i t e since
i t s abandonment several hundred years ago."
Lennon was suddenly humble, s e l f - e f f a c i n g , a s
reported by Parsons:
Although p l a i n l y e x c i t e d about t h e new s i t e ,
Lennon has t r i e d t o play down i t s glamour. 'This
isn't a new Gran Pajaten," Lennon said. "This i s
j u s t another piece of the puzzle."
E x c i t e d over the new a r c h a e o l o g i c a l find...
Lennon called h i s boss.„with the news t h a t Cerro
Central may contain as many as 250 buildings.
"We are awfully proud of your achievements.
This has j u s t been a remarkable t r i p , " said new
CD President Dr. Gordon Gee.
Brennan was impressed too: "Eney believe they've
discovered an e n t i r e v a l l e y that once teemed with
human activity."
Said graduate student David Ayres: "It was l i k e a
l i f e l o n g dream...."
Said Lennon: "This i s so exquisite I j u s t can't
b e l i e v e it."
Said graduate student Warren Church: "You can't
go very far around here without stumbling onto something."
I t was a n o t h e r rough h i k e through "rampaging
w a t e r . . . . I f you f a l l down, you've had i t , " Lennon
warned. But "...when faced w i t h t h e awesome a r chaeological finds, such personal hardships pale."
A
f t e r 17 days the reporters returned t o Pataz.
Greg Jones had t o drag one participant, a manufacturer's rep from Brooklyn, the l a s t few miles —
an ordeal both Parsons and Brennan, by now hardened
veterans of the bush, gloried in r e t e l l i n g . "It was,
for a l l of us, a matter of l i f e and death," Brennan
wrote. "To leave her behind would have been unconscionable and p r a c t i c a l l y c r i m i n a l . . . . I n c r e d i b l y ,
like something out of a bad movie, a large b i r d soon
19
c i r c l e d c l o s e t o u s . . . . I t was a vulture....[W]e
could see each blink of i t s beady eyes."
The faded Pepsi sign and warm beer of Pataz were
the essence of c i v i l i z a t i o n , the flight out of Chagual 'terrifying' but welcome. Back in the States,
they contemplated t h e i r adventures:
"No doubt...Cerro C e n t r a l . . . w i l l help CU r a i s e
money for i t s five-year, feL million project„..The
new findings produced the biggest joke of the t r i p
when an archaeologist said they reduced Gran Pajaten
to a 'one-llama town.""
"An inquiring seed planted" by the four Boulder
men " i s blossoming i n t o an awesome f l o w e r , each
p e t a l representing yet another archaeological
jewel," Brennan enthused. For Lennon, the work was
"an u n q u a l i f i e d success...[but he] does not thump
h i s c h e s t over i s o l a t e d v i c t o r i e s . " Brennan e x plained the 'find' at Cerro Central:
Lennon 'played
i t . "We'd been
a year, and i t
was something
a hunch' and sent Ayres to look a t
looking a t that s i t e on paper for
was a p r e t t y decent bet that there
there," Lennon said.
But e a r l i e r criticism had made them cautious:
[T]he people connected with the project are uncomfortable with calling themselves d i s c o v e r e r s . . . . " Y o u ' 1 1 never see anybody...associated
with the project promoting themselves as a d i s coverer," Lennon said. The issue of avoiding big
headlines...is almost an obsession for Lennon.
So gun shy a r e p r o j e c t o f f i c i a l s of media
attention, that Lennon gave the name Cerro Cent r a l to the s i t e only after he realized he had t o
name i t something.
' T d rather not name i t , " Lennon said. 'That's
what certain adventurers do.
'There may be hundreds and hundreds and even
thousands of s i t e s i n the 1,000 square m i l e s .
Probably bigger.
"But so what. I t ' s not t h e f i n d i n g of i t
that's important. I t ' s what you do with i t , how
you i n t e r p r e t i t and analyze i t . T h a t ' s what's
going to be our contribution. We're taking the
humble approach t o t h i s whole stuff. We're j u s t
here t o do our j o b , and if we find 50 s i t e s
bigger than Pajaten, that's j u s t part of the job
we're doing."
Lennon was portrayed as a tough leader: "Whittaker likened Lennon's pace to a 'gut-shot cougar'
and 'a b l i n d dog going through a meathouse.'" He
crossed streams unaided by ropes. He stormed up
h i l l and down despite an injured knee that turned
'putrid yellow.' He knew how to handle the natives:
'They know that if they steal anything, we'll blow
t h e i r knees off." Moreover, Lennon prohibited most
of the porters from seeing Cerro Central. 'They can
talk a l l they want," said Lennon, "but no one else
i s going up."
Moore, after recounting how she blustered the
m u l e t e e r s out of t h e i r demand for h i g h e r wages,
magnanimously said, "...I would r e a l l y like to see
more c r e d i t given i n the American p r e s s t o the
Peruvians. These guys put your 75-pound pack on
20
t h e i r backs and t r o t off through the mud. I'm dcing
a lot of things and that's true. But if i t weren't
for them I wouldn't be doing anything." Then she was
off t o Lima t o 'wine and d i n e ' w i t h g e n e r a l s i n
order to use t h e i r helicopters next time.
Jones was "part Peter Pan and part Paul Bunyan.
He fears nothing...a man who could chew coca leaves
( i t ' s p e r f e c t l y l e g a l in Peru) w i t h t h e b e s t of
them."
Parsons in The Denver Post was also generous in
describing h i s companions: "Some came for business;
some for pleasure. Some came out of passion; some
for p r i v a t e r e a s o n s t h a t p e r h a p s even they don't
know." Like c h a r a c t e r s o n G i l l i g a n ' s I s l a n d , the
millionaire s o c i a l i t e s "said they didn't want or get
special treatment" — a f t e r they'd bought t h e i r way
along. The t r i p was "an o p p o r t u n i t y for us t o
p h y s i c a l l y , e m o t i o n a l l y and i n t e l l e c t u a l l y push
ourselves," Lisa Dayton said. Stormo said he wants
to go back to perform corrective p l a s t i c surgery on
misshapen and scarred natives: "I have no u l t e r i o r
motives, I have nothing to gain....The world is made
up of gooders and no-gooders^.I'm a do-gooder."
I
n the grand finale to h i s five-part series, Brennan seemed f i n a l l y to capture the purpose of his
tagging along: The p r o j e c t was out of money. "As
with any business — and there i s a business aspect
to t h i s — you have to l e t people know what you're
doing," Lennon said..."The p e r s o n a l sacrifice obviously ends t h i s year."
The Daytons proposed i n v i t i n g some of t h e i r
wealthy friends for the next season — a t $10,000 a
crack. 'That's a lot of money. I'd s e l l t h i s project
in a minute." Lisa Dayton was trying to line up the
3M Company w h i l e L o v e t t was h i t t i n g up h i s pal
Robert Bedford.
Judson Dayton discussed what he sees as the s e l l ing points, " I t ' s the professionalism and the way
t h i s i s a l l done for s c i e n c e and the good of the
s i t e , and the professional way i t ' s been researched
and studied, as opposed to tourism and exploitation
of i t . "
The Parsons series dwelt a t length on h i s personal d i f f i c u l t i e s with the t e r r a i n , but the conc l u d i n g a r t i c l e got t o t h e p o i n t : "Despite the
national p u b l i c i t y the project has received [or was
i t because of the publicity?] i t i s not financially
secure—Asked how much money he expects from CU in
the future, Lennon said: *Not a damn penny."'
Some prominent Peruvians, i n c l u d i n g KauffmanDoig, were not enamored of t h e Boulder Boys, and
might influence Peruvian President Garcia's administration. "For Lennon, the stakes are high. He hopes
the Gran Pajaten project w i l l dominate his l i f e for
the next twenty years-..If he i s t o continue on the
project-Jie needs a guaranteed income."
By September 1, Moore was out of a job, a t least
temporarily. By October 1, the indispensable Greg
Jones was in j a i l , charged with dispensing c o n t r o l l ed substances (LSD) from his campus office. "I don't
do drugs. I'm not a drug dealer," he told the Post.
"My work means too much to me." (He pleaded guilty
in May 1986.) By November 1, Wheeler had resigned as
co-director of the project.
did in i t s f i r s t year. The work i s 'an inventory,'
a 'survey* p r e l i m i n a r y t o s a t e l l i t e
infrared
photographic scanning by NASA. This year w i l l see a
'modest expansion' t o i n c l u d e more ' l o w - l e v e l
archaeological mapping,' paleo-geological work, p r e liminary reports on the a r t i f a c t s uncovered thus far
and f u t u r e work on t h e b o t a n i c a l and b i o l o g i c a l
aspects.
The World Wildlife Fund has given Peru R25,000 to
pay for guards to protect the park and to set up a
plan for evaluating environmental impacts. But as of
January 1986, Lennon said, no money has been raised
toward t h e $625,000 he needs for 1986. ' T h e r e ' s
nothing committed. We don't expect any u n t i l March
or April, like l a s t year."
And, like l a s t year, something i s missing from
the presentation: Not once in an hour-long colloquy
could Tom Lennon bring himself to mention the name
of Gene Savoy.
I
Lennon h i t the road with a slideshow and grant
proposals. Narrating his show, Lennon is careful to
emphasize p o i n t s of i n t e r e s t n e g l e c t e d the y e a r
before: the 'extremely well known camping area' at
Manachaqui; the highland lakes 'stocked with trout'
and 'noted by every expedition into the area since
1919'; the 'famous way station 1 at Puerta del Monte
with Weberbauer's hut; the beach at La Playa where
so many had camped before; the nearby archaeological
site 'identified in 1969' by the Pataz guides and
mapped by Rivas Plata in the early 1970s; the buildings at Las Papayas noted by Marielle Leo in 1981
and described in the Boletin de Lima in 1982; the
figures at Los Pinchudos 'made known to the world'
by Kauffman-Doig; the pottery studied by Bonavia in
the 1960s; the buildings a t Gran Pajaten cleared by
the Peruvians 20 y e a r s b e f o r e . The r e c i t a t i o n i s
obligatory, almost r i t u a l i s t i c .
Then Lennon modestly describes the work his team
Keeping up with the J o n e s e s . . .
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Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News:
"Between L o v e t t ' s h a t and t h e
w h i r r i n g cameras of t h e P u b l i c
Broadcasting System film crew, the
s p i r i t of filmdom's most famous
a r c h a e o l o g i s t c a n ' t be t o o f a r
behind." (7-14-86)
"Brenton acknowledged t h a t t h e
P e r u v i a n j o u r n e y — i n t o a land
i n h a b i t e d by a s many a s 12
e n d a n g e r e d s p e c i e s — was
r e m i n i s c e n t of an I n d i a n a J o n e s
e x p l o i t . " (2-1-85)
#>
Arnold Weber, CD President:
"It was a hair raising expedition a l a Indiana
Jones." (1-31-85)
Science News:
"RAJJJERS OF TflE 'LOST CTIY*"
(2-23-85)
David Salisbury, The Christian Science Monitor:
"The story reads like a cross between "Raiders
of the Lost Ark' and 'Nova.'" (2-5-85)
Pamela White, Colorado Daily Camera:
"Imagine t h i s : two surgeons, one businessman, a
p r o f e s s o r and a 6 1 - y e a r - o l d P e r u v i a n guide
slashing through the unihabited jungles of Peru
with machetes, scaling steep mountainsides and
b a t t l i n g with the elements in search of a lost
c i t y . . . . I t sounds l i k e a n o t h e r s e q u e l t o
'Raiders of t h e Lost Axe [ s i c ] . But u n l i k e
'Raiders', t h i s story is true." (2-1-85)
"Lennon, 38, and J a n e Wheeler, 41,...the
p r o j e c t ' s co-directors, u n d e r s t a n d d e s i r e by
others to t a s t e what most can only sample by
s h a r i n g an evening w i t h I n d i a n a J o n e s a t the
neighborhood movie house." (7-14-86)
"Although Wheeler and Lennon play down the 'Indiana Jones' elements of t h e i r project in favor
of t h e i r s c i e n t i f i c goals, Lovett said the drama
of the e x p e d i t i o n was not l o s t on p o t e n t i a l
sponsors." (5-20-86)
Dana Parsons, Denver Post:
"That kind of talk, whether Lennon and Wheeler
l i k e i t or n o t , has fueled the I n d i a n a J o n e s
depictions of the Peru t r i p and although there
shouldn't be any temples of doom or l o s t arks t o
worry about, t h e r e i s t h e b l a c k cave and t h e
Gateway to the Jungle t o look for."
"For in a very real sense, Indiana Jones and his
brimmed-hat visage loom over t h i s expedition."
"...if Indy lived i n Boulder, he'd book passage
on t h i s one." (5-12-85)
EL MESOiV
9royeccion horizontal de la
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By Federico Kirbus
C
olumbus returned to Spain the extremely flat angle, and instead
f i r s t samples of New World of burying i t s e l f in the s o f t
gold, thereby awakening a thirst soil, came to rest on the surface.
for glittering metals that was to
We know more. Much more than
seduce a growing l e g i o n of con- Don Hernan Mejia de Miraval, the
qnistadores.
In 1520 Hernan Spanish governor who sought the
Cortes sent 700 kilos of gold back Chacho's s i l v e r . The m e t e o r i t e
t o h i s king, Carlos V. This was belonged t o a kind of small a s followed by the no l e s s than nine t e r o i d which, a f t e r penetrating
tons of gold and almost SO of the atmosphere, desintegrated into
s i l v e r that Pizarro and Almagro 25 or 30 big chunks. These crashseized in Cajamarca and Cuzco in ed at a forlorn site in the Chaco
1534.
Austral and buried themselves beThe discovery of the silver in neath the surface in depths rangPotosi's Cerro Rico in 1545 i n - ing between perhaps 5 t o 15
creased dramatically the extrac- meters. All, that i s , except the
tion of precious metals. By 1560, one discovered by one Mejia de
South America was mainly respon- Miraval's expedition.
sible for the 101 tons of gold and
As big as the trunk of an old
570 tons of s i l v e r sent t o the quebracho tree, this fragment was
Casa de Contratacion (Ministry of believed to consist of pure s i l Commerce) in S e v i l l a . And Spain ver. In fact, the high nickel and
wanted more.
chromium content made the surface
Naturally then, when the newly of the meteorite, where polished,
appointed governor of the huge, shine like silver. Like the t i p
former province of Tucuman, Cor- of an iceberg, the Spaniards hardoba, Diaguitas and J u r i e s i n bored dreams, hoping that the
today's NW Argentina heard news of visible part was just a hint of a
a rich silver deposit somewhere in giant silver vein stretching bethe vast Chaco plains just below neath the surface for hundreds of
the T r o p i c of C a p r i c o r n , he meters, perhaps more.
After Mejia de Miraval, scores
hurried to dispatch an expedition
of expeditions and treasure hunin 1576.
What seemed to be silver was, ters set out to exploit the supindeed, metal, but of a different posed silver, take samples or at
kind: a huge m e t e o r i t e r e s t i n g least get a glimpse of i t . Both
amidst the t h i c k e t .
