Page 71 - Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock
P. 71
Graham Hancock – FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS
Lake Titicaca.
Rumours of a cataclysm
Around four o’clock the next afternoon we set off for Lake Titicaca in a
rented jeep, fought our way through the capital’s incomprehensible
permanent rush-hour traffic-jams, then drove up out of the skyscrapers
and slums into the wide, clear horizons of the Altiplano.
At first, still close to the city, our route took us through a zone of bleak
suburbs and sprawling shantytowns where the sidewalks were lined with
auto-repair shops and scrap yards. The more distance we put between
ourselves and La Paz, however, the more attenuated the settlements
became, until almost all signs of human habitation ceased. The empty,
treeless, undulating savannahs, distantly bordered by the snow-covered
peaks of the Cordillera Real, created an unforgettable spectacle of natural
beauty and power. But there was also a feeling of otherworldliness about
this place, which seemed to float above the clouds like an enchanted
kingdom.
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