Galería

I was camped near the ruins of Ñustacc Hyspana at the entrance of the Vilcabamba Valley in Peru. The horses were grazing and I was in my tent, keeping dry from the constant rain, when I received a visit from the local farmer, a fellow who had lost his nose and upper lip to a mosquito-borne infection known as Utu Fly. His farm was in a nearby place called Choqquequirau, where the last battle between the Incas and the Spanish Conquistador forces had taken place in 1572. He showed me this bronze axe head that he had found whilst clearing the brush prior to planting. I traded him a cup of salt for it, and if you look carefully at the photo, you can see the evidence of its use in war. It's dented and a piece has broken off the corner.

Yo acampaba cerca de las ruinas de Ñustacc Hyspana, a la entrada del valle de Vilcabamba, en el Perú. Los caballos pastaban y yo estaba en mi tienda de campaña, al amparo de la lluvia constante, cuando me visitó un campesino de la zona, un tipo que había perdido su nariz y labio superior a la infección del mosquito Utu. Su chacra estaba cerca, en un lugar llamado Choqquequirau, donde, en 1572, tuvo lugar la última batalla entre los Incas y los conquistadores españoles. Me enseño esta cabeza de hacha que había encontrado en el monte cuando quemaba el bosque antes de sembrar. Le cambié una taza de sal por ella, y si miras con atención a la foto, verás que se usó en la guerra. La hoja está doblada y una pequeña parte de la esquina está rota.