We know Bartolome Francisco de Maguna
today, i t f e l l t o earth at an (1774-76) and Francisco de Ibarra
22
(1779) s e t out w i t h p a r t i e s t o
locate the "Meson de Fierro," the
name the single, elusive meteorite
came t o be c a l l e d . I t was not
easy t o find i n the bush. Occas i o n a l l y , however, some lucky
explorer managed t o l o c a t e the
enigmatic mass and even bring back
samples to Buenos Aires. There,
as r e c e n t l y as 1774, chemical
a n a l y s i s showed the metal to be
"almost pure silver."
In 1783, another Spanish expedition led by Don Miguel Rubin de
Celis managed to locate the meteorite. Anxious to know if a vein
of silver continued underground,
Rubin ordered a ditch dug alongside. Using wooden poles, his men
turned the meteorite over into the
trench. This was to become i t s
tomb as i t became covered w i t h
sand and overgrown with exhuberant
subtropical vegetation. Rubin de
Celis was, in fact, the last human
to see the celebrated meteorite.
Rubin l e f t a vivid and accurate
account of his trek which began in
Santiago del Estero. Bat not even
t h i s expert naval o f f i c e r could
give the exact coordinates of
Meson due to the lack of a chronometer and the virtual impossibility of observing the real horizon.
He calculated the latitude at 27
28' South but f a i l e d t o give us
the precise meridian which must be
close to 61° 40' West.
Though lost, i t gradually became known that the metal was not
s i l v e r , but a p e c u l i a r kind of
iron. Meteorite fragments taken
to Buenos Aires in the early 19th
century were successfully iised t o
improve alloys. Two p i s t o l s made
with this special alloy were given
to the Argentine General Manuel
Belgrano. Another p a i r was p r e sented t o U.S. P r e s i d e n t Thomas
Jefferson.
Of c o u r s e , t h e metal used i n
special alloys did not come from
Meson de Fierro but from another,
much smaller meteorite found by a
farmer. At t h a t t i m e , t h e huge
Meson de Fierro was missing, and
i t s t i l l is today.
T
he lost Meson sparked further
interest in the strange area
c a l l e d Piguem N o n r a l t a ( p r o nounced: pee-ghem nohn-raahl-tah)
— "Heaven's F i e l d " in the
language of t h e Toba and Mocovi
Indians that inhabited that remote
Chaco region. And that i n t e r e s t
continued to grow along with conjecture and l a t e r certainty that
Campo del Cielo, as i t i s called
today, was indeed a vast deposit
of meteoric debris. In the early
2 0 t h c e n t u r y , more m e t e o r i t e s
showed up as farmers started developing the land. Some of these
may be seen today in Buenos Aires
a t the e n t r a n c e of the G a l i l e o
G a l i l e i P l a n e t a r i u m in Tres de
F e b r e r o Park or t h e Bernardino
R i v a d a v i a Museum of N a t u r a l
Sciences i n C e n t e n a r i o P a r k .
Others are on view at the B r i t i s h
Museum's Department of Mineralogy.
I n 1923, a woodcutter named
Manuel Costilla found a 4,210-kilo
p i e c e l a t e r dubbed El Toba. I n
1925, the 732-kilo El Mocovi was
found.
I t was followed by El
Tonocote (850 kilos) in 1931,, by
El Abipdn (400 kilos) in 1936, and
by El Mataco (1,000 k i l o s ) i n
1937.
Bat where was the famed Meson
de Fierro, so called because one
of i t s sides was f l a t like a large
t a b l e , i.e. meson i n Spanish — a
facet probably hewn while i t shot
along the e a r t h ' s surface as an
incadescent mass after penetrating
the atmosphere?
We have reason t o believe that
as early as 1501, Amerigo Vespucc i , d u r i n g a p r o b a b l e but not
e n t i r e l y confirmed voyage, not
only entered the Rib de la Plata
(long before Juan Diaz de Sol is)
but possibly saw some fragments of
Meson de Fierro. There ware r e ports of Indians offering g l i t t e r ing metal pieces in exchange for
some gewgaw. A document i n the
Archivo de I n d i a s i n S e v i l l a
r e a d s : "Hunc Argenteum Fluvium
primus Americis Vesputius i n t r a v i t
anno 1501 invenitque cum insulas
gemmiferas e t innumerabilis argent i fondinas?" How could Vespucio
not o n l y e n t e r the River P l a t e
e s t u a r y but a l s o t a l k about
"islands full of pearls and silver
mines" — h a l f a c e n t u r y b e f o r e
the discovery of Potosf's silver
v e i n s ? Some s c h o l a r s t h i n k he
BELOW: EL Chaco m e t e o r i t e r e s t i n g
on r a i l w a y t i e s .
The j e e p g i v e
some idea of the m e t e o r i t e ' s s i z e
— 3 3 . 4 m e t r i c tons.
OPPOSITE:
The l a s t s k e t c h o f
Meson de F i e r r o before i t vanished
more than two c e n t u r i e s ago.
~ "Vr
•
tot;
TOP: A meteorite fragment cut i n
haLf several years ago.
The cut
s i d e remains r u s t f r e e . MIDDLE:
The hole had to be dug down to 7
meters to e x t r a c t El Chaco meteori t e . Not shown i s the much s h a l lower impact crater to the l e f t .
BOTTOM: S i t e of the cosmic c a t a clysm some 5,000 years ago. Crat e r s are only 15 km from the road.
might have been offered fragments
of nickel-iron-chromium meteorite
known t c the Chaco tribes — a
glittering metal easily mistaken
for silver.
After Meson de Fierro vanished
in 1783, many small-to-medium size
and even bulky meteorites began to
show up making i t even more certain to scientists that Campo del
Cielo had been the scene of a
cosmic cataclysm.
I
Ah
•*• •..
•
« ^^•i*
24
t was not u n t i l 1963,
however, that s c i e n t i s t s
first established what must have
happened near the border between
the present day provinces of Santiago del Estero and Chaco, south
of the small town of Gancedo, some
1,000 km NNW of Buenos Aires.
That year, William A. Cassidy from
Lammont Geological Observatory of
Columbia University started a
methodic search l a s t i n g several
years, during which he mapped the
t e r r a i n and measured magnetic
fields in an attempt to precisely
locate different impact c r a t e r s
and t h e i r
corresponding
meteorites.
I t was no easy task to find
c r a t e r s . Cassidy asked farmers
about aguadas, the natural pools
where cattle converge during the
dry season. Slowly, a map of
Campo del Cielo took shape, r e vealing between 25 and 30 craters.
Together, the depressions formed a
somewhat irregular ellipse about
18 km long and up to 3 km wide,
the long axis running WSW to WE.
I t appears that the planetoid
entered the atmosphere at a very
shallow angle, crossing the Pacific and then the crest of the
Andes before desintegrating into
some two dozen chunks and crashing
to earth. Because of the angle of
entry, the meteorites do not lie
beneath the c r a t e r s but rather
somewhat outside the rim to the
ENE.
A v i s i t to the crater field i&
an unforgettable experience. And
what c r a t e r s ! Some are quite
M* 3 i O O - W
'~*
Cnuno
RIGHT: Location
of Campo del Cielo
near Gancedo and
d i s t r i b u t i o n of the
impact craters.
BELOW: An oLd map
showing d i r e c t i o n s
to the famous Meson
de Fierro (Fer
Meteorique).
lerrjplrn.Jc
4 j t r m f t W Campo —
ESCALA
0
IO0KX,
,
0
1QO
1
I
J
200M1
shallow, though up t o 80 m e t e r s
wide. Others are 7-8 meters deep,
but small in diameter.
Cassidy excavated one of t h e
more modest craters i n 1972. Ee
located a strong magnetic field a t
the edge of a- crater and started
t o d i g . The impact c r a t e r was
only 20 meters wide and two deep.
Some f i v e m e t e r s down, he h i t a
metallic monster two meters t a l l .
Cassidy estimated i t s weight a t 23
tons. But when i n 1980 a huge
crane was brought in t o l i f t the
meteorite, i t collapsed forward.
The m e t e o r i t e ' s r e a l weight was
exactly 33*4 tons, making i t now
probably the world's largest (the
Ahnighito m e t e o r i t e found i n
Greenland and presently on display
at New York's Hayden Planetarium
reportedly weighs between 33 J. and
34 metric tons). Cassidy*s meteorite was christened El Chaco and
now r e s t s near the s i t e where i t
was dug up.
So how b i g must t h e o t h e r
meteorites be, those that made the
larger craters i n Campo del Cielo,
craters which neatly r e t a i n much
of t h e i r original shape although
perhaps 5,000 years old?
Though many m e t e o r i t e s have
been found, the elusive Meson de
Fierro s t i l l gets the most a t t e n tion. The provincial government
of Santiago d e l E s t e r o p u t up a
reward of 2,000 gold pesos and s e t
aside five square leagues of publ i c land (25,000 h e c t a r s o r 67.8
acres) for anyone who could find
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i t . One charlatan claimed t o have
discovered the Meson in the 1930s.
But when the government withdrew
the reward, t h e f e l l o w s a i d he
would conceal i t with a "layer of
isolation material" t o make r e d i s covery impossible.
Books could be w r i t t e n about
Campo d e l C i e l o — i t s c r a t e r s ,
m e t e o r i t e s and h i s t o r y .
Even
today, hundreds of small meteoric
fragments can s t i l l be found s c a t t e r e d around t h e c r a t e r s .
I
myself took two p i e c e s back t o
Buenos Aires for analysis. I t was
extremely d i f f i c u l t t o cut the
specimens, one of which y i e l d e d
49% n i c k e l , 32% i r o n and 18%
chromium. Chromium and nickel are
^
among the toughest metals known.
There i s something c u r i o u s I
have noted s i n c e t h a t a n a l y s i s :
The outer layer of the A e t e o r i t e
fragment i s constantly 'crumbling
under the influence of atmospheric
oxygen (you can also see t h i s a t
the El Chaco s i t e ) . On the other
hand, t h e c u t s i d e remains
glistening, as if nothing i n time
could a l t e r i t s appearance.
I wonder i f p e r h a p s i t was a
piece of meteorite, shining like
the one I have a t home, that led
Amerigo Vespucci and o t h e r s t o
dream of " i s l a n d s w i t h s i l v e r
mines" and s i l v e r mountains somew h e r e i n t h e s t i l l unnamed
continent.
85
ALONG
THE
WEST COAST
Interview by Larry Rice
On New Year's Day 1985, Ed Gillet landed i n Miami International
Airport after having been out of the United States for a l i t t l e over one year —
four to six months longer than he had expected. The 33-year-old, ex-philosophy professor, s a i l o r
and commercial diver from San Diego, Cal ifornia was returning after a solo ocean kayak voyage
dubbed by some as impossible — or even suicidal.
Departing on Christmas Day 1983 from Punta Arenas, Chile, 200 miles north of the treacherous
Cape Horn, G i l l e t paddled his 16-foot
kayak for 4,500 miles up the storm-wracked Pacific coast of
South America — a journey comparable to crossing the United States twice.
I t ended abruptly,
500 miles short of his goal, the Panama Canal, when he was set upon by a band of Ecuadorian
backwater thugs. At a recent sea kayak symposium, G i l l e t discussed h i s t r i p with me.
Q: When did you f i r s t conceive of
the trip?
A: During t h e end of 1982 I a c companied Steve Landick on t h e
Baja C a l i f o r n i a s e c t i o n of h i s
28,000-mile Ultimate Canoe Challenge. To p a s s the time during
long hours of paddling, we talked
about sea kayak t r i p s we'd like t o
do. The idea of p a d d l i n g along
the Pacific Coast of South America
appealed the most to me.
Q: How did you prepare yourself
physically for the trip?
A: I was both lucky and unlucky.
I had a j o b c l e a n i n g boat h u l l s
underwater in San Diego t o make
the money f o r the t r i p . Doing
t h a t for e i g h t hours a day i s
excellent conditioning. The bad
part i s that i t ' s t e r r i b l y boring.
Also, everyday I went out with an
e i g h t - f o o t wave s k i looking f o r
the b i g g e s t surf I could f i n d .
Then, too, rock climbing, a passion of mine, k e p t me i n shape.
By the time I started the t r i p , I
was p h y s i c a l l y i n t o p form and
ready to go.
Q: How about your kayaking skills?
A: I t ' s funny, I was never i n a
kayak before 1982. Most sea kayake r s come i n t o t h e s p o r t from
Whitewater paddling. With me, i t
26
was s a i l i n g . However, s a i l i n g
isn't quite tough enough. For me,
even c r o s s i n g the P a c i f i c l a c k s
the emotional and physical appeal
of l o n g - d i s t a n c e p a d d l i n g . Sea
kayaking i s an e n t i r e l y new challenge. Of course, my Eskimo r o l l
isn't the best in the world, but I
have a g r e a t paddle brace t h a t
usually keeps me out of trouble.
Q: What were your thoughts when
you f i n a l l y put your boat i n a t
Punta Arenas?
A: I t was Christmas Day. The
m i l i t a r y wasn't working. About
300 people on the beach watched me
take off. Everyone was blowing
horns and laughing. I f e l t very
self-conscious. I j u s t wanted t o
get out of there as quickly as I
could.
Q: How much, and what type of
gear did you start out with?
A: I carried a month's supply of
food that was supposed to l a s t me
u n t i l the next town, a l l the usual
kayaking gear, two cameras, 20
r o l l s of f i l m and l o t s of warm
c l o t h e s , i n c l u d i n g a wet s u i t .
A l t o g e t h e r , I guess i t weighed
about 200 pounds. I e v e n t u a l l y
wore e v e r y t h i n g out — t e n t ,
s t o v e , s l e e p i n g bag, w a t e r p r o o f
bags and f i v e p a i r s of p a n t s . I
considered taking a hand-held
w a t e r d i s t i l l a t i o n u n i t , but
couldn't affort t h e 8 l , 3 0 0 p r i c e
t a g . As i t t u r n e d o u t , f i n d i n g
freshwater i s n ' t a problem.
Q: You thought the trip was going
to take s i x t o eight months — i t
took twelve. Why?
A: Right a t the beginning, I l o s t
a month i n t h e Magellan S t r a i t
fighting horrible storms and rough
s e a s . The f i r s t 23 days, I made
only 120 miles, ate almost a l l of
my food, and used up a l l my stove
fuel. Then a wisdom tooth started
giving me trouble, so I decided t o
return t o Punta Arenas. Thanks to
a wind a t my back, I got back t o
Punta Arenas i n j u s t three days.
Looking back, a l l those s t o r m s
were nothing compared to the six
hours s p e n t i n t h e d e n t i s t ' s
chair.
And t h e n I l o s t some t i m e i n
other ways. I rested three weeks
i n Valparaiso. And l a t e r I made a
two-week v i s i t t o Lake Titicaca.
Q: Did you ever get discouraged
early on and feel like quitting?
A: No, but I did get discouraged
many times. Once, near Valparaiso, I got flipped over backwards
in a 10-foot surf and got p r e t t y
shaken up. At t h a t p o i n t , I was
tempted to say to h e l l with i t and
take the bus. But some fishermen
helped me dry out my gear. They
said, "You should go on. J u s t
wait another day." The following
morning was calmer.
