viking53

We visited Tallin, still under the grip of winter in March. It may have been cold outside but there is nothing cold about the people who live there. Maybe it’s the great Vodka?

My friends would say, “Why are you going there?” as they were heading for Cancun or the beaches of Hawaii.

“Because I want to see the archtiecture and explore the culture before the cruise ships arrive!” I replied. It is one of the most intact walled Medieval cities in all of Europe since the rest were bombed during world war 11 or earlier. But Tallin survived the madness because of its Northern location and it’s distance from invaders capitals.

*Best Pub? The Hell Hunt—great soup and Russian beer

*Best Chocolate? Chocolnterie Cafe—cozy pastry place decorated

like it’s 1930,including old records playing background music.

*Best Russian food and show?—Troika— on the platz!

*Best Suishi—Silk!— very nice new age place with techno music

and the best food

*Best Medieval food experience?—Old Hansa

*Best shopping?—A-Galerii artist gallery. Wonderful antiques from ww2, but be carefull you don’t buy older things because you need a permit. There’s also a great crystal shop on Pikk.

I loved the golden light from the flickering torches that line the street at night and I even love the way local girls walk around in 6" high heels across cobblestone and snow filled streets. Now that is STYLE!

My great-great-grandfather left his home on Westray Island as a cabin boy at the age of thirteen. He sailed around the world at least three times before settling in Chicago, running lumber up and down the great lakes.

He never returned home to see his parents or siblings. There wasn’t enough money one hundred years ago and so everyone died still feeling a sorrowful loss of spirit.

In 2001, a group of 7 woman….all decendants of this man…decided to walk in his footsteps (seeking closure)to find the graves of his parents in Scotland.

What we found was an amazing surprise. Within moments of asking the ferryman for any family relations on the island, we were in contact with not just one person but hundreds who we were related to. One of the cousins said, “We’ve been looking for you for a long time!” I have never been given such a warm welcome before (or eaten so much food at so many different teas!). It was odd looking into their eyes the exact shade of mine…the blue color of the North Sea on a sunny day.

One day we went to the cemetary and found that our great-grandmother’s name had never been etched on the stone. No one had money in 1900 to pay a carver. The American descendants all pitched in to hire one and now her final resting place is marked for all to see and remember. I believe that this is what her son, David, would have wanted us to do.

In many ways I felt that David’s spirit followed with us. There were moments on the ferry where I felt his presence keenly by my side as I breathed in the salty air and the wind whipped my hair.

The family stone croft still stands by the sea, and continues to be owned by “one of us” which is common in these isles where the romance and mystery are deep and rich.

One day I went to the old pier where my David would have left home. Taking my time, I walked down to the end, very cognizant of the man who left before me yet walking the same path. When I reached the end, I said a prayer and cried. The circle was now complete…..we found our way home once again.

Many tourists think that the Incan’s were the only spiritual mystery in Peru so they book their vacation time in Cusco and the Sacred Valley entirely missing the three cultures

That preceeded them. The Inca’s were late bloomers who interloped on top of the earlier cultures:

1.) Mochica—100 B.C.-850 A.D.

2.) Lambayeque or Sican—1000 A.D.-1350 A.D

3.) Chimu—1350 A.D.-1450 A.D (absorbed by Inca)

When you start at the beginning (as we know it currently, since Peru has a treasure trove of archeological sites not studied yet) you’ll see that the great mystery lies with the emersion of the Mochica.

These tribes all lived by the sea, so you must begin your explorations in the Northern coast town of Chichlayo to visit the Tucume valley of the pyramids and the Lord(s) of Sipan burial tombs and museum.

To keep your timelines straight, try to visit the Mochica archeological site of Huaca Rajada first. This rich burial site has three tombs to date, but there are more areas needing excavation:

1. the old lord
2. the lord of Sipan
3. the high priest
   
   The air smells like caramel as you drive through the burning sugar cane fields to this site. Twisting around a curve on the dirt road we pass a barrio where the families continue to get their drinking water from the stream. Our guide told us that they collect water in pails early in the morning. The water sits so the dirt filters to the bottom and they scoop only from the top. The children are a delight, smiling and holding my hand as I walk. It’s up to you if you bring little gifts: toothbrushes? Stickers?

There was so many artifacts and treasure that they are held in the Museum dedicated only to these tombs. The richest finds were in the Old Lord’s tomb including wonderful spun gold spider necklaces and a solid gold octopus shield. The most earthy of the finds that I liked the most were the wonderful works of art in pottery. The earlier culture decorated the pots only in black, but these are red,black, and white. The subjects are people, animals and fish that are sometimes whimsical and other times very macabre. Whatever your favorite happens to be, I am sure you will be amazed by this collection. (Thank you National Geographic for supporting this dig!)

Tucume used to be a lush agricultural paradise but it now carries the name “ Pergatorio”

( the first steps to hell). What remains in this desert-like environment is a valley of 26 flat topped and ramped adobe pyramids begun by the Sican culture that was later taken over