Blythe Intaglios

 On a recent adventure, I stopped at a gas station and started filling the tank. A gentleman at a nearby pump smiled over at me.

Actually, I believe he was smiling, since the corner of his eyes crinkled. With nearly a year of wearing masks outside, it’s now easier than ever to know a person’s expression. 

Eyes crinkle – there’s a smile. I crinkled back while nodding my head.

“Do you enjoy Italian ice cream?” he asked, from beneath his green plaid face covering.

Not sure how to react, I just nodded, and crinkled my own eyes.

He pulled the bottom of his mask out a bit. “Sorry, stupid mask. I asked if you have had a chance to enjoy the Blythe Intaglios. Since you’re in Blythe and all.”

The truck filled, I shook my head. “Nope, I gotta go,” I mumbled through my own mask, a sharp looking black one, with Route 66 stenciled on it. I had no idea what he was talking about, and for once, I wasn’t curious. 

“What were you discussing with that guy by the pump?” Laureen asked. She’s always curious.

“I don’t know. Something about an Italian dessert, I think.”

“What?”

“Yeah, weird,” I responded. “Something to the effect, if I enjoyed Blythe Intaglios. I didn’t even know Blythe had an Italian restaurant, let alone one serving ice cream.”

Silence for a moment, and then Laureen stated. “He was possibly talking about geoglyphs. Like the Nazca Lines in Peru.”

I started the truck. “Please, ask Mr. Google that, and let’s see if it’s ground art or Italian ice cream.”

Turns out, that the Blythe Intaglios are actually a group of figures etched into the desert floor. I mean, some pretty large figures of humans, animals, and swirling markings on the ground.

Intaglios is not a dessert - but this looks yummy

Never knew they were there. In fact, there are over two hundred of these geoglyphs in the Colorado Desert.

Okay, what is a geoglyph? 

According to the website, geographyrealm.com, a geoglyph is ‘a work of art which is created by arranging or moving objects within a landscape.’

I move stuff in my yard a lot, so I must have created geoglyphs without even knowing about it. Laureen should be proud.

“Honey, I moved that pile of leaves, leaving some pretty interesting rake marks.”

“You are nothing but a brilliant artist, creating a geoglyph such as that.”

The praise would never stop.

Actually, geographyrealm.com, wouldn’t agree with my depiction of the art work created by moving a bag of leaves from my yard.

‘For an art form to be regarded as a geoglyph it must generally be more than 4 meters in length. It must also be stated at this point that this art form is difficult to see or even be identified on the ground but are easily appreciated when seen from the sky.’

Then what is this Italian ice cream, the guy at the gas station was talking about? Oh, sorry, the Intaglios.

Sounds rather snooty to me.

Where would I find the definition for such a word? Of course, I used the website, myintaglios.com – where else would anyone think to look?

Intaglios, is an Italian word that means engrave. According to the experts, they must be with such a website, the term is even deeper.

‘An intaglio is an object that has had some shape of figure engraved or incised into its surface.’

Why couldn’t the Blythe thingies be referred to as the Blythe Geoglyphs? Why make the carvings on the ground sound like a dessert?

“Do you have room for a nice Italian Intaglio?”

“Ah, no, I am stuffed with the two helpings of Cacio e pepe. Thanks, though.”

Anyone, who has traveled to the boating meccas along the Colorado River, probably have passed the location many times. Yep, heading north along U.S. Highway 95 from Interstate 10, out of Blythe – you can't miss the place.

Pulling the boats, the jet skis, the trailers, the desert toys along that ribbon of black asphalt, you’ve passed the place. 

Going to Parker – you’ve passed the place.

You get my point – you’ve passed the place.

But did you stop?

A stop is needed to view this intriguing historical site. It’s an easy, well-marked dirt road and the stop is worth it - even pulling boats or toys,

According to the Bureau of Land Management, the drawings in the Blythe area, were created by the natives living there about 450 to 2,000 years ago. But, other research indicated the drawings are only between 900 to 1200 years old.

Drone shot - shows the entire drawing

Since there is no written record from that time period, it is only best guess work when these involved pieces of ground art work were actually scraped.

So, again, what exactly is a geoglyph? Think of the Nazca Lines in Southern Peru – those most folks are familiar with. They scraped out desert drawings of birds, people, animals, and other objects were made about 1500 to 2000 years ago. These drawings are huge, one measuring well over 1,200 feet long.

Giant spider in Nazca, Peru 

Laureen and I almost saw these drawings, when we visited Peru with our children years ago. We were headed to Cuzco, to visit Machu Picchu, with a planned stop at Nazca to take in the ancient land carvings.

Of course, we took the supposed twenty-one hour bus trip from Lima to Cuzco aboard First Class Bus Service.  Nothing is too good for my family.

Took us nearly thirty-two hours. A muffler flew off two hours out of Lima, leaving our ears ringing for weeks, as if we had been working with jack hammers every day. When we reached Nazca at two in the morning, the bus suddenly needed a fuel pump.

The driver was very apologetic though. “I am so sorry, we won’t be able to see the lines in the ground. It’s too dark and we are way behind schedule.”