A c t u a l l y , I never had any
crawling-up-the-beach, l a s t - g a s p
e x p e r i e n c e s . Every day had i t s
highs and lows. I would wake up
t o a cold and r a i n y morning and
think, "Jesus, t h i s i s a s h i t t y
t h i n g t o be doing." But l a t e r ,
when the sun came out, with, everything warm and bright, I f e l t like
paddling the South American coast
for the rest of my l i f e .
Q: What was the most physically
demanding part of your trip?
A: A s t r e t c h i n n o r t h e r n Peru.
I paddled some 70-80 m i l e s t o
islands well offshore. This kept
me in my kayak for 20-30 hours a t
a stretch.
Q: Did you find these c r o s s i n g s
mentally trying?
A: No. I find l o n g - d i s t a n c e
kayaking stimulating. I'm r e a l l y
c o m f o r t a b l e offshore. Not many
kayakers a r e . Once, w i t h Steve
Landick along the coast of Baja,
we paddled 150 miles non-stop and
didn't get out of our boats for 55
hours. Experiences like that gave
me enormous confidence. Whenever
things got tough, I always thought
of that crossing. I t gave me the
strength t o continue a few hours
more.
Q: I f you had i t t o do over
again, would you go alone?
A: No, I'm s o r r y I d i d n ' t have a
partner. I originally planned t o
t r a v e l w i t h Tim Taylor, a good,
strong paddler, but the day before
we were t o l e a v e for C h i l e , he
came down with v i r a l pneumonia. I
had so much invested in the t r i p ,
I decided t o go ahead alone. As
i t turned out, I'm glad I did. I t
took Tim nearly a year to recover.
I t ' s i m p o s s i b l e t o say what
problems we might have had, but I
do know I experienced a lot more
anxiety going s o l a
Also, I l i k e a n o t h e r p e r s o n ' s
p e r c e p t i o n s . I t ' s n i c e t o share
thoughts and feelings with a symp a t h e t i c p a r t n e r . On my own, I
sought out people i n towns and
v i l l a g e s and s p e n t long hours
discussing my journey, history and
current events.
Q: What were some of your more
enjoyable moments?
A: One of the best times was in
southern Peru. I had several days
of 25-knot southerly tailwinds. I
put up a k i t e and r e a l l y screamed
a l o n g , a v e r a g i n g maybe s i x or
seven knots. The kayak surfed off
waves, f l y i n g c o m p l e t e l y out of
t h e w a t e r . I was even p a s s i n g
fishing boats. I t was glorious!
Q: Lake Titicaca — how was it?
A: The lake was calm, and the sky
was t h a t h i g h - a l t i t u d e b l u e .
There were no sounds. I t was like
p a d d l i n g i n space. Each i s l a n d
had Inca and pre-Inca ruins, and
ED GILLET who attempted kayaking the e n t i r e west coast of South America, pauses f o r photo i n Chile.
paddling among them was fascinating. The Indians are very friendly. My time there may have been
l i t e r a l l y and f i g u r a t i v e l y the
high point of the t r i p .
over backward i n 10-foot surf.
The sea-sock kept most of t h e
water out of the kayak, allowing
me t o jump back in with no problem
at all.
Q: Of the 4,500 m i l e s you paddled, what was the most interesting stretch?
A: Patagonia. You can't beat i t .
It's exquisite, beautiful, with
w i l d l i f e , w a t e r f a l l s , maze-like
channels and dense, m y s t e r i o u s
forests. For three weeks I didn't
see another human being.
Q: What sort of wildlife did you
see?
A: I paddled with dolphin a l o t ,
and that was fun. And I saw a l o t
of penguins in the south. Seals,
t o a Terns and albatross always
kept me company, wheeling around
my b o a t . I n P a t a g o n i a , I saw a
Q: Did some of the v i l l a g e r s
r e a l l y think your boat was some
type of OR)?
A: Yes. One woman, touching the
fiberglass said, 'Ufa, i t ' s metal.
I thought i t was wood." People
thought I poured fuel i n t o t h e
full access port to keep the engine running. Kids, t r y i n g t o
understand how I f i t i n t o t h e
kayak, frequently asked if I had
legs. Quite a few thought my boat
some h i g h - t e c h , m i l i t a r y s u b marine.
"Reaching around, I
grabbed hold of
someone's shotgun
and shoved it in his
stomache."
Q: You s t a r t e d out w i t h a .410
shotgun. What became of i t ?
A: I only c a r r i e d t h e gun i n
southern Chile since there was no
p l a c e t o buy food.
I usually
managed to shoot a duck or goose
every few days. Later on, towns
are usually only a few days' padd l e a p a r t , and I s o l d t h e gun.
Carrying a gun for self-defense in
South America i s insane. I t would
have the same e f f e c t on the
s t r e e t s of D e t r o i t — i t only
breeds h o s t i l i t y .
Q: layakers are known to capsize
on occasion — did you?
A: Yes. Several times very close
to shore. Sometimes the wave i s
so huge you can't g e t through.
You have t o r o l l over. There's
nothing e l s e t o do. Of c o u r s e ,
when the wave recedes, you're l e f t
lying in your kayak upside down in
the sand, scrambling like h e l l to
get out before the next wave r o l l s
in.
Q: I s there any one piece of safety equipment you would recommend?
A: I r e a l l y l i k e d t h e sea-sock
(nylon 'envelope' t h a t a t t a c h e s
around t h e c o c k p i t i n s i d e t h e
kayak). One time I was knocked
out of my boat, actually flipped
28
puma — a very rare sight. I was
only a hundred f e e t away, c l o s e
enough t o see the c o l o r of i t s
eyes, when my camera jammed Oh,
and there were r a t s in every harbor and p o r t — I can vouch f o r
that.
Q: How did the South American
trip compare to your other longdistance paddling journeys — from
Glacier Bay, Alaska, t o Seattle,
and along the coast of Baja,
Mexico?
A:
I t ' s funny.
Paddling t h e
South American coast was a l o t
h a r d e r than the Alaska t r i p b u t
probably easier than the San Diego
to Cabo San Lucas, Baja t r i p . But
South America was clearly the most
interesting. What made i t great,
and why I would want t o do i t
a g a i n , a r e the people. I r e a l l y
loved them. The crowds a t each
port were fantastic, especially in
C h i l e . So many people, so much
enthusiasm and encouragement.
Q: You had a scary moment or two.
What happened?
A: Well, I was shot a t i n Peru,
but only because Peruvians o c c a s i o n a l l y shoot a t you t o get
your attention. I t ' s quite effect i v e . A s e n t r y f i r e d on e i t h e r
side of my kayak after we got into
a small argument over where I
should land. I t h i n k i t was a
macho t h i n g , a kind of f a c e s a v i n g . There were a few o t h e r
t i m e s i n Peru when I woke up t o
find a gun b a r r e l inches from my
face. Border guards, police and
sentrys are on the a l e r t for t e r rorist activity.
And t h e n I was h i j a c k e d i n
northern Ecuador near the Colombia
border, n e a r l y a year into the
t r i p . The sad p a r t was t h a t i t
was o n l y two or t h r e e weeks t o
Panama. The weather was good, and
I was feeling strong.
I was p a d d l i n g i n mangrove
channels, with most of the coastal
t r a f f i c , and t h i s , unfortunately,
includes p i r a t e s , drug-runners and
hijackers. Looking for a place to
stop.
I p u l l e d i n t o a seedy
l i t t l e town in a mangrove swamp.
Immediately, 30-40 townspeople ran
out onto a rickety dock to greet
me. Some seemed drunk and oddly
hostile.
But a t t h a t t i m e , I
wasn't r e a l l y w o r r i e d , as I def i n i t e l y wasn't going ashore.
I had paddled off a few hundred
y a r d s when I h e a r d an outboard
motor behind me, and a boat with
s i x men p u l l e d up a l o n g s i d e .
Three of them stood up, p o i n t e d
shotguns a t me, and yelled, Tton't
move or we'll k i l l you!' For some
obscure reason, they b e l i e v e d
Ecuador was a t wax with Peru and
t h a t I must be a P e r u v i a n spy
because I had come from t h a t
direction.
They grabbed my bow l i n e and
towed me in. I t ' s horrible. One
f e e l s like an animal being led t o
slaughter. They dragged me onto
t h e m u d f l a t s n e a r town and s u b jected me to a horrid display of
macho h o s t i l i t y , waving t h e i r
p i s t o l s and other guns about.
Holding me a t gunpoint, they
searched the kayak for guns, marij u a n a or anything e l s e of use.
People screamed and grabbed at my
gear u n t i l , finally, I completely
lost patience. Reaching around, I
grabbed hold of someone's shotgun
and shoved i t in his stomach. I
then announced evenly that I was
l e a v i n g . "You can k i l l me, but
I'm leaving," I said. With that I
threw e v e r y t h i n g back i n t o the
b o a t and shoved off.
Looking
back, I asked one of them, "You
gonna k i l l me?" He shook his head
Q:
Did you decide
then t o end
the trip?
A: Yes. While I was being towed
to the beach, I remember feeling a
great flood of relief. I thought,
"My God, t h i s i s the end of t h e
trip. These guys have j u s t ended
i t for me. If I get out of t h i s ,
I'm going home." That episode was
just too clear a signal t o ignore.
Q: Do you think you took too many
risks?
surf line can be frightening.
Q: What did you miss most?
A: Traveling without checkpoints.
There's a f e e l i n g of peace and
s t a b i l i t y about the United States.
You get feed up w i t h p a p e r s
bureaucracy — especially the l a s t
four months in Peru and Ecuador.
Also, about that time I wanted t o
get away from the ocean and go
rock-climbing.
I think t h a t ' s
as we p a s s e d over the Andes and
thinking 'God, what a great t r i p .
I t ended j u s t when i t had to.'
Q: Although few are l i k e l y t o
follow i n your wake, what words of
advice can you offer someone contemplating a long sea kayak
voyage?
A:
Get some sea e x p e r i e n c e .
Learn something about navigation
and weather. Finally, become com-
GAME SUPPLEMENTED Mr. G i l l e t ' s d i e t on u n i n h a b i t e d s t r e t c h e s o f s o u t h e r n C h i l e .
A: No. I would have t u r n e d around a t a moment's n o t i c e i f I
thought my l i f e i n danger. I was
out t h e r e t o enjoy p a d d l i n g the
coast, that's a l l .
Q: S t i l l , were you ever in fear
of your life?
A: Getting hijacked was the l e a s t
f o r e s e e a b l e moment of the t r i p ,
the s c a r i e s t , i f you w i l l . But
aside from that, surf landings a t
night were the r e a l a d r e n a l i n boosters. Paddling around a point
and finding yourself inside a big
what I missed most—climbing.
Q: Were there any r e g r e t s you
didn't reach Panama, your original
destination?
A: Not really. I have no reason
t o second-guess my d e c i s i o n .
Sure, I sometimes feel I have to
j u s t i f y my actions when people ask
me why I d i d n ' t go a l l the way.
But when I was there, I knew when
t h e t r i p was over. No, I don't
have any regrets. Flying out of
Quito to Miami on New Year's Day,
I remember looking out the window
fortable with the sea. One way t o
get experience i s t o s a i l .
Q: What's next?
A: I have very l i t t l e experience
p a d d l i n g r i v e r s , and I want t o
become a p r o f i c i e n t W h i t e w a t e r
kayaker. Also, Tm thinking about
kayaking across the North Atlantic.
Starting a t Baffin Island,
I'd p a d d l e over t o Greenland,
Iceland, the Faeroes and finish up
i n S c o t l a n d . For a w h i l e , however, I'm going t o be busy writing
a book about my t r i p .
•
29
The
Yanomami
By Bonnie Henderson
I
n 1500, ten to twelve million
Indians inhabited the area
which i s now Brazil. Today some
200,000 remain. Twenty-six t r i b e s
have disappeared in j u s t the past
decade.
Deep in the Amazon rainforest,
along the b o r d e r between B r a z i l
and Venezuela, lives an Amerindian
group c a l l e d the Yanomami, cons i d e r e d t o be one of the o l d e s t
e x i s t i n g e t h n i c groups i n South
America and one of the l a r g e s t
s t i l l remaining i n the Amazon
Basin. Until the 1950s, the Yanomami had escaped c o n t a c t w i t h
m i s s i o n a r i e s , c o l o n i s t s , miners
and highway workers. But in three
short decades, the Yanomami have
been d i s c o v e r e d , e x p l o i t e d and
threatened with extinction.
Today, the Yanomami remain without
land r i g h t s .
Approximately 21,000 Yanomami
live in an area about the size of
West Virginia. Living in some 360
s c a t t e r e d v i l l a g e s , they hunt
forest animals, collect wild honey
and e a t the f r u i t of palm and
hardwood t r e e s . They c u l t i v a t e
p l a n t a i n s , papayas, sugar cane.
30
tobacco and cotton. And they die.
Measles, t u b e r c u l o s i s , v e n e r e a l
diseases and flu epidemics, i n t r o duced by f o r e i g n e r s i n the m i d 1970s, have done much to decimate
the population. Entire Yanomami
communities have been swept away,
survivers reduced to roadside begging and prostitution.
Much of what we know of Yanomami l i f e comes from the work of
anthropologist Napoleon A. Chagnon. I t bears l i t t l e resemblance
to popular notions of the peaceful
savage living i n i d y l l i c harmony
with his surroundings. The Yanomami d e s c r i b e t h e m s e l v e s as a
f i e r c e people and would l i k e
others t o think of them as such.
I n 1975 t r a d i t i o n a l Yanomami
lands were opened by the Brazilian
government for the construction of
t h e N o r t h e r n P e r i m e t e r Highway.
T h a t same y e a r , r a d i o a c t i v e
minerals and c a s s i t e r i t e (used in
making t i n ) were d i s c o v e r e d i n
Yanomami t e r r i t o r y . In 1977, the
government set aside 1 3 million
acres west of the Rio Branco for
c a t t l e r a n c h i n g , and i n 1980,
large gold d e p o s i t s were d i s covered on other Yanomami lands.
With a foreign debt of 60 b i l l i o n
dollars, the largest in the I h i r d
World, the B r a z i l i a n government
has publically gone on record as
saying t h a t I n d i a n s w i l l n o t be
allowed t o stand i n t h e way of
economic progress.
The situation of the Yanomami
i s most serious in Brazil. Yanomami t i t l e to traditional lands i s
vehemently opposed by gold and t i n
mining i n t e r e s t s . Recently, the
mining lobby sought to discredit a
v a c c i n a t i o n campaign funded by
i n t e r n a t i o n a l groups t h a t was
being carried out in collaboration
with Medecins du Monde (France).
Yanomami survival is in danger as
a result of infections introduced
by continuous i n v a s i o n by gold
miners. Local p o l i t i c i a n s alleged
that medical teams experiment on
Indians with malaria vaccines (no
such vaccines exist).
In another attempt to get a l l
foreigners expelled from the r e gion and to block the formation of
a Yanomomi Park, mining i n t e r e s t s
claimed that even the discussion
of a Yanomami N a t i o n poses a
threat to Brazilian nationalv
unity.
