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| View from the Inca Trail, day 3 |
Our third day hiking the Inca Trail was complete, night had fallen. I was looking at the amazing collection of stars on display, so similar to those back home, and yet so foreign. No dippers to be found in the southern hemisphere, but the Southern Cross plays almost the same role - that beacon of familiarity winking down at us as if to say, "Welcome, visitors from the north, we're glad you came."
I found a cluster that I liked, bearing a resemblance to my favorite Andes dweller. "If I were an Incan princess, I'd name that constellation La Llama," I said to HubbyBubby..
"Why an Incan princess," HubbyBubby inquired.
"Because then I'd have the authority to name a constellation," I replied.
Our guide, Reuben, saw us stargazing and came over to see what we saw. I pointed out my new constellation to him and, in his infinite wisdom, he assured me that there was indeed already a llama in the sky. He explained that the Incans looked at stars differently from us, taking the negative space around the stars into account. Then he pointed out two bright stars near one another.
"Those are the eyes," he said. "Look around it and you'll see its face."
And there, with sudden clarity, was the unmistakable shape of a llama's face, eyes twinkling down at us in llama laughter.
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