Adventure and Archaeology: Turn Right at Machu Picchu

Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time 

by Mark Adams

After spending half a career editing travel and adventure articles, Adams quits his job and spends months hiking around Peru guided by an Australian remarkably like Crocodile Dundee. Those of us more confined to the States can travel along with this marvelous memoir. Archaeology, history, culture, nature...all humorously intertwined. If I were looking for a book on Incas and Peru for South American geography for a high school aged-son (as I will in a few years), this is perfect. It's on our list.

Peru's borders contain some of the world's most varied topography and climate. Measured in square miles, the country is not especially large. on a globe it looks like a swollen California. Within that space, though, are twenty-thousand-foot peaks, the world's deepest canyon (twice as deep as the Grand Canyon), unmapped Amazon jungle and the driest desert on earth....Scientists have calculated that there are thirty-four types of climatic zones on the face of the earth. Peru has twenty of them.

One of my goals for our high school geography course is to present my students with books and articles that challenge a Eurocentric viewpoint (which we cultivate in our history studies), reveal current life in non-Western countries, and explore the relationship between the past and the present in a way that allows them to appreciate God's presence in lives around the world and throughout time. While probably impossible to do perfectly, the attempt is worthwhile. Adams's book captures much of the attitude I am seeking. While respectful of Incan heritage, Adams presents a balanced view.

Today, perhaps because Machu Picchu is so popular among the spiritually inclined, the Incas are sometimes portrayed as a peaceful race who graciously invited neighboring tribes to join their thriving territorial conglomerate. In reality, they could be as brutal as the conquistadors.

Because Adams shapes his journeys around those of Hiram Bingham III, the relationship between Incas and those who came after (whether from Europe or America) is woven throughout the book. Adams respects the skills of the Incas, both those of the architects and those of the builders.

Up to now I had been thinking of these places as Bingham had when first starting out, as self-contained lost cities and holy sites, akin to abandoned medieval villages and churches. Trails were just lines on a map connecting the dots. But if John was right, the Incas had seen things very differently. These sites and trails were more like organs and vessels, the circulatory system in a living body.

Later:

The stonework at Machu Picchu is just the most conspicuous aspects of its brilliance. The citadel is also, in the words of the hydrologist Kenneth Wright, "a civil engineering marvel." Someone had to have made the climb up to the ridge around 1450 A.D. -- historians' best guess -- and decided that this remote saddle between two jagged peaks, with dizzying drops on two sides, could be cleared, leveled and made suitable for habitation and agriculture.

Be aware there are mentions of coca use, overindulgence in alcohol, and some swearing.

Adams appears to be a fallen-away Catholic, not denouncing the faith, but seemingly disregarding it. There are a few shocking revelations that may surprise young Catholics.

(Colonial fun fact: after Columbus returned home to report his discovery, Pope Alexander VI briefly set aside fathering children with his various mistresses to issue a papal bull dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal--which is one reason that most South Americans speak Spanish, but Brazilians speak Portuguese.)

This sort of flippancy is not false, but would need to be placed within the context of a study of church history (something Mater Amabilis™ does well). There are similar comments about the missionary family which raised Hiram Bingham III.

There's little flowery language here. When Adams wants to describe a natural scene of tremendous beauty, he uses a superlative adjective and moves on.

In Kant's epistemology, it means something limitless, an aesthetically pleasing entity so huge that it made the perceiver's head hurt. Machu Picchu isn't just beautiful, it's sublime.

What he lacks in poetics, he balances in sensible assessments of history, his own humility, and respect for the relationships between people and the environment. His experiences also encourage us to take time to really explore our world.

I have received nothing for this post; all opinions are my own. I checked this book out from the library. Amazon links above are affiliate links.

Preschool Reading Around the World: Central and South America

In our third term of preschool this year for First Daughter (age 5) and Second Daughter (age 3), we continued Reading-Around-the-World. (In our first term, we read around Africa. In our second term, we read around Asia.) This term, we read books set in Central America and South America.