While authorities delay, miners
are invading the periphery i n ever
larger numbers. The Federal Terr i t o r y of Roraima has one of
B r a z i l ' s f a s t e s t growing populat i o n s . I n the p a s t few y e a r s ,
floods of placer miners have come
w i t h an eye on t h e m i n e r a l s on
Indian lands. In February 1985,
60 m i n e r s , d r e s s e d i n army u n i forms and some with guns, invaded
Surucucu. A u t h o r i t i e s removed
them five days l a t e r . Yet another
invasion of 3,000 miners is being
planned in Boa Vista, according t o
Survival I n t e r n a t i o n a l .
Local
businessmen, p o l i t i c i a n s and miners are pushing the government t o
'emancipate' Yanomami so that they
w i l l lose official protection.
Under B r a z i l i a n law, I n d i a n s
are treated as the equivalent of
legal minors, wards of the s t a t e .
Denied the full rights of c i t i z e n ship, t h e i r welfare depends almost
entirely on FUNAI (National Indian
Foundation). FUNAI i s n o t o r i o u s
for having done l i t t l e in the way
of protecting the Yanomami. Pro-
Indian groups in Brazil and abroad
have r e p e a t e d l y s u b m i t t e d comp l a i n t s t o t h e OAS and o t h e r
international organizations a l l e g ing human rights violations of the
Yanomami by the Brazilian government. Since 1968, no l e s s than 16
proposals t o e s t a b l i s h Yanomami
park lands have been presented t o
Brazilian authorities. The Comm i s s i o n for t h e C r e a t i o n of t h e
Yanomami Park (CCPY) has been
u r g i n g t h e Brazilian authorities
t o a c q u i r e a 9,000 h e c t a r land
a r e a for them. More r e c e n t l y ,
Senator Severo Gomes submitted a
similar proposal to the Brazilian
Congress.
S t i l l , with F0NAI discredited,
i t s powers seriously limited since
1983 and unable t o r e p r e s e n t
Indian i n t e r e s t s , the future for
Brazil's Indians looks bleak.
I
n Venezuela, the legal p o s i t i o n of the Yanomami t o t h e i r
t r a d i t i o n a l lands has grown i n c r e a s i n g l y p r e c a r i o u s with each
year. A major setback to Indian
r i g h t s took p l a c e i n 1983 when
Venezuela, in v i o l a t i o n of i t s own
c o n s t i t u t i o n , awarded t h e f i r s t
mineral concessions in i t s Amazon
t e r r i t o r y along the Upper Orinoco.
These c o n c e s s i o n s r e p r e s e n t e d a
radical reversal of the conservat i o n policy previously governing
t h e T e r r i t o r y . The c o n c e s s i o n s
were q u i e t l y made without prior
consultation with e i t h e r the Environment Ministry or the Department of Indian Affairs (Education
Ministry).
Then in 1984 Venezuela e l i m i n a t e d t h i s t h r e a t t o Yanomami
OPPOSITE: Yanomano
women w i t h baby. [ P h o t o s
c o u r t e s y o f Giovanni
Saffirio)
BELOW: Map
o f Yanomano t e r r i t o r y
B r e z i L-Venezuela
border.
VENEZUELA
...Yonoamo ..>''
BRAZIL
31
survival. Responding to international protests from such organizations as Survival International,
the Anthropology Resource Center,
the International Work Group on
Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), and
anthropologists worldwide, and no
doubt, taking into account the
fact that mining interests had
failed to pay consession fees, the
Minister of Mines revoked the huge
mining concessions in the Territorial Federal Amazonas, the home
of 12,500 Yanomami Indians.
Despite this reprieve, Yanomami
survival remains tenuous. Under
Venezuelan law, the Yanomami have
no legal title to their land.
This situation would, therefore,
not be helped by the creation of
national parks and forest reserves
since Indians would not be allowed
to hunt, cut wood or sell forest
products, such as surplus bananas.
Furthermore, once land becomes
state property, title can no longer be granted and all subsurface
minerals remain the property of
the state.
It is curious that the plight
of endangered people often receives less publicity than threats
of extinction to plants and animals. The Yanomami are in serious
danger. Unless more is done, and
done quickly, the Yanomami may not
exist in the year 2000.
•
Those interested in the Committee
for the Creation of the Yanomami
Park can write:
Commission for the Creation of the
Yanomami Park (CCPY)
Rua Sao Carlos do Pinhal 345
01333 Sao Paulo, Brazil
Anthropology Resource Center
Box 15266
Washington, DC 20002-0266
Survival International
2121 Decatur Place, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008
or
29 Craven Street
London WCN 5NT
England
The International Secretariat
of IWGIA
Frederiksholms Kanal 4A
EK-1220 Copenhagen K
Denmark
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of the Americas
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Guano Souv
By Jane Wilson
a
s I stood i n a Palcamayo
g u t t e r , gasping f o r b r e a t h
from the effort of getting my 2 5 kg rucksack off the roof of t h e
bus, I wondered — could t h i s
r e a l l y be c a l l e d a l i g h t w e i g h t
expedition? There were eleven of
us from Southampton U n i v e r s i t y
(United Kingdom), and we had come
t o study the T r i a s s i c l i m e s t o n e
formations of the Peruvian Andes
and to work on a v a r i e t y of cave
research projects.
But we ended up carrying much
more than was c o m f o r t a b l e . We
needed warm k i t to get us through
nighttime temperatures of - 1 0 C.
We also had to guard against suns t r o k e (as our medical o f f i c e r
knew from p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e ) ,
and finally, we needed equipment
to hack through jungle.
We made our f i r s t camp where
the resurgence water from La Cueva
del Huagapo mixes w i t h t h e Rio
Shaca, 3,500 m e t e r s (12,000 f t )
above sea level. Huagapo Cave i s
one of the longest cave systems in
South America — and one of the
most impressive I've ever seen.
We heard that when the underground r i v e r i s i n flood i t can
t a k e 22 h o u r s t o make t h e
kilometre-long t r i p to the Terminal Sump. We did i t in low water,
and unacclimatized and unfit as we
were, i t took l e s s than an hour.
Even then we found ourselves wading chest-deep in icy water, but
the s p e c t a c u l a r s t a l a c t i t e s and
c a l c i t e c u r t a i n s make i t a l l
worthwhile.
The cave entrance i s a popular
p i c n i c s p o t , so whenever we
emerged, chilled t o the marrow and
dripping wet, onlookers bombarded
us with questions — Is there any
oxygen? How deep does i t go? Why
are you wet?
Just up the road, an i n s i g n i f i cant-looking entrance l e a d s i n t o
La Sima de Milpo, the deepest cave
i n South America. The opening had
c o l l a p s e d , and i t took g r e a t
effort to shift boulders and gain
entry.
Huagapo and Milpo had been
surveyed by the 1972 British exp e d i t i o n to the Peruvian k a r s t
( B o w s e r , R.J., e t a l . J . B r i t .
S p e l e o l . A s s o c , November 1973,
No. 52, l-34pp). Both were found
biologically unremarkable, so we
spent most of July poking around
in search of other cave systems.
The most interesting was La Grata
de Pacuy Huagen, about two and a
half hours walk west of Palcamayo.
This i s a tortuous system with 571
m e t e r s of p a s s a g e s , b a r e l y 40
centimeters high in places. There
were t i m e s we p r o g r e s s e d by
squirming flat-out.
This system
contrasted dramatically with the
40-m high passages inside Huagapo
Cave.
The l o c a l s regarded t h e a r e a
w i t h some s u s p i c i o n . They p r o b a b l y connect the cave and env i r o n s somehow w i t h the nearby
p r e - I n c a n f o r t and b u r i a l s . I n
the e n t r a n c e crawlway, we e n countered a selection of mammalian
bones — presumably luncheon l e f t overs. Further in, potsherds lay
scattered about. And beyond two
awkward and slippery climbs led to
the bones of what I guessed to be
a jaguarnndi — a small wild cat
similar t o the one that must have
been r e s p o n s i b l e for t h e f r e s h
f e l i n e footprints beside the
underground r i v e r in another part
of the cave. I wondered why such
animals should wish to go caving.
There i s no food or other sign of
l i f e i n s i d e except for the
occasional polydesmid millipede —
a disappointment to t h i s b i o speleologist.
As i t was, we spent our time in
Palcamayo acclimatizing, catching
diseases (chicken pox, bronchitis
and Montezuma's revenge), beating
the locals a t volleyball, eating
guinea pig, and working on other
projects. We studied the n u t r i t i o n of t h e l o c a l c h i l d r e n and
telecommunications. Our psychiat r i s t , Tony White, examined the
value of Diamox (acetetazolamide)
in avoiding acute mountain sickness (soroche) and compared i t t o
a placebo. Diamox seemed t o r e duce many of the u n p l e a s a n t
physical effects
(especially
nausea, l e t h a r g y , headache and
insomnia), but did not completely
p r e v e n t the confusion and the
impaired psychological performance
associated with rapid ascents t o
over 3,000 m e t r e s .
Some argue
t h a t because the drug masks the
warning symptoms of malignant
mountain sickness i t should only
be used w i t h c a r e . (A. J . White,
'Aviation Space and Environmental
Medicine,* 1984, pp. 598-603)
W
e also collected lichens and
invertebrates for the B r i t i s h
Museum, as w e l l as seeds t o be
s t o r e d i n a v a s t deep f r e e z e a t
the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew.
The p l a n i s t o c o l l e c t seeds of
endangered species. These are to
be s t o r e d for hundreds of y e a r s
u n t i l they can be germinated in a
suitable environment. While collecting the 25,000 seeds of each
33
STEVE GONTAREK
in Devil's
Larderr a
chamber
o f Cueva d e l
Nido de
Guacamayo,
near T i n g o
Maria.
p l a n t s p e c i e s Kew needs t o conserve genetic diversity, we often
got t o c h a t t i n g w i t h t h e l o c a l
people. They betrayed no surprise
a t our i n t e r e s t i n the p l a n t s
since most had some use to humans,
e.g. an a t t r a c t i v e spiky bush with
orange composite f l o w e r s was
reputed t o c u r e o l d m e n ' s
waterworks troubles. Unfortunately, none of the male members of
the expedition admitted to incontinence, thus depriving the medics
of an o p p o r t u n i t y t o t e s t the
p l a n t ' s e f f i c a c y . One p l a n t i s
said t o stop c a c t u s p r i c k s from
becoming infected, another t r e a t s
all "ladies' troubles."
Our
medical officer began to think her
vast, comprehensive array of West e r n medicines somewhat s u p e r fluous.
a
s the end of July arrived, we
t o r e o u r s e l v e s away from
another fiesta and headed northeast to follow up leads provided
by our compatriots from Imperial
College. On a bus loaded w i t h
onions, we descended into the heat
and humidity of Tingo Maria, j u s t
600 m e t e r s above sea l e v e l . I t
was p l e a s a n t to be i n a c l i m a t e
where we could do without sleeping
bags and thermal underwear.
We e v e n t u a l l y l o c a t e d an
i d y l l i c campsite where the Rio
34
Monzon s k i r t s t h e base of the
Bella Durmiente limestone massif.
We were only about a k i l o m e t r e
from a world famous o i l b i r d cave
— La Cueva de l o s Lechusas. A
French caving expedition (Orville,
M„ Spelunca, P a r i s , 1977, No. 3 ,
pp.98-102) that v i s i t e d t h i s area
claimed t h a t the r i v e r which
w e l l e d up from the base of the
massif (out of a cave system that
appears to drain much of the outcrop) was u n d i v a b l e , even w i t h
scuba gear. So i t was p l e a s i n g
for us t o accomplish what turned
out to be an easy two-meter dive
into a p r e t t y grotto decorated by
fungus gnat larvae ( M y c e t o p h i l i dae). We c h r i s t e n t e d i t Fungus
Cave. The water inside was flowing fast, and i t was d i f f i c u l t to
find handholds in the gloom. Not
f a r i n , t h e cave sloped down,
l e a v i n g l e s s than 3 cm of a i r space, so I turned back a t t h a t
p o i n t . But given more time and
t h e r i g h t gear, I am convinced
t h a t the cave could be e n t e r e d
through t h i s 15-meter-wide resurgence.
Whilst in Tingo Maria we made
c o n t a c t w i t h Dr. Daniel J u a r e z
Laremas, Cesar Mazabel Torres and
s e v e r a l o t h e r b i o l o g i s t s a t the
A g r i c u l t u r a l U n i v e r s i t y of the
Selva. They gave us a great deal
of help and showed us some oilbird
r o o s t s , so t h a t I was a b l e t o
complete a s h o r t s t u d y on the
feeding ecology of these big-eyed
hook-billed birds that the locals
c a l l ' o w l s ' ( l e c h u s a s ) . This i s
one of the few p l a c e s i n South
America where o i l b i r d s or
'guacharos' ( S t e a t o r n i s c a r i p e n s i s ) can be found e a s i l y . They
are a remarkable, distant r e l a t i v e
of the nightjar and the only New
World b i r d s which n a v i g a t e by
e c h o - l o c a t i o n , e m i t t i n g a loud
noise like a typewriter. The birds
roost and nest in caves by day (on
ledges inaccessible t o poachers)
and f l y out a t dusk t o feed on
palm and other f r u i t s . They swallow t h e i r food whole, regurgitating the indigestible p i t s onto the
cave f l o o r . G e n e r a t i o n s of o i l b i r d s have thus b u i l t up mountains
of palm s e e d s , some perhaps 15
metres h i g h Though the seeds do
germinate, they soon perish without l i g h t , but they s t i l l provide
an abundance of food for a host of
detritus-feeding invertebrates.
During t h e r e m a i n d e r of our
time i n the Tingo Maria a r e a we
d i s c o v e r e d a few s m a l l caves of
biological i n t e r e s t but t h e i r
passageways were choked with c a l c i t e t h a t b u i l d s up r a p i d l y i n
t h i s r e g i o n of high r a i n f a l l
(3,170 mm annually).
The longest, La Cueva del Nido
La Cueva del Nido de Guacamayo
Departamento de Tingo Maria
76° 14'07"W
09° 17'58"S
Side Entrance
Pilch Entrant
de Guacamayo (Macaw's Nest Cave)
was also the foulest. I t housed a
large p o p u l a t i o n of f r u g i v o r o u s
bats (Carollia p e r s p i c i l l a t a ) r e sponsible for numerous acrid deposits s t r a t e g i c a l l y placed for
maximum soiling effect.
One of the most i n t e r e s t i n g
sections of the cave is the chamber which one e n t e r s by ducking
down into the water because of an
extremely low roof (20 cm of a i r space). This chamber, w i t h i t s
columns and grey formations coming
out of the s t i l l water, i s reminiscent of a scaled-down Renaissance
church, but as we moved around in
the thigh-deep water, the v i s t a
changed. Aedes mosquitos s u r rounded us, t h e i r larvae wriggled
in the water. Rafts of bat guano,
buoyed by methane, bubbled up to
t h e s u r f a c e , and l a r g e b a t s
brushed past us. We f e l t as if we
had entered a bat-infested septic
tank!
The bats venture no deeper into
the cave system than this chamber,
t h u s t h e c h a r a c t e r of t h e cave
changes when one passes into the
Ttevils Larder,' a large s t e r i l e looking mud-floored chamber with
some very fine c a l c i t e formations.
