A lovely door within the complex.

We stop briefly at the fountains at Tambomachay.

Next, we stop at Qenqo where we descend into a cave that feels like the womb of the earth. Here we view the Temple to Mother Earth.

Next, we stop near the ruins to witness a traditional healing ritual performed by an Andean medicine man.

All of us are very moved by the ceremony that involves the medicine man placing a large number of offerings, one-by-one, on a paper sheet. For each offering, there is a blessing and chanting. The offerings are simple parts of daily life: seeds, candies, crackers, coca leaves, dead insect parts, seaweed, lake moss, etc. Some are unique in their modernity: a unconsecrated communion host, a handful of alphabet noodles, animal crackers, etc.