As before, my goal is to expand our horizons a little, so I give a preference to books from our library. I'm not trying to impart knowledge of a geographic or political nature; if we learn something of the culture along the way, that's fine. My real goal here is to give my girls exposure to wonderful stories set around the world. I'm sure there are other books that would be just as good or better. Please share any ideas you have! I have younger children who would benefit (no to mention that little picture book problem I have myself).


Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown is such a delightful book about a man who takes books by burro to children in rural Colombia on the great blessing it is to read a good book and to share with those who do not have access to libraries like ours.

How Night Came from the Sea: A Story from Brazil by Mary-Joan Gerson and illustrated by Carla Golembe is the story of a Brazilians goddess who longs for darkness and sleep. It was a fine book, but not one of our favorites.

The Two Mountains: An Aztec Legend retold by Eric A. Kimmel and illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher is the legend of the volcanoes in the Valley of Mexico named Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl. I am generally hesitant to share stories of children disobeying their parents, but I really wanted to read about these volcanoes because I lived near them and could even see El Popo from my bedroom window when I lived in Puebla for a language study program. I also liked the illustrations.

The Pot that Juan Built byNancy Andrews-Boebel with pictures by David Diaz is a rhythmic repetitive book based on a real Mexican potter, Juan Quezada. Smaller text on each page gives detailed information on him and the methods he developed to replicate the pottery of an ancient people who had long ago disappeared. Juan Quezada was a dedicated man who persevered and taught others how to better themselves and the world. A section at the end of the book shows how the pottery is made.

Cuckoo: A Mexican Folktale by Lois Ehlert is illustrated in her typical bold and bright style. I enjoyed this folktale and especially liked that the text is shown in both English and Spanish.

Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale from the Andes Mountains by Barbara Knutson is a fun story of a cheeky Guinea Pig who outsmarts a fox but gets caught by the farmer. He manages to escape in the end, though, with a silly story the kids always enjoy.

The Fiesta of The Tortillas by Jorge Argueta and illustrated by Maria Jesus Alvarez (translated by Joe Hayes and Sharon Franco). In this story, the author tells of his youth in El Salvador when his family owned a comedor (a restaurant) in their home. Everyone in the extended family worked together to prepare the food. I selected this book because my sister-in-law is from El Salvador and many of the foods described in the story are ones she has shared with us. It is important to note, for those that worry about such things, that the heart of the tale is a mysterious clapping as of someone preparing tortillas. Eventually, they decide it is the Spirit of the Corn reminding them of the joy of a family working happily together. The text is shown in both Spanish and English.

Erandi's Braids by Antonio Hernandez Madrigal and illustrated by Tomie dePaola is a sweet story of a young girl of Patzcuaro who sells her beautiful hair so her mother can buy a fishing net. It's a story of love and sacrifice. dePaola's illustrations for this story are among his best.

So Say the Little Monkeys by Nancy Van Laan with pictures by Yumi Heo is the retelling of a Brazilian tale explaining why a certain type of monkey live in thorny trees even though they must be uncomfortable. It's silly but instructive, with lots of funny sounds. I think the monkey illustrations are so cute.

Miro in the Kingdom of the Sun by Jane Kurtz with woodcuts by David Frampton is a retelling of an Incan folktale in which a young girl shows great compassion and bravery to save her brothers who foolishly attempted to mislead the Sun King.

Tap-Tap by Karen Lynn Williams and illustrated by Catherine Stock (one of my new favorite illustrators) is a delightful story of a young girl who accompanies her mother to the market in Haiti, longing to ride in a tap-tap, a brightly decorated bus. My children loved this book, especially First Daughter who begged me to read it again.

Borreguita and the Coyote by Verna Aardema and illustrated by Petra Mathers is a fun retelling of a Mexican folktale of a little lamb who outsmarts and eventually beats the coyote. (I liked how some of the same tricks appear in this story as in Love and Roast Chicken. It's interesting to think about how myths and legends travel, change, and are adapted by other people.)

I loved this course of study for my girls in preschool. I loved it so much, in fact, that we're going to continue it next year. First we'll read picture books set in Europe, then Australia and New Zealand. In our last term next year, we'll find some books set in Canada, Antarctica and the Arctic Circle. I only have a few books in mind so far; it looks like I'll be checking out a lot from the library to find the right collection. Suggestions welcome!