B a t s have a bad r e p u t a t i o n .
F o l k s w o r r y about them g e t t i n g
caught in t h e i r h a i r (though bats
n a v i g a t e t o o s k i l l f u l l y t o make
such a blunder).
Bats are blamed
for rabies, and they are standard
props i n horror movies and manditory residents of haunted houses.
But on closer inspection, these
35
SOUTHAMPTON E x p e d i t i o n : ( r e a r L. t o r.) I a n Strange, Dave Kay, A l i s o n
Denham, Mandy P a t t o n , J u l i a n Pay n e , Dr. Tony W h i t e [ f r o n t ] S t e v e
Gontarek, Dermot M a r t i n , Jane W i l s o n, Mary W i l s o n , Nicky H a l l i d a y .
delicate creatures are rather a t t r a c t i v e and c e r t a i n l y do n o t
deserve such bad press. High on
the e v o l u t i o n a r y t r e e , they a r e
i n t e l l i g e n t and q u i t e p r o b a b l y
able to communicate to t h e i r f e l lows t h e l o c a t i o n of t h e b e s t
feeding places. They have adapted
t o the vast range of habitats i n
the Mew World. The Glossaphaga
s o r i c i n a have enormously long
tongues with papillae on the end
for t i c k l i n g up n e c t a r .
The
N o c t i l i o b a t s s n a t c h f i s h from
rivers, and there are species of
fruit feeders, i n s e c t c r u n c h e r s ,
frog e a t e r s , and, of c o u r s e , t h e
stealthy vampire bats.
M
y main project was t o determine the diseases and paras i t e s harboured by any bats I encountered. 1 took blood samples
t o s c r e e n for r a b i e s and looked
for insect-borne blood p a r a s i t e s :
trypanosomes (Chagas disease), the
m a l a r i a s and the l e i s h m a n i a s .
South American leishmaniasis
causes ' u t a ' and ' v e r r u g a ' :
the
mutilating sores of t h i s d e b i l i t a t i n g c o n d i t i o n a r e even p o r trayed in Inca pottery. The bat
m a l a r i a s which I found i n some
blood smears are not transmissible
t o man, and none carried rabies.
I also collected specimens of each
bat species for the B r i t i s h Museum
and the Museo de Historia Natural
'Javier Prado' in Lima.
Our medical officer conducted a
s t u d y of h i s t o p l a s m o s i s , a
respiratory disease. The victim
often suffers l i t t l e more than a
36
cold or mild flu symptoms, but the
disease sometimes spreads throughout the body and i s occasionally
f a t a l . (Some suggest that i t was
histoplasmosis that infected the
discoverers of Tutankhamun's tomb
and o f f e r t h i s t o e x p l a i n the
' c u r s e of the Pharaohs.')
We
collected guano samples from bat
and o i l b i r d roosts and other unsavoury niches. The fungus h i s t o plasmosis grows in a yeast-like
form i n human and animal lungs
and as a mycelium in b a t and
bird excreta. We cultured these
samples back in London, but Histoplasma capsulatum never developed.
On our r e t u r n home, we a l l
endured i n t r a d e r m a l s k i n t e s t s
("Not more shots!") t o e s t a b l i s h
whether we had been exposed t o
histoplasmosis. La Cueva de los
Lechusas i s suspected t o harbour
histoplasmosis. Local v i s i t o r s t o
the cave are frightened of catching t h i s benign disease and wear
handkerchiefs over t h e i r noses t o
protect themselves.
But none of us became i l l
(despite intimate contact with
guano!), and no s k i n t e s t was
positive.
Some South African
caves (where, as i n Mexico, t h e
disease can be p a r t i c u l a r l y malignant) a r e said t o be i n f e c t i v e
only during certain seasons. Perhaps t h i s i s also true of caves in
lowland Peru.
We greatly enjoyed our time in
Peru, and we got on surprisingly
w e l l as a group. We c o l l e c t e d
valuable data and many specimens,
including a selection of inverte-
brates new to science. S t i l l , i t
was a b i t d i s a p p o i n t i n g n o t t o
have discovered 'caverns measurel e s s t o man' leading us 'down t o a
sunless sea.'
Back in Lima, between v i s i t s t o
various m i n i s t r i e s to secure export permits for my specimens, I
had a chance t o look a t a key
reference by Resell (Resell, C.G.,
Cavernas, G r u t a s y Cuevas d e l
Peru, T a l l e r e s G r a f i c o s , Lima,
1965). I a l s o saw some maps of
t h e k a r s t in t h e n o r t h of Peru
near Cajamarca, and I l e f t r e g r e t t i n g t h e l a c k of t i m e t o t r a v e l
n o r t h t o i n v e s t i g a t e the many
d i s a p p e a r i n g r i v e r s which must
s u r e l y s i n k i n t o major new cave
systems. The 1984 Imperial College
Caving Club Peru Expedition confirmed t h i s (see Caves and Caving.
Bull. B r i t . Cave Res. Assoc., Feb.
1985, No. 2 7 , pp. 16-18). Ah
well, b e t t e r luck next time!
I
Members of the Southampton Univers i t y Exploration Society Peru Exp e d i t i o n 1982: A l i s o n Denham,
Steve Gontarek, N i c k i H a l l i d a y ,
David Kay (who drew the cave surveys), Dermot Martin, Mandy Patton, J u l i a n Payne, I a n Stronge,
Tony White, Jane Wilson (leader)
and Mary Wilson (medical officer).
Acknowledgements: Many people
helped us and many companies supported us. These are l i s t e d fully
i n t h e E x p e d i t i o n Report. The
G i l c h r i s t E d u c a t i o n a l and W. A.
Cadbury T r u s t s gave us g r a n t s
which covered some equipment and
helped us produce our i l l u s t r a t e d
96-page E x p e d i t i o n Report (two
pounds s t e r l i n g or US&4 p o s t f r e e ) . For t h i s and any f u r t h e r
information on the project, cont a c t Miss J. M. Wilson, 81 Tennyson Road, Portswood, Southampton
S02 1BG, United Kingdom.
TAXLESS WHIP-SCORPION common
caves around T i n g o M a r i a .
in
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37
WORDS FOR THE WISE
D i c c i o n a r i o Quechua: E s t r u c t u r a
semantica del Quechua cochabambino
contemporaneo, by Joaquin Eerrero
and F e d e r i c o Sanchez de Lozada.
Cochabamba, 19©, 581 pp., available from : Guillermo C a r r e r o ,
CEFCO, Casilla Correo 654, Cochabamba, Eol ivia.
Diccionario Tri-lingue Quechua de
Cusco: Quechua-English-Castellano.
by Esteban and Nancy Hornberger,
second e d i t i o n , 1983, 598 pp.,
available from: 257 South Farragut
Terrace, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19139.
D i c c i o n a r i o R e l i g i o s o Aymara,
Semillas I I , by Fans Van Den Eerg,
1985, 280 pp., i l l u s . , a v a i l a b l e
from: Centre de Estudios Teoldgicos de la Amazonia (CETA), Putumayo 355, Iquitos, Peru, or I n s t i t u t e de Estudios Aymaras (IDEA),
Apartado 295, Puno, P e r i
Although I'm an e n t h u s i a s t i c
student of Quechua and am often
asked to recommend a dictionary, I
find i t as d i f f i c u l t t o suggest
buying just one as i t would be for
me to have j u s t one cookbook. No
single dictionary contains a l l the
valuable information available.
I t ' s as rewarding t o compare v a r i ous d e f i n i t i o n s as i t i s t o
compare v e r s i o n s of a r e c i p e .
J u s t as I have a whole shelf of
cookbooks, I have a whole shelf of
Quechua dictionaries, too. However, with Quechua, I find that I
t u r n most f r e q u e n t l y t o a few
recent acquisitions.
One of my f a v o r i t e s i s the
38
D i c c i o n a r i o Quechua: E s t r u c t u r a
semantica del quechua cochabambino
contemporaneo by Joaquin Herrero
and F e d e r i c o Sanchez de Lozada.
This i s a very l a r g e , complex,
ambitious and expensive work which
i s e s s e n t i a l for any s t u d e n t of
Bolivian Quechua. Even l i t e r a t e
n a t i v e speakers would p r o b a b l y
find interesting points for d i s c u s s i o n . Between them, t h e authors have decades of experience
t e a c h i n g Quechua and compiling
teaching materials. Their d i c t i o n a r y i s t h e f r u i t of many
years' work.
As t h e t i t l e i m p l i e s , t h i s
l e x i c o n r e n d e r s words and p a r t i c l e s in the Cochabamba dialect
i n t o B o l i v i a n Spanish. D e f i n i tions are not mere l i s t s of rough
Spanish e q u i v a l e n t s as i n many
older dictionaries. Quechua synonyms or variants are often l i s t e d ,
helping readers to determine
whether they have missed subtlet i e s of meaning when similar forms
appear to be used interchangeably.
Antonyms are also included. Postpositions are discussed, so that
speakers can understand t h e i r
meanings and make c o r r e c t and
i n t e l l i g i b l e combinations w i t h
roots.
The Herrero-Sanchez de Lozado
d i c t i o n a r y , l i k e those of the
I n s t i t u t o de E s t u d i o s Peruanos,
gives examples of each word in one
or more sentences. Key words are
put in i t a l i c s , making them easy
t o s p o t , i n s p i t e of t h e l a n guage's complex i n f l e c t i o n s and
the book's very small type. Each
Quechua sentence i s t r a n s l a t e d
into Spanish. Through these sentences, cultural information is
r e v e a l e d i n a n a t u r a l manner
through informative vignettes of
traditional life.
There a r e between 11-12,000
entries.
(I haven't t r i e d t o
count them, and the authors seem
u n c e r t a i n . ) I n a l l , t h e r e are
approximately 30,000 definitions,
making t h i s one of the l a r g e s t
Quechua dictionaries available.
The w r i t e r s acknowledge their
debt due t o t h e i r p r e d e c e s s o r s ,
i n c l u d i n g the c o l o n i a l p r i e s t s
Domingo de Santo Thomas and Diego
Gonzalez, as well as more recent
scholars — Jorge Lira, Luis Cordero and J e s u s Lara. N e v e r t h e l e s s , H e r r e r o and Sanchez de
Lozada a r e c a r e f u l t o avoid
archaisms and s t a t e that they have
personally verified that a l l words
included a r e i n c u r r e n t use as
defined. Ethnohistorians, theref o r e , need t o e x e r c i s e c a u t i o n
when employing t h i s d i c t i o n a r y .
While Quechua i s a f a i r l y conservative language, there have been
s h i f t s of meaning, and s p e c i f i c
sources are not credited.
Because of the high degree of
c o m p r e h e n s i b i l i t y between the
Cochabamba and Cusco d i a l e c t s , and
a certain comprehensibility
between Cochabamba and Ayacucho
(Chanca) Quechua, people working
in southern and central Peru w i l l
find t h i s dictionary useful.
It
employs the o f f i c i a l B o l i v i a n
orthography which i s easy to read.
A companion Spanish-Quechua volume
i s needed and should be appearing
soon.
Since a reference book w i l l be
h e a v i l y used, i t i s a p p r o p r i a t e
t h a t t h i s dictionary is a sturdy
hardback, with sewn binding. On
t h e o t h e r hand, t h e q u a l i t y of
printing i s uneven, and i t s size
and weight make i s a poor choice
to carry while traveling.
For English-speaking backpackers doing the Inca Trail and other
Cusco area sights, I would choose
the Hornberger and Hornberger t r i lingual dictionary. Although not
as compact a s t h e i n d i v i d u a l
volumes i n t h e I n s t i t u t o de
E s t u d i o s Peruanos s e r i e s , i t i s
s t i l l light enough t o carry comfortably, costs less than twenty
d o l l a r s , i s easy t o use and contains some useful words not found
i n o t h e r s m a l l l e x i c o n s . The
Hornbergers are l i n g u i s t s of higL.
repute who can take pride in t h e i r
dictionary, ir\A even stay-at-home
scholars w i l l find i t useful.
There is a f a i r degree of overlap between Quechua and Aymara —
both in v o c a b u l a r y and i n the
areas where the two languages are
spoken. One of the most i n t e r e s t ing new publications i n Aymara i s
Hans Van Den Berg's D i c c i o n a r i o
R e l i g i o s o Aymara. As t h e t i t l e
suggests, this dictionary examines
the terms used by Indians in the
a c t i v e e x p r e s s i o n of t h e i r f o l k
Catholicism. Consequently, t h i s
i s not a d i c t i o n a r y for the
general traveler, but i t i s very
useful for anthropologists, missionaries (both Catholic and Protestant) and students of folklore.
Aymara terms are broken down and
t r a n s l a t e d into Spanish.
A
f o l l o w i n g p a r a g r a p h or more
explains the religious context of
each term. When a picture seems
better than quite a few words, an
explanatory drawing i s provided.
These drawings are crude, but they
serve.
The Hans Van Den Berg work has
a feature which almost a l l other
dictionaries lack. When terms are
d i s c u s s e d i n a book o r a r t i c l e
known t o the author, a reference
to t h i s publication i s made. This
good, scholarly practice l e t s the
dedicated reader check some of Van
Den Berg's s o u r c e s , and h e l p s t o
put words in a full, ethonographic
or h i s t o r i c a l context. A r a t h e r
lengthy b i b l i o g r a p h y i s c o n s e q u e n t l y included w i t h t h i s d i c t i o n a r y , and t h a t , i n i t s e l f , i s
no bad t h i n g .
A "Vocabulario
Castellano-Aymara" and an "Indice
Analitico" make cross-referencing
easy.
— Monica Barnes
Dept. of Anthropology
Cornell University
Ithaca, NT 14853
Denver Office, $12.
Along w i t h Conquest of t h e
Inca and Antisuyo, t h i s book w i l l
be r e q u i r e d r e a d i n g for anyone
h i k i n g i n t o Vilcabamba. N o t e worthy are the remarkably detailed
sketches of ruins and c i t y plans,
as well as the useful observations
on travel in the area.
Vincent R. Lee, t h e a u t h o r ,
wrote us of how he came to write
the bonk:
Writing a book was the furthest thing from my mind in
t h e f a l l of 1984 when I r e turned from my second expedit i o n to the Vilcabamba region
of Peru.
S t i l l , as a p r a c t i c i n g
a r c h i t e c t , I'd found t h a t I
c o u l d n ' t r e s i s t the temptat i o n t o draw maps, plans and
elevations of the many fasc i n a t i n g r u i n s i t e s I'd encountered in the Vilcabamba.
Now, i t turned out that those
drawings were among the best
(and in some cases the only)
ones a v a i l a b l e documenting
t h e Inca presence i n t h a t
remote r e g i o n and were of
interest to a surprisingly
wide v a r i e t y of people.
Dr. John H. Rowe, Director
of t h e I n s t i t u t e of Andean
Studies a t Berkeley and his
wife, P a t r i c i a J. Lyon, herself another renowned anthrop o l o g i s t , were w o n d e r f u l l y
enthusiastic about what I'd
done. " I t ' s important," they
s a i d , "and needs t o be put
i n t o u s a b l e form and made
available t o others i n t e r e s t ed i n the Vilcabamba." When
I protested t h a t my methods
might not be up t o s c i e n t i f i c
snuff, t h e y laughed, asking
who e l s e was doing what I
was, l e t alone doing i t
b e t t e r ? "State your methods
and c l e a r l y s e p a r a t e f a c t
from speculation," they said,
" t h a t way no one can f a u l t
you for misrepresentation or
be i n a d v e r t a n t l y m i s l e d by
your material."
