I’m way behind in sorting my photographs from my Bolivia trip, not to mention my research notes. But here are a few shots from Tiahuanaco.

First up, the Gate of the Sun–one of the most iconic images of the Andes–with me in my blue hat.

The ancient ruins of Tiahuanaco have a huge walled temple that the Aymara call Kalasasaya, meaning “The temple of standing stones.” The Gate of the Sun is one of the few monoliths still standing on the temple top. As you can see, I’m wearing multiple layers of clothing: it was a sunny day, but the altitude at Tiahuanaco is over twelve thousand feet.

Behind the Kalasasaya is the Subterranean Temple. The temple is like a huge sunken swimming pool carved of red stone, high on the dry Andean altiplano. At the center of the temple is a monolith of Pachamama, the earth goddess. Surrounding her, their faces emerging from the walls of the temple, as if they’d been buried up to their shoulders, are over 200 heads carved of stone. Are they the gods of rival civilizations, subsumed by the power of Pachamama? Are they the cthonic deities and sub-deities?

I’m thinking that the Subterranean Temple is a special place, where the Sun God, the Earth Mother, and the powers of darkness were all thought to share the same territory.

I’ll post some more photos soon!