“What?” I asked, his mouth was moving, but all I could hear were bass drums pounding in my ears.

Not quite this bad - but pretty bad

The flight from Lima to Cuzco is only a bit over an hour. Note to self, don’t be so cheap in my next life.

In the Blythe Intaglios area, there are six figures in three locations. There are three human figures – though Laureen swears one of them is an alien, two four footed animals, and a spiral – could be a snake or some other slithering reptile – I’m not sure. But what I am positive of is, that they are all worth taking a look at.

Desert animal and squiggly lined thing

It is believed, per the BLM and others that they were created either by the Mohave or Quechan tribes, but as far as my research showed, no Native American tribe has taken credit for the drawings.

An interesting point is, that most of the 200 such geoglyphs located in the desert are near the Colorado River. Makes sense, since many of the tribes believe that this mighty river was the sustainer of life for the desert dwellers. Water means life, so, perhaps in respect, these giant ground drawings represent gratitude for having the life sustaining river so close by. 

We may never know why they were drawn or by whom, and according to geographyrealm.com,

‘As of today, we can say only one thing – the geoglyphs were built by ancient people. By whom and for what purpose, remains a mystery.’

Since the Blythe Intaglios are so huge, for example, there is one depicting a male is 171 feet long, it is best to view them from the air.

The big guy - scientific for - The big guy

I tried hoisting Laureen onto my shoulders so she could get a better look, but that ended in a complete disaster.

Hard to see from ground level - but see, you can

So, the use of a helicopter or drone is the best way to view these marvelous art works. I settled on a drone.

Of course, the figures can easily be seen by looking at them from ground level, and that is what counts. To look, and appreciate the ingenuity of a culture who carved a belief into the ground, possibly without realizing people hundreds or thousands of years later would also appreciate their single dedication with such artwork.

We certainly did.

Peru - 3rd Time the Charm

The idea of traveling to Peru is always in our thoughts. Not only is it a chance to travel out of country which is something thoroughly enjoyable but we also have a close friend in Lima. We'll refer to him as Carlos since he is retired military and want to keep his last name out of print. Carlos had a particularly interesting and precise occupation in the not so far past.

His job, and thus the requirement for anonymity, was to hunt down terrorists who belonged to the Sendero Luminioso (Shining Path). The Shining Path was a group of murderers and thugs led by Professor Abimael Guzman who went into the hinterlands of Peru terrorizing the farmers. Guzman espoused a Maoist form of Communism and wanted the government of Peru to have a total regime makeover. The military government of Peru allowed for the first time a free election in 1980 but instead of getting involved Guzman and his followers decided to start a guerrilla war against the government which left countless dead in the next twelve years until his capture in 1992. According to a report from 2012 there is supposed to be nearly 4,000 current members of this terrorist group who still raises its pathetic but dangerous head to murder innocents.

Then again, what terrorist group doesn't kill innocent men, women, and children? Remember Beslan in 2004? If not read my novel 'Soft Target'.

Unlike many countries who want to treat terrorists as common criminals, Peru had a different approach. Elimination versus long stretched-out court appearances which tend to make terrorists into celebrities. No, Peru's idea was efficient, quick and permanent. As a Russian spy once told Carlos - "In Russia we will build monuments for any civilians who die as we wipe out these terrorist thugs. It's how we do business and our business is short and lethal to those who want to vent their nonsense by taking hostages." Barbaric? I'm just a writer and not in the first hand field of ridding the world of those who make it their goal to terrorize.

Enough of the philosophical typing.

My lovely spouse, Lauren, and I first met Carlos while on our honeymoon in Peru. Typical tourists we took in everything we could see in that first short trip in Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu.

What you looking at?

 It had been such a marvelous trip that we decided to return to Peru with our three daughters, Erica, Jessica, and Kelly. This time we stayed for a month and they loved it just as we had, but despite the occasional complaint since "Dad's" idea of an easy day while vacationing is leisurely twelve mile hikes around cities and sites.

"Rub your feet tonight but let's get some miles in. Never know if you'll be back here again in your lifetime."
The three girls grinned and stepped up. 

It seems only a few short years, later we found ourselves back on a Lan Peru airliner heading to South America to see Carlos. This time there were three of us, John, Laureen and our great friend Paul Bakas who would be the videographer and confidant.

We have action

The purpose of this journey was six-fold: visit with Carlos and family, research for John's new novel, obtain material for our blog, film a trailer in the Amazon, do some twenty-two minute video segments on traveling, and to have fun.

The fun, there was no doubt, would be had.

When we land back at LAX we will be hitting the keyboard with tales from Peru and especially from Iquitos - the largest city in the world, with a population of over 400,000, which can only be arrived at by boat on the Amazon or by air. There aren't any roads in or out.

And the golf course issues machetes with each bag of clubs.

If my ball is eaten by a Caiman - is it a one stroke penalty?

A Peruvian Tale of Friendship (Part One)

When traveling we occasionally come across interesting fellow adventurers who are not content with sitting at home but want to hit the high road and see what is on the other side of the mountain. That is how, we at J and L, feel people should spend their lives. Exploration is what makes humans so successful among their fellow creatures in an often challenging earthly environment.