In the end, I decided to do
my book as I'd always done my
expeditions: travel light,
move f a s t and go cheap. I'd
SKETCH o f the r u i n s
o f V i t c o s from
S i x p a c Manco
[This review i s based upon one
published i n the L a t i n American
Indian Literatures Journal, Geneva
College, Beaver F a l l s , PA 15010.]
SIXPAC
Sixpac Manco: T r a v e l s Among t h e
Incas by Vincent Lee, 1985, 48
(very l a r g e ) p a g e s , 6 b l a c k and
white photos, 11 maps. Available
through: Vincent Lee, Wilson, WY
83014 (after September 1, 1986) or
the South American Explorers Club,
Kdli
•rice •
%
Tea?
*•« .
39
always thought of "writers"
as people who d i d n ' t work,
and so had l o t s of t i m e t o
s i t around and "write." To
you w r i t e r s , I apologize and
o f f e r S i x p a c Manco a s
penance. I t was a project,
compared t o which bashing
about i n the j u n g l e comes
off as extended R and R.
N o * on s a l e — J i m B a r t L e ' s Parque N a c i o n a l Huascaran. F o r t y pages
o f s t r i k i n g p h o t o s end t e x t about Peru's C o r d i l l e r a B l a n c a , one o f
the w o r l d ' s most m a g n i f i c e n t m o u n t a i n ranges.
P r i c e : $6.50 t o
members, $7.95 t o non-members. W r i t e South American E x p l o r e r s C l u b ,
1510 York S t . , #214, Denver, CO 80206.
THE LIMA TIMES
Peru's English Language Weekly
Carabaya 928-304, Lima
TUaSTuutet
T h e A l t e r n a t i v e G u i d e to
Travel & Leisure
Health Holidays •
Working
Overseas • Meeting People •
Deals • Grass Roots
Travel
Bradt
Publications
BACKPACKING IN PERU & BOLIVIA: Hike the original pre-lnca and
Inca trails to Machu Picchu, Chavin
and Coroico. Into the Cordillera
Blanca, through the "Switzerland
of Peru," across the Andes and
down into the jungles. (3rd Edition)
BACKPACKING IN VENEZUELA,
COLOMBIA & ECUADOR
BACKPACKING IN MEXICO
CENTRAL A M E R I C A
These Titles and More
from Bradt Enterprises:
Available
41 N o r t o f t Rd
C h a l f o n t S t . PetBr
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WRITING ON THE WALL
Mural Painting in Ancient Peru, by
Duccio Bonavia, t r a n s l a t e d by
P a t r i c i a J . Lyon, 1985, I n d i a n a
University Press, $57.50.
This i s the f i r s t English edit i o n of R i c c h a t a Q u e l l c c a n i and
contains 30% more material — new
murals and important discoveries,
as w e l l as i n f o r m a t i o n on o t h e r
paintings that has come to light
s i n c e t h e Spanish e d i t i o n was
printed i n 1974. This i s t r u l y a
marvelous book — coffee t a b l e
s t y l e with substance.
Bonavia has
documented
t h o r o u g h l y what can be known of
2,000 y e a r s of P e r u v i a n mural
painting, an a r t form largely left
unstudied u n t i l now. Few murals
s u r v i v e d t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of the
Spanish and C o l o n i a l p e r i o d s .
More recent discoveries disappear
in only a few years after exposure
t o the elements.
Some murals
i l l u s t r a t e d in Bonavia's book no
l o n g e r e x i s t . O t h e r s , not even
the author has seen.
Bonavia has m e t i c u l o u s l y r e corded here a l l Peruvian murals so
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living
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far discovered, a task t h a t led t o
numerous encounters with huaqueros
( l o o t e r s ) — frequently the only
people t o have seen some of the
murals b e f o r e they crumbled t o
dust.
I t i s quite sad t o hear of the
loss of these r e m a r k a b l e a d o r n ments. I remember seeing a large
s n a r l i n g head p a i n t e d on an a n cient wall at a s i t e called Garagay near Lima. I n the monotone
desert, the vivid blues and greens
made a s t a r t l i n g impression.
It
i s perhaps even more s t a r t l i n g
then t o l e a r n from Bonavia t h a t
many P e r u v i a n p r e - C o l u m b i a n
s t r u c t u r e s were p l a s t e r e d over
with colored clays — e.g. there
i s evidence t h a t t h e Temple of
V i r a c o c h a was p a i n t e d r e d ,
Pikillaqta (near Cuzco) white, and
Machu Picchu red, orange and
white. Imagine that!
Varner and J e a n n e t t e Johnson
Varner. U n i v e r s i t y of Oklahoma
Press, 1983.
A colorful history of the int r o d u c t i o n of dogs t o the New
World, s t a r t i n g w i t h Columbus'
second voyage. P u r p o r t e d l y sent
over to t e s t strange and p o t e n t i a l l y poisonous food, man's b e s t
Miners of the Red Mountain: Indian
Labor i n P o t o s i , 1545-1650 by
Peter Bakewell, The University of
New Mexico P r e s s , Albuquerque,
87131, $19.95, 1985.
NEW & NOTEWORTHY
The Panama Hat T r a i l : A Journey
from South America by Tom Miller,
William Morrow and Co., Inc., New
York, 1986, R15.95.
I n t e r e s t i n g o b s e r v a t i o n s of
Ecuador.
The Nazca Lines: A New Perspective
on t h e i r O r i g i n and Meaning by
Johan Reinhard, second e d i t i o n
1986,
E d i t o r i a l Los P i n o s
E.I.R.L., C a s i l l a 5147, Lima 18,
Peru.
An intriguing analysis of the
Nazca Lines in terms of mountain
f e r t i l i t y concepts found widely
throughout t h e Andes.
Well
illustrated.
Apus and Incas: A Cultural Walking
and Trekking Guide t o Cuzco by
Charles Brod. Available t h i s f a l l
through the South American Exp l o r e r s Club.
Mr. Brod walked over 500 miles
i n t h e Cuzco a r e a and h a s
assembled 16 descriptions of w e l l known and l e s s e r - k n o w n t r a i l s .
This guide covers the Inca T r a i l ,
t r e k s i n the Vilcabamba and
Vilcanota ranges, and seven daywalks around Cuzco and the Sacred
Valley. Brod also includes information on natural history, travel
t i p s and a d e t a i l e d s e c t i o n on
travel t o Manu National Park.
Dogs of the Conquest by John Grier
ed by Survival International, 2121
Decatur Place NW, Washington, DC
20008, 168 p p . , SlO.
Covers Chile, Brazil, Ecuador,
Venezuela, Nicaragua, I n d i a and
Nambia.
Plants of the Galapagos Islands:
Field Guide and Travel
Journal by Eileen K.
Schofield, 159 pp.,
16 color, 87 i l l u s . .
Universe Books,
381 Park Avenue
South, New York,
NY 10016, fclO.95.
This i s a beautiful and well organized pocket guide.
For a l l Galapagos
t r a v e l e r s who want
>K
t o identify plants
;!,
^€#;
and study the
" i s l a n d s ' ecology.
from Modern Dog Encyclopaedia
by Henry Davis Stackpole Books. 1970
friend (or a t least in t h i s case
t h e S p a n i a r d s ' b e s t f r i e n d ) was
soon t e r r o r i z i n g and subduing
native populations.
Aymara Leadership v i d e o t a p e by
Hubert Smith, 30 minutes. Availa b l e through Hubert Smith, Box
150, Selma, OR 97538, Tel:(503)
597-2142.
By t h e same filmmaker who
produced S p i r i t P o s s e s s i o n of
Alejandro Mamani. A warm look a t
an Aymara I n d i a n l e a d e r u s i n g
t r a d i t i o n a l and personal wisdom t o
lessen conflict in a Bolivian
town.
An End t o Laughter? Tribal Peoples
and Economic Development, publish-
Up the Creek: An Amazon Adventure
by John Harrison, Bradt Publicat i o n s , UK. and Hippocrene Books,
Inc., New York, 1986, 5.95 Pounds
S t e r l i n g paperback (10.95 h a r d back), U.S. price unknown.
Travelogue of a canoe t r i p on
Brazil's J a r i River.
V i t a l S o u l s : Bororo Cosmology,
Natural Symbolism and Shamanism by
Christopher Crocker, 1985, Univers i t y of Arizona Press.
The I s l a n d of South Georgia by
Robert Headland. Cambridge Univers i t y Press, 293 pp.
A d e f i n i t i v e work on t h i s r e mote s o u t h A t l a n t i c i s l a n d t h a t
should be r e a d by anyone going
there.
TR12KPE1UJ
THE ONLY WAY TO SEE PERU. . . GET YOUR BOOTS O N
•
•
•
•
•
Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Cordillera Blanca
Cordillera Huayhuash
Cordillera Vilcanota
Galapagos, and more. . .
AND TREK IT
Andean
Guides
&
Outfitters
Contact: TrekPeru, U.S. Office, 1510 York Street #234, Denver CO 80206
Tel: (303) 320-0388x3. Or in Peru: Casilla 5194, Lima 18; Tel: 466245.
LETTERS
CAVING COMPANIONS
I am currently engaged in exp l o r i n g the c e n t r a l and e a s t e r n
cordilleras of Peru for caves on a
reconnaissance s c a l e .
I have
identified several strongly k a r s t ified areas which I hope to follow
up on during the summers of 1986
and 1987.
I would welcome the company of
any strong and m o t i v a t e d c a v e r s
who might be interested in locating new caves i n t h i s nearly v i r gin r e g i o n . I can be c o n t a c t e d
through the Lima o f f i c e of the
South American E x p l o r e r s Club
until early September, or a t Box
400, Tabernash, Colorado 80478,
USA.
— James Miller
BOOK T I P
The best stocked bookseller of
a n t i q u a r i a n and used books on
Latin America that I've run across
is:
A. Barton-Garbett
35 The Green, Morden
Surrey SM4 4BJ, England
He operates out of his home an
hour south of London a t the end of
the tube l i n e and p u b l i s h e s a
l i s t i n g once or twice a year. He
takes d o l l a r s or pounds and h i s
p r i c e s a r e moderate.
BurtonGarbett i s a r e t i r e d newswire
correspondent who spent many years
in South America.
— Chuck Casale
Wayland, HA
BECAUSE I T ' S
THERE
On a recent t r i p to Aconcagua,
we l e a r n e d a g r e a t deal about
abuse of f o r e i g n mountains. We
saw how extensively American are
using foreign mountains.
The m a j o r i t y of u s e on
Aconcagua i s by Americans. This
42
seemed t o be true throughout a l l
of South America. That means that
we can have an important influence
on protecting foreign mountains.
Fernando G r a j a l e s , a g r e a t
Argentine and Himalayan climber,
and now a local muleteer for Aconcagua expeditions, said, "American
mountaineers could have a tremendous i n f l u e n c e on e s t a b l i s h i n g
mountain ethics in South America."
There are two main areas where
we can have an i n f l u e n c e . The
f i r s t i s the trash and human waste
problem. If on each c a r r y up a
mountain trash was bagged up and
c a r r i e d b a c k down t o camp,
eventually the trash would accumul a t e a t Base Camp. The muleteers
w i l l carry out any bags of trash
l e f t at Base Camp.
NOTE: Each party should also
carry off a l l of their own trash!
The second and perhaps most far
r e a c h i n g i n f l u e n c e would be i n
helping Argentine
climbers
establish Aconcagua as a National
Park before the mountain and i t s
environment are destroyed. Send
your l e t t e r s of encouragement to:
Direccion de Deportes, Recreacidn
y Turismo Social, Estadio Provinc i a l "Malvinas Argent inas," Parque
Gral. San Martin, Mendoza, Argent i n a , C.P.5500.
Send a copy of your l e t t e r t o
Fernando G r a j a l e s , J.F. Moreno
898, 6 t o B., C.P.550, Mendoza,
Argentina, so that the Argentine
mountaineers can show your l e t t e r
to various officials.
If you climb a mountain, help
protect i t .
— Mike Donahue, Director
Colorado Mountain School
Estes Park, CO 80517
WHEEL AND DEAL
I'm i n t e r e s t e d i n t a k i n g a
mountain bike t r i p in the Southern
Hemisphere t h i s coming autumn. I
am planning a t r i p of about 1,000
m i l e s and 45 weeks d u r a t i o n . I
have not yet identified a t r a v e l ing companion and might do i t
s o l o . I am hopeful, however, I
w i l l f i n d someone e l s e who i s
interested in making t h i s kind of
t r i p . I'm a 38-year-old building
c o n t r a c t o r and have made long,
s o l o t r i p s , as w e l l as p a r t i c i pated in endurance a t h l e t i c
events.
Jim Doilney
Upper Iron Horse Loop Kd.
Box 1947
Park City, Utah 04060
NET DREAMS
I am a hardened W h i t e w a t e r
kayaker who w i l l be traveling in
South America with a friend from
June t h r o u g h J a n u a r y 1987. A l though the main purpose of our
t r i p i s t o tour several countries,
I would love t o i n c l u d e a r i v e r
a d v e n t u r e or two w i t h any group
which i s p l a n n i n g an e x p e d i t i o n
d u r i n g t h a t p e r i o d . I f you a r e
p l a n n i n g a r i v e r t r i p and would
like another party member, please
drop me a line.
— Chris Bessler
802 Jefferson Ave.
Sandpoint, Idaho 83864
FUN AND FUNGI
I p l a n t o t r a v e l t o Peru i n
December 1986. I am interested in
b o t a n y , e s p e c i a l l y fungi, and
would be i n t e r e s t e d i n finding
r e s t a u r a n t s or people who enjoy
eating wild mushrooms.
— Harry Meilink
1225 N. East St.101
Anaheim, CA 92801
SEEING RED
I hope my recent experiences a t
the Lima airport w i l l be a warning
t o any members t h i n k i n g of a i r freighting luggage t o Peru.
During a season of g u i d i n g , a
bag of mine had t o be sent from
Bolivia to Peru, Half a day seemed
ample time t o r e t r i e v e i t from the
airport. The office was shut when
I a r r i v e d . Two hours l a t e r , an
o f f i c i a l a r r i v e d and e v e n t u a l l y
CLUB NEWS
found the necessary papers which I
signed. That, I t h o u g h t , was
that.
Not so. Could I come back
tomorrow? No, I couldn't, but a
Peruvian friend said he would. He
anticipated no problem if I provided him with a l e t t e r authorizing him to pick up the bag and a
copy of my passport.
No go. A h a n d w r i t t e n l e t t e r
was u n a c c e p t a b l e .
I bought a
papel s e l l a d o , borrowed a t y p e writer and wrote an impressively
formal l e t t e r . S t i l l not good
enough — i t had t o be me in person.
By t h a t t i m e , I'd been
without my luggage for a month and
was due to fly t o the States the
next day.
