A Golden Legend

Chapter 28

According to his custom, McPherson brought together the group to give some details about the new stage opening. Everyone knew in advance that other essential data, such as the exact location of the site to investigate, not would be revealed at that time.

Teresa looked around and greeted with a gesture and a smile to many members. There were Lupita and her Chilean boyfriend Sergio, Professor Jimenez, the Peruvian archaeologist called Miguel, the logistics and security manager Rangel, the guide Francisco and about ten other members that had already been part of the previous expedition. The only missing one of significance was McPherson´s Balinese lover, whose ongoing pregnancy constituted an impediment to her participation. In compensation, there were three new members, including a Peruvian geographer called Gomez.

As there were some new members Magnus began his address by making an introduction to Paititi, Tarco Huaman and conjectures about their history, in the same terms that he had done a couple of months before. He had already given a summary of the findings of the previous expedition in the jungle in Brazilian territory.

“This time we will change landscape. We will go to the sources of the Marañón River, located in Peruvian territory. The river is born in glaciers that are located on the eastern slope of the Huayhuash Mountain Range, in the Department of Huanuco, Lauricocha province. While it lies only eight degrees south of the Ecuador, you will have a cold environment instead of the tropical heat that we had before. From aerial surveys we have spotted two suitable locations, distant among themselves only fifteen miles, but with all the peaks and precipices in between, distances are misleading. As on the previous occasion, Mr. Rangel will give us information about the logistical preparations and safety measures to take into account.”

The rest of the meeting had a taste of déjà vow for the majority of the attendees. Teresa, Lupita and Sergio walked away to talk with privacy. Soon Lupita looked for an excuse to get momentarily away from the boy, and once alone with Teresa, she inquired anxiously:

“Well, tell me in detail about Buenos Aires, Marcelo and you.”

The column moved slowly among rocks impeding the progress once in a while, forcing them to look for picadas to climb to the pass  between the mountains. The vegetation was still abundant at 6400 meters above the sea level, due to continuous rains that kept a level of relative humidity close to 100% at all times. The average height of the trees decreased as the expedition climbed the sierra; one hundred feet tall  giants had given way to specimens of no more than forty feet, which allowed them to see the hilly landscape, formerly blocked by the trees. A dense underbrush covered the shallow ground, and numerous rocky outcrops were covered by lichens and mosses.

They had already left two days before and it was about noontime of the  third.

At this altitude the sun still shone with force, so Rangel decided to take a break for lunch and replenish their strength, which would take advantage of the shade provided by a grove that grew on the banks of a stream flowing down from the summits.

When she had eaten, Teresa decided to make a customary walk in the surroundings of the temporary camp, rather than rest like most of his colleagues. She climbed through a labyrinthine path charted by wild animals, which was evidenced by numerous droppings which bordered it. She gave each step upwards with effort and caution, putting away certain branches with a sort of walking stick, actually only a straight and strong tree branch, as a precaution for the presence of snakes, which at that time could get exposed to the rays of the Sun.

On the rocks of varied colors unknown flowers opened up to light, while in more shaded parts abounded orchids and begonias. Teresa sat in a good sized stone beneath the forest mass, to contemplate the nearby panorama and also the more distant landscape, visible in the spaces between the masses of trees. The corner she had chosen was an outstanding version of Eden. A noise that could be heard on her back turned out to come from a small waterfall that fed the brook next to the camp; enormous butterflies and little tiny birds kept flitting between the crystal clear waters, hunting for pollen and nectar. Water drops dispersed by the waterfall formed a rainbow when exposed to the indirect sunlight. Teresa sighed deeply and guided the inhaled air through the whole  of her respiratory system, as she had learned in her yoga classes, and finally exhaled it feeling refined. Her senses were saturated with colors, aromas and textures in the middle of the framework provided by Nature, and her soul was delighted by the irresistibly romantic impulse of her mission: finding a city lost in the middle of that range.

She remained in her well known state of ecstasy for a time, being seized by its sensory perceptions. It was one of the opportunities when the young woman felt fully alive. She thus remained an undetermined period of time, until she reminded her fellow travelers. Reluctantly she initiated the return to the camp.

The group headed by Jimenez came to the site called Huanuco II, whose coordinates had been predetermined from satellite photographs. Francisco, who also accompanied them on this occasion, frequently consulted his map and compass, while a Peruvian mountaineer called Ovidio contrasted those determinations with his GPS. This man of about thirty-five years had joined the expedition introduced by Rangel, who had recommended him due to his knowledge of the Andes and the other Peruvian mountain ranges. Teresa was in this group.

The group led by McPherson and Rangel had taken a different course the previous day to settle at the site known as Huanuco I, and should already be in position, because its planned route was shorter.