llamas pasturing on the plains. Near our tent were some Inca ruins,
probably the dwelling of a shepherd chief, or possibly the remains
of a temple described by Cieza de Leon (1519-1560), whose remarkable
accounts of what he saw and learned in Peru during the time of the
Pizarros are very highly regarded. He says that among the five most
important temples in the Land of the Incas was one "much venerated and
frequented by them, named Coropuna." "It is on a very lofty mountain
which is covered with snow both in summer and winter. The kings
of Peru visited this temple making presents and offerings .... It
is held for certain [by treasure hunters!] that among the gifts
offered to this temple there were many loads of silver, gold, and
precious stones buried in places which are now unknown. The Indians
concealed another great sum which was for the service of the idol,
and of the priests and virgins who attended upon it. But as there
are great masses of snow, people do not ascend to the summit, nor is
it known where these are hidden. This temple possessed many flocks,
farms, and service of Indians." No one lives here now, but there are
many flocks and llamas, and not far away we saw ancient storehouses
and burial places. That night we suffered from intense cold and were
kept awake by the bitter wind which swept down from the snow fields
of Coropuna and shook the walls of our tent violently.

The next day we crossed two small oases, little gulches watered from
the melting snow of Coropuna. Here there was an abundance of peat
and some small gnarled trees from which Chuquibamba derives part of
its fuel supply. We climbed slowly around the lower spurs of Coropuna
into a bleak desert wilderness of lava blocks and scoriaceous sand,
the Red Desert, or Pampa Colorada. It is for the most part between
15,000 and 16,000 feet above sea level, and is bounded on the northwest
by the canyon of the Rio Arma, 2000 feet deep, where we made our camp