So when Rafael and I arrived a t
the airport promptly a t 9 the next
morning, we did the thing properly
and h i r e d a t r a m i t a d o r ( r e a d e r s
who don't know the word tramite —
red tape — yet soon w i l l if they
t r y t o get anything done i n South
America). This l i t t l e man darted
around l i k e a b l u e d r a g o n f l y ,
c o l l e c t i n g b i t s of paper h e r e ,
signatures there, and t i p s , bribes
or payments (I never knew which)
from me a t every turn. We had a
blank period (nearly an hour) when
the power went off in the office
and the magic machine that stamped
a number couldn't o p e r a t e . The
crowd was g e t t i n g d e s p e r a t e :
"Senor, senor!!" Lunchtime, and
the office only opened at 2:00 pm
and c l o s e d a g a i n a t 3:30 pm. At
3:15 pm we lacked one v i t a l signature, and the official concerned
was seen to leave h i s office with
a purposeful look in his eye (at
l e a s t he had an e x p r e s s i o n —
another appeared dead). He never
came back. I t r i e d a s i t - d o w n
strike at the gates of the storage
depot, I t r i e d b r i b e r y , and I
t r i e d tears. Nothing worked.
I missed my flight home and had
to wait another three days,
because t h e next day was, of
course, a holiday. I did finally
get my bag, but the cost in terms
of frustration, time and money was
incalculable.
— Hilary Bradt
Bradt Enterprises
41 Nortoft Road
Chalfont St. Peter
Bocks, & S (LA, England
THE JOYS OF
SEXTO
I T S HARD TO p l a n an e x p e d i t i o n
when a mere block away prisoners
are rioting and burning each other
i n locked c e l l s . Not t h a t t h i s
happened everyday, mind you, but
even when t h e inmates were a t
peace or a t l e a s t not a u d i b l e ,
t h e r e i s something u n s e t t l i n g
about being s e p a r a t e d from the
criminal element (guards included)
by no more than a foot or two of
Peruvian concrete. True, the conv i c t s d i d n ' t escape a l l t h a t
often. In fact, once a gang tunnelled out of their c e l l s and came
up in the yard instead of Avenida
Espana. With more stamina and a
different direction, i t might have
been the basement of the South
Anerican Explorers Club.
So, a l l who have v i s i t e d t h e
Club, by day or n i g h t , who've
walked a l i t t l e f a s t e r p a s t El
Sexto, who think they might have
r e s o u r c e , and we would l i k e t o
thank a l l our members for taking
t h e t i m e t o w r i t e them up. For
anyone planning a t r i p , keep these
in mind. And i f you've r e t u r n e d
from a t r i p , ask the Lima or
Denver office to send you a Trip
Report form.
ROOM AT THE TOP
KfflEL GREENE, who has ably managed
the Lima office lo these past 14
months, i s p l a n n i n g t o l e a v e i n
September. A l a s , t h i s makes i t
necessary, once again, t o seek out
a qualified and amiable person to
man (or woman) the Lima club.
I f you've ever thought t h i s
s l o t might appeal t o you, w r i t e
E t h e l . There a r e , she t e l l s u s ,
some recent inducements — a well
o r g a n i z e d and going concern t o
step into, her excellent training
the f i r s t few weeks and t i c k e t s to
the Lima opera.
B-4
heard the high plantive wail of a
l o n e l y crook or glimpsed a
delivery of the dreadful slop that
p a s s e d f o r food — a l l t h o s e
should rejoice that after 76 years
El Sexto has been o f f i c i a l l y
c l o s e d down. I n i t s p l a c e w i l l
r i s e a toy factory.
INSIDER
AND AFTER
IN A IfflREWD AND calculated move to
increase revenues and upgrade Club
services, the South American Exp l o r e r s Club has t u r n e d t o t h a t
all-American pasttime, familybuilder and character strengthening pursuit — bingo.
We've sponsored some seven
games so far, and the future bodes
well. We hope to announce in the
next issue a sizeable expansion of
o p e r a t i o n a l c a p i t a l . Thanks t o
the volunteers.
INFO
PLANNING TO CANOE the Rio Tigre,
h i k e the Darien Gap, lay around
Brazilian beaches, float down the
Amazon, c l i m b Aconcagua, f i n d
cheap hotels in Cajamarca, ski in
B o l i v i a , get aboard a m i l i t a r y
f l i g h t t o P u e r t o Maldonado???
Well, the Club can now p r o v i d e
more and b e t t e r i n f o r m a t i o n on
t h e s e s u b j e c t s and many more
t h a n k s t o t h e a b u n d a n c e of
fantastic Trip Reports written up
by members and collected by Ethel
Greene.
Trip Reports are r a p i d l y
becoming the C l u b ' s g r e a t e s t
Maroti-Shobo
Cooperative
Shipibo and Conibo Indian Art
of Peru's Jungle
Traditional
Ceramics & Textiles
For more information, please write: Administrator, Maroti-Shobo, Casilla 60,
Pucallpa, Peru, or Telex PERU attention
telephone 6551.
43
NOTES & TIPS & NOTES & TIPS & NOTES
& TIPS & NOTES & TIPS & NOTES & TIPS
LLAMA STOCK
"DUNKING OF GETTING a llama for
fun or profit?
Most United States llamas are
decendents of few animals imported
by William Randoff Hearst and
Roland Lindmann of the C a t s k i l l
Game Farm in t h e 1930s. Before
that time, llamas were extinct in
North America, having e x p i r e d
sometime during the l a s t ice age.
Twice w i t h i n the p a s t few
years, llamas have been brought in
t o the United S t a t e s from South
America, the f i r s t t i m e i n 50
y e a r s s i n c e t h a t c o n t i n e n t was
closed to U.S. importers because
of hoof and mouth disease regulations.
S t i l l , t h e g e n e t i c pool i s
dangerously s m a l l , so a worthy
organization, known as the I n t e r national Llama Association, keeps
careful records of llama geneology. Established in 1982, you can
w r i t e the ILA for a l l s o r t s of
i n f o r m a t i o n on llama care and
breeding, the names of o u t f i t t e r s
using llamas and who has llamas
for s a l e .
A baby female now goes for
about $10-12,000, but prices are
rising a l l the time, according t o
a recent issue of LLAMA: The International Camel id Journal, R. E.
McMaster, an investment a n a l y s t
and llama owner, p r e d i c t s t o p
q u a l i t y l l a m a s w i l l soon go for
§50-100,000.
RISKY BUSINESS
NO REAL EXPLORER g i v e s a hoot
about travel insurance or requires
44
the s e c u r i t y and peace of mind
t h a t can be purchased by t a k i n g
out travel health insurance.
S t i l l , we do not d i s d a i n t h e
timid, the weak and the fearful.
Yes, there are those unwilling t o
t a k e r i s k s , who want t o cover
t h e i r rumps at a l l times.
So, note that Travel Insurance
Service provides medical coverage
for a d o l l a r a day (minimum 25
days). This fee includes ill,000
worldwide physician and hospital
coverage, $2,500 medical evacuation, $2,500 repatriation, $10,000
a c c i d e n t a l death b e n e f i t s , and
direct payment t o physician-hospit a l . This i s for U.S. citizens.
There are some deductibles, so
c o n t a c t : Travel I n s u r a n c e S e r v i c e s , 1529 Cypress S t r e e t , Box
299, Walnut Creek, CA 94596, Tel:
1-800-227-2432.
Finally, we know nothing about
t h i s insurance company ( l i k e
whether they pay or n o t ) , so do
not i n t e r p r e t t h i s b l u r b as any
s o r t of endorsement of the company. There may be b e t t e r deals
around, but they haven't contacted
us.
BREAD ON THE WATERS
CLUB MEMBERS Harold Goldstein and
J a n e t Young recommend a t r i p t o
the zoological gardens
at
Q u i s t o c o c h a , j u s t s o u t h of
I q u i t o s , Peru.
They r e p o r t ,
however, t h a t t h e a n i m a l s a r e
p o o r l y fed and often depend on
v i s i t o r s to survive, e s p e c i a l l y
the fish.
"Bring food for t h e
amazing Paiche, an enormous Amazon
f i s h growing 10-15 f e e t whose
leaps w i l l s t a r t l e and amaze you."
CALL FOR PAPERS
THE LATIN American Indian L i t e r a tures Association (LAILA) w i l l be
holding t h e i r 5 t h Conference a t
Cornell University June 3-6, 1987.
In t h e p a s t f i v e y e a r s , LAILA
has brought t o g e t h e r an i n t e r national group of scholars working
in this increasingly exciting
field.
If you are interested in p r e senting a paper, please contact
Dr. Richard Luxton, LAILAllALILA
Symposia Chairman, Box 163553,
Sacramento, CA 95816. The focus
must be on indigenous l i t e r a t u r e
of L a t i n America or a f f i l i a t e d
groups, but a l l approaches — a r t ,
anthropological, a r c h a e o l o g i c a l ,
astronomical, ethnohistorical,
l i n g u i s t i c , etc. — w i l l be considered.
P I P E DREAMS
CHARLES TRIPP IS engaged in a
project t o c o l l e c t a l l the types
of flutes that exist in the world.
When t h i s has been done, he plans
t o open a museum
in the year 2000
AD. which w i l l
exhibit the
"Flutes of the
World." According
t o Mr. Tripp,
f l u t e s are a
unique form of
human a r t i f a c t and
a r e "endangered."
Once, f l u t e s ,
w h i s t l e s and b i r d
c a l l s characterized
different peoples
and ethnic
groups. Now
they are
disappearing.
Mr. Tripp, who has flutes from
55 countries, would appreciate any
i n f o r m a t i o n , c o n t a c t s , h i n t s or
t i p s from anyone t o h e l p the
project.
A d d r e s s : 3 Rue de
Brasse, 9000 Belfort, France.
A MINE OF INFORMATION
WHAT DO YOU know about Suriname?
Probably not much since we haven't
published much on that fascinating
c o u n t r y . Of c o u r s e , we're p l a n ning the definitive series shortl y , b u t who knows what delays
might intervene. So, u n t i l then,
you might be w i l l i n g t o make do
with Suralco magazine, a quarterly
published by the Suriname Aluminum
Company t o spread the good word
about the u s e s of aluminum and,
i n c i d e n t a l l y , provide g r e a t e r
knowledge of the sovereign s t a t e
of Suriname and i t s people.
Free copies of t h i s bilingual
publication (Dutch-English) can be
obtained by w r i t i n g : P u b l i c Relations Department of Suralco, P.
0. Box 1810, Paramaribo, Suriname.
AS THE CROW F I L E S
CLUB MEMBER P i e t e r Crow i s
compiling a l i s t of a l l the
guidebooks on South America and
another l i s t of a l l the o u t f i t t e r s
and tour companies doing business
there.
If you know something about the
former or f i t into the l a t t e r , he
would a p p r e c i a t e you contacting
him so he can include t h i s important information and not have t o
keep updating the l i s t a l l t h e
time because nobody told him about
the M i s e r ' s Guide t o Guyana, or
whatever.
Please send information t o the
Club, and we w i l l forward i t after
we've perused i t for our own
files.
AIR
FAIRS
VISITORS TO Peru have been getting
nicked for some years now, and for
most s e r v i c e s they a r e going t o
continue to get nicked. Tourists
pay more t o get i n t o museums,
archaeological s i t e s and national
parks than do residents. Nor i s
the additional amount foreigners
are required to fork over t r i v i a l .
In most i n s t a n c e s i t ' s double.
"Nowhere i n t h e world i s t h e
t o u r i s t charged more t h a n the
l o c a l r e s i d e n t s , " says one Lima
t r a v e l agent. "In f a c t , i n some
c o u n t r i e s l i k e Mexico they even
give foreigners a discount."
S t i l l i n a l l , i t ' s not t h e
^5*
additional 50 cents or a buck t o
g e t i n t o a museum t h a t b o t h e r s
folks.
I t ' s the difference in
a i r f a r e s which can be r a t h e r
costly.
But anyway, as far as a i r f a r e s
go, i t ' s a l l history. Henceforth,
t o u r i s t s and n a t i o n a l s w i l l a l l
pay the same fare, and the Minist r y of Industry and Tourism i s t o
be commended for wisely doing away
with t h i s sort of discriminaton.
F o r e i g n t r a v e l e r s t o Cuzco and
I q u i t o s can now expect t o pay
between 840-60 less for t i c k e t s .
L I F E ' S A BEACH
WE NORMALLY have enough material
t o f i l l the pages of the South
America Explorer without having t o
raid r i v a l publications like Great
Expeditions.
However, we do get r e q u e s t s
from budget-minded people asking
about cheap spots t o hold out from
creditors or j u s t live cheaply and
inconspicuously off the fat of the
land. N a t u r a l l y then, when we
r e a d about a " p e r f e c t beach" i n
B r a z i l where you can r e n t a mud
house with hammock and two meals a
day for about %2 per person we
thought t h i s i s something t h a t
w i l l show our members we know what
we're talking about when we say we
can t e l l you how t o do i t on a
s h o e s t r i n g , i f t h a t ' s your bag.
Also, quite frankly, the whole
r e a d e r s h i p (members, subscribers
and those who r e c e i v e the r a r e
sample copy) i s not a l l t h a t
large, so we run no risk that the
p l a c e w i l l be inundated s h o r t l y
after the magazine goes to press.
Unfortunately, we don't know the
membership of Great Expedition, so
t h e p l a c e may a l r e a d y be a p i g
sty, costing foo a day.
At any rate, here's the inform a t i o n , and i f you g o , we'd
appreciate hearing what i t ' s like.
Go t o B r a z i l ' s a r i d n o r t h e a s t
tambo "treks ,
Oltentaytambc
CujtcofVBRJiL
Treks and Tours in PERU and BOLIVIA for expert and amateur:
ANTHROPOLOGISTS, ARCHAEOLOGISTS, BIRDWATCHERS,
AGRICULTURALISTS, NATURALISTS, WEAVERS, SPINNERS and those interested in
FINE ARTS and CERAMICS.
We can design itineraries to your specifications.
For further information, please contact: TAMBO TREKS, Casilla 912, Cuzco, Peru.
Tlx: 52207 PE LTREKS. Tel: 233350.
coast t o a small fishing v i l l a g e
called Jericoaquara. You can only
g e t t h e r e by foot or by 4-wheel
drive.
There a r e no h o t e l s ,
r e s t a u r a n t s , e l e c t r i c i t y or water.
I f t h i s d o e s n ' t t u r n you off and
you g e t t h e r e , ask about t h e
house, the hammocks and the two
meals for two bucks. Of course,
if t h i s d o e s n ' t work o u t , w r i t e
your Club for other suggestions.
MAP OUTLOOK
WE EXPECT THAT by t h e t i m e you
g e t t h i s i s s u e of the magazine,
t h e Kevin Healy Contemporary
Reference Map of South America,
both north and south sheets, w i l l
have been, at l a s t , reprinted.
This r e p r i n t i s an attempt to
b r i d g e the gap u n t i l Kevin's
l a r g e r , 3 - s h e e t map of South
America i s completed — the northw e s t s e c t i o n t o be p r i n t e d J u l y
1986, the east-central in January
1987 and the south in July 1987.