With this in mind I would like to take the reader back with me to the sprawling mountain village of Cusco in the beautiful South American country of Peru. That famous capital of the mighty Incan empire before the Spanish arrived and chased the remaining native souls to the hinterlands and one of final hideaways in Machu Picchu (a topic we have covered previously).

It is in that very city, Cusco, that Laureen and I met a wonderfully interesting and educated man. But a man of great mystery as we learned some time later.

His name was Carlos and he was an officer in the Peruvian military. We will, at this time, not mention what he did in the military except to say he was in charge of an anti-terrorism special operations team which worked in the Amazon and other locales in this vast and varied countryside.

We were in Peru for the first time, to visit the ruins of Machu Picchu and then move on to Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world) to visit the floating reed islands. Here we were going to tour Sun Island (which was actually in Bolivia), and take a drink from the fabled  fountain of youth and receiving a blessing from a local shaman. That meant we had to get from Cusco to Puno.

Of course, to get to Puno, the tiny Peruvian town on the coast of Lake Titicaca, we had to take a six hour bus ride from Cusco. Now, to put the trip into perspective, a six hour drive for a Southern Californian is nothing more than a long trip for a good meal.

That idea was short lived. The bus, 'First Class Transportation', from Cusco turned out to be a voyage from hell.

It was great fun!

We started early on a cool winter morning (it was summer were we lived in North America) leaving the magnificent city of the Incans for the semi-short drive to Puno when suddenly the route was blocked by construction. Large earth moving machines munched dirt like a starving person eats whatever is in their reach. Knowing no one on board the large transport bus, we sat and chatted between the two of us knowing we would probably fall asleep while the driver bore down the long dark asphalt vein that would end at our destination.

Sleep never came.

Our bus driver, a rather tall and skinny older fellow, decided that he had had enough at one of the detours on the highway and jumped out of the still running bus and began chasing two construction truck drivers swinging his fists and knocking one poor worker to the ground nearly unconscious. The people on our bus were in shock to witness such a show of animal brutality but Laureen and I sat and watched and made a financial bet to see who would finally win.

We were from the United States. Betting on violent spectator sports was in our blood.

Laureen won the bet as the driver, now sweaty, dirty and swearing climbed into the driver seat and lurched the bus backwards and then forwards toward a narrow but high cement curve. He was taking this bus full of passengers up and over this slight obstacle to the flat and even dirt road which the innocent construction workers he had just beat up were trying to pave.

This is where I would get my money back.

"He's going to high center this bus." I smiled at Laureen.

"No, he knows what he's doing."

The bus climbed a couple of feet, dropped less and was stuck teeter-tottering on that cement divider. I smiled knowing we were even with our bets - so far.

With what I believe was an attempt at a chagrined countenance the bus driver had us exit the bus so he might be able to un-wedge the vehicle from its perch.

"He won't be able to do it," I said.

Laureen did not take the bet.

He couldn't and we knew there would be at least forty-five minutes of head scratching, more swearing, and finally a solution in removing a five ton bus from a short concrete wall. Our fellow travelers stood around the bus for the next several minutes while the genius behind the wheel and nearly a dozen other men pondered the situation. Being the explorers we were, the idea of standing around watching the ruckus with the bus didn't sound like our cup of tea, so we walked off and found a small roadside shop for a cold beer and a Pepsi. After refreshing ourselves, we slowly made our way back to where the bus was still lodged off the ground. Trucks and men pulled and tugged on the bus until finally it was free. Our Ark had bested the wall  and we were finally on our way to Puno but without the benefit of an exhaust pipe. We were less than two miles from the bus station but it was just the beginning of a wonderfully funny and pathetic story.

Only 386 kilometers to go.

And we had not even met Carlos yet.

To be continued.

Memories of Machu Picchu

This summer marks our tenth anniversary -- not of when we were married, but of our second honeymoon which we celebrated in Peru. Summer (winter in the southern hemisphere) is a quieter time with fewer tourists and an opportunity to take your time and truly enjoy all that the country has to offer.  While more of our memories will have to wait for another posting, something happened in the news which brought us back to Machu Picchu.

The Lost City of the Inca was discovered, or shall we describe it better as rediscovered, by the American explorer Hiram Bingham who climbed the steep jungle slopes exactly one century ago this month. Bingham -- credited as the inspiration behind the creation of the character for Indiana Jones -- wrote about seeing a large and well-preserved city 8,000 feet in the clouds. That city, tucked between the peaks of Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu and rising above the cayman in the Urumbamba River is just as awe-inspiring to this day.

His finding of the lost city paved the way for its restoration and preservation, but not until some treasures had already been looted, like the one just recently discovered. This treasure, a stone statue, possibly of the Inca emperor Pachacuti, once stood in Machu Picchu where it is believed he was buried.

J and L finds it inspiring that all is not lost to history and that our memories of Machu Picchu will continue to grow.

The site at Machu Picchu where archaelogists believe a state of an Inca emperor once stood.
Paolo Greer