K e v i n a l s o h a s i s s u e d an
excellent, though somewhat oddly
c o l o r e d , map of the Galapagos.
I t ' s packed with information and a
real asset t o v i s i t o r s .
Other publications t o look forward t o i n c l u d e : a map of Peru
(1:2,000,000) by t h e same Kevin
Healey and Rob R a c h o w i e c k i ' s
t r a v e l guides t o Ecuador and Peru.
la brisa
La Brisa is located in the
hear: of Peru's Amazon Jungle
near the Ucayali River —
just five miles from the city
of Pucallpa on Lake Yarinacocha.
La Brisa offers:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Rustic, fully furnished
bungalows
Jungle style restaurant serving
local & international meals
Lake beauty — swimming,
fishing & jungle tours
A perfect base camp for your
jungle excursions
Cooling breezes and
spectacular sunsets
Prices to suit your vacation
budget
One to thirty-day river trips
15% Discount for members of
the SA Explorers Club
For reservations or more information, w r i t e : La
Brisa, Connor & Mary Nixon, Casilla 202, Pucallpa,
Peru.
45
NEWS SHORTS
HOW SWEET I T
IS
TIRED OF WORRYING about c a v i t i e s and your spreading girth, to
say nothing of cancer scares connected with a r t i f i c i a l sweeteners?
Well, perhaps the answer i s t o
be found i n the s t e v i a p l a n t of
South America from which is derived a substance purportedly 300
times sweeter than sugar, with but
a fraction of the calories.
The s t e v i a i s a bushy p l a n t
native to Paraguay known to contain sweet compounds as far back
as the 1400's.
Stevia yields
sweeteners that have been used by
the Japanese for years in a wide
range of products.
Chiwon Lee, a h o r t i c u l t u r a l i s t
a t Colorado S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y a t
Fort Collins, i s presently engaged
in developing new s t r a i n s of
stevia.
HIGHER THAN EVER
LAKE TITICACA r e c e n t l y r o s e t o
the highest level recorded in t h i s
century, the r e s u l t of heavy rains
in the southeast sierra. The lake
has been rising at an average of
16 mm per day and might r i s e by
1.20 m e t e r s above t h e l e v e l
recorded in January unless rains
subside. F l u c t u a t i o n s i n w a t e r
level occur every 5-7 years, but
t h i s year the r i s i n g w a t e r has
caused serious floods. The Peruvian government has ordered emergency aid for the Dept. of Puno.
Who w i l l continue h e r work?
P h y l i s P i t l u g a f i r s t came t o
Nazca two y e a r s . After t h e i r
f i r s t meeting, Reiche decided that
P i t l u g a was the person for the
job. Says Reiche, Pitluga has the
right q u a l i t i e s , "She i s 45, energetic, i n t e l l i g e n t and friendly."
Pitluga i s also senior astronomer
a t the Chicago Planetarium.
While the Nazca Lines have
become a major t o u r i s t a t t r a c t i o n ,
the major problems .are now vandalism and a i r pollution.
SKYLAB
RISING 1,800 meters above Venezuela's tropical rainforest, is a
horseshoe-shaped plateau, a remnant of a geological formation 100
m i l l i o n years old.
Called
Mountain of the M i s t s , i t i s a
laboratory of evolution, a sort of
minature Galapagos where s c i e n t i s t s can study f l o r a and fauna
that developed in isolation.
S c i e n t i s t s from the United
States and Venezuela working atop
the plateau believe that some 98%
of the p l a n t s p e c i e s they have
found e x i s t no p l a c e e l s e on
e a r t h They have also uncovered a
h o s t of c r e a t u r e s , such as a
p o i n t y - n o s e d frog and a g i a n t
tarantula, that may be species new
THE SECOND REICHE
FOR OVER 40 years, Maria Reiche,
a German mathematician and geographer, has s t u d i e d and p r o t e c t e d
the world famous Nazca Lines i n
southern Peru.
Now, a t 82, Reiche's e y e s i g h t
i s fading, and she i s recovering
from a broken h i p .
She s t i l l
gives talks every evening at the
T o u r i s t Hotel i n Nazca, b u t she
f e e l s she has worn h e r s e l f out.
46
to science.
Even f a m i l i a r
species, like tananger and wrens,
are 20% larger than normal types.
S c i e n t i s t s s t u d y i n g these
unique l i f e forms hope t o l e a r n
more about evolutionary puzzles,
how s p e c i e s develop and a t what
speed.
D.U.
DIG
COLORADO UNIVERSITY got n a t i o n al coverage for the "lost" c i t y of
Gran P a j a t e n which wasn't l o s t .
Denver U n i v e r s i t y h a r d l y r a t e d
mention for i t s project at Pampa
de Llamas-Moxeke, a valley some
miles north of Lima, Peru.
S t i l l , DU a r c h a e o l o g i s t Tom
P o z o r s k i i s e x c i t e d about the
e x c a v a t i o n w h i c h he b e l i e v e s i s
u n c o v e r i n g t h e " e a r l i e s t planned
c i t y . . . i n t h e New World." The
500-acre s i t e dates back to 1500
B.C. and i s 500 y e a r s o l d e r t h a n
orginally believed, a time "when
people s t a r t e d becoming c i v i lized."
E x c a v a t o r s h a v e uncovered
actual foodstuffs, preserved as a
r e s u l t of a dry climate, and signs
of a government which appears much
more complicated than expected.
D I R T POOR
THE AMAZON r a i n f o r e s t i s d i s a p pearing a t the appalling rate of
50 acres a minute — 72,000 acres
every day. How long b e f o r e i t ' s
gone?
In an a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d , Amazon
Basin Soils: Management for Continuous Crop Production, authors
Pedro Sanchez, Dale Bandy, J. Hugo
V i l l a c h i c a and John Nicholaides,
of the Department of S o i l s a t
North C a r o l i n a State University,
R a l e i g h , o f f e r some p r o m i s i n g
solutions.
They point out that lost r a i n forest i s not being lost because
p e o p l e enjoy t h e hard work of
c u t t i n g down t r e e s every 3-4
years. Jungle i s cleared because
jungle s o i l s quickly get depleted,
t h e p o p u l a t i o n i s growing and
people need food.
U n f o r t u n a t e l y , some 75% of
jungle s o i l throughout the Amazon
basin i s largely i n f e r t i l e , very
a c i d and d e f i c i e n t i n p l a n t
nutrients.
Up t o now, t h e common b e l i e f
has been that cultivation degrades
s o i l s i n the humid tropics. And
so i t d o e s .
But t h e N o r t h
Carolina researchers believe that
soil properties can actually im-
prove with continuous cultivation,
provided the proper technology i s
employed.
Further, stable, ongoing crop
production i s an a t t r a c t i v e a l t e r native to shifting c u l t i v a t i o n ,
meaning t h a t l e s s land need be
c l e a r e d f o r i n c r e a s i n g food
demands.
P r o m i s i n g r e s u l t s have been
obtained by growing t h r e e c r o p s
every year of rice, com, soybeans
and p e a n u t s .
This keeps the
ground covered most of the t i m e
and minimizes erosion.
Of c o u r s e , f e r t i l i z e r i s r e quired for continuous cultivation,
even more than in temperate c l i mates, but more crops can be grown
in the same period of time. The
highly stable climate that varies
but a few degrees throughout the
year i s ideal for multiple crops.
Continous cultivation improves
soil quality, decreasing soil
acidity and aluminum content, and
by i n c r e a s i n g the u s e a b l e magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and
copper, as w e l l as promoting
deeper root development.
Attempts to farm the jungle on
a l a r g e s c a l e and w i t h o u t t h e
right technology have proved to be
ecologically damaging. Continuous
cultivation promises t o maximize
p r o d u c t i o n and spare a d d i t i o n a l
forest from the cultivator's ax.
HOT A I R
EVER WONDER how t h e I n c a s got
the stones at Machu Picchu, Cuzco
and other s i t e s , so close together
you "can't get a k n i f e between
them?"
Well, Dr. Ivan Watkins, p r o f e s s o r of e a r t h s c i e n c e s a t St.
Cloud U n i v e r s i t y in Minnesota,
says he knows how they did i t .
"They focused s u n l i g h t , " said
Dr. Watkins, who c l a i m s i t took
him a mere three days to disprove
a l l p r e v i o u s t h e o r i e s of Inca
stone construction.
The great discovery came to Dr.
Watkins while v i s i t i n g a cave that
had I n c a s t o n e w o r k i n i t .
Suddenly a l i t t l e light went on in
h i s h e a d , he s a i d , a f t e r he
noticed a glaze on the wall. "In
order to get a glaze, you have to
heat the rock." Stones cut with
heat
would f i t t o g e t h e r v e r y
tightly, he figured. "It doesn't
even matter if the cut i s curved.
jlfr*
r u i n s o f Machu P i c c h u .
CLEAN-UP t r e k k e r s look down on t h e
When you s l a p i t t o g e t h e r , i t ' s
not only the right size, but i t ' s
soft and w i l l stick together. You
simply glue i t together with the
rock itself."
How did t h e Incas focus t h e
s u n l i g h t ? "Spanish conquerors
found a huge golden d i s h , " t h a t
would p r o v i d e more than enough
heat, up t o 6,000 watts of energy,
says Watkins. "Ihey couldn't j u s t
cut them, they could fry them
f a s t . " Dr. Watkins plans t o spend
t h e summer f r y i n g r o c k s i n
Minnesota.
Watkins, not surprisingly, has
o t h e r i d e a s on how the I n c a s
WHITEWATER
moved t h e g i g a n t i c s t o n e s and
mined gold.
SANITATION VACATION
EACH YEAR, over 6,000 h i k e r s
j o u r n e y i n t o t h e Machu Picchu
Archaeological Park. By July, the
peak t r a v e l season, d e b r i s l e f t
behind by t h o u g h t l e s s t r e k k e r s
begins t o mount up.
The E a r t h P r e s e r v a t i o n Fund
(EPF) sponsors annual c l e a n - u p
treks.
L a s t y e a r ' s clean-up
trekkers burned waste along a 35mile route and collected 22 sacks
RAFTING
ADVENTURES
E s c o r t e d by t h e f i r s t e x p l o r e r s o f t h e CoLca Canyon
expedition
1-(800)242-5554 or (202)286-9415
TELEX 649 191 ATT
inc
CHIRIQUI RIVER
PANAMA
"A mountain gem in a
lush tropicaL setting"
Also included: Trek to
Highest Volcano *
Horseback * Watersports in Contadora
* KUNA Indians
* Panama Canal *
and more.
[No experience
necessary]
COLCA RIVER, PERU
WORLD'S DEEPEST CANYON
Title page of "1984
Guinness Book of World
Records" [for kayak
experts and advanced
raftsmen ONLY I)
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
FOR THE FIRST
SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION,
UNIVERSITY or MUSEUM.
ALso similar programs
in Ecuador and BraziL
KON
310 MADISON AVE AT42nd STREET
NEW YORK. NEW YORK 10017
47
News Shorts
Continued..
of b o t t l e s and cans.
The next clean-up trek, led by
a Peruvian anthropologist, takes
place July 31-August 14, 1986, and
includes i n t e r e s t i n g s i d e t r i p s .
Volunteers are welcome. All expenses plus roundtrip airfare from
Miami i s $ 1 7 0 0 and i s t a x deductible.
For more information, contact:
The Earth Preservation Fund, Inca
T r a i l P r o j e c t , Box 7545, Ann
Arbor, Michigan 48107, or c a l l
1-800-255-8735.
FOREIGN AIDS
RESEARCHERS STUDYING I n d i a n s i n
remote r a i n f o r e s t s of Venezuela
made the surprising discovery that
a number of the i n h a b i t a n t s a r e
infected with the AIDS virus, or a
similar organism.
This has l e d t o s p e c u l a t i o n
that the virus may have existed in
South America for thousands or
even millions of years. If true,
t h i s could raise questions about
the history and origin of the AIDS
virus.
Research i s being conducted by
Dr. Luis Rodriguez of the Venezuel a n I n s t i t u t e of S c i e n t i f i c I n v e s t i g a t i o n s , and by Dr. David
V o l s k y of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of
Nebraska.
Recreating her leap into another s p i r i t u a l dimension on film was
one thing, but Peruvian authorit i e s took umbrage at suggestions
in the s c r i p t t h a t
extrat e r r e s t r i a l s might have constructed Machu Picchu and the Nazca
Lines.
The script was h a s t i l y r e w r i t ten when the Peruvian government
threatened to withdraw permission
t o f i l m . References t o a n c i e n t
a s t r o n a u t s got toned down, and
MacLaine rushed to the rescue with
soothing words.
The two-part film i s scheduled
for November 1986.
THE STORK
s c r e e c h e s of m i r t h .
Said
Catherine Hurlbutt of the Denver
Audubon S o c i e t y , " I t would be
impossible for the extremely weakfooted condor to get a grip on a
human baby, much l e s s g e t i t
airborn.
"Condors a r e not r a p t o r s , but
even the s t r o n g e s t r a p t o r , an
BRINGETH...
IS IT JOURNALISTIC hype or a very
confused mother?
According to the Lima newspaper
Expreso (and reprinted abroad), a
shadow darkened the sky as a Peruvian mother toiled in the fields.
Suddenly, a f u l l - g r o w n condor,
swooping down from i t s mountain
aerie, snatched her four-week-old
i n f a n t i n i t s claws and flapped
off into the Andean beyond.
The mother, 35-year-old Donatil a Taype Cardenas, s a i d she had
l a i d the baby down in a field. A
short while later, she looked up
t o see the f e a t h e r e d kidnapper
soaring away with her baby in i t s
talons.
But mothers, f e a r not. When
t h i s incident was described to a
bird expert, i t produced b i r d - l i k e
CONDOR — note t h e c h i c k e n - l i k e
feet unsuited f o r L i f t i n g .
Australian eagle that possesses
very muscular feet, i s hard put to
l i f t eight pounds, and then only
on a flying swoop. Condor's feet
are more like chicken's, and even
to r i p off pieces from a carcass,
t h e y must w a i t u n t i l i t ' s semidecomposed."
OUT OF BODY,OOT OF MIND
SHIRLEY MACLAINE'S much p u b l i cized search for herself has taken
her t o London, Stockholm, Hong
Kong and Hawaii, and most recently
to Peru, where she i s filming part
of a f i v e - h o u r t e l e v i s i o n m i n i series.
The film w i l l portray Shirley
MacLaine's s p i r i t u a l odyssey, the
one she wrote about in Out On a
Limb, a travel book about assorted
psychic t r i p s MacLaine embarked
upon a decade ago. One such journey took p l a c e i n an Andean
m i n e r a l b a t h where, guided by a
friend, the well-steamed MacLaine
f e l t her s p i r i t float out of her
body, an experience, she claimed,
t h a t l i f t e d her t o a "higher
a s t r a l plane."
48
panorama viajes turismo sa
Some people come to Peru to watch birds—
others to see art treasures.
We work with these specialized
groups—and many more.
Contact Us:
Av. Garcilaso De La Vega 955, Suite 405, Lima, Peru — Telf. 288380
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 10065, Lima, Peru — Cable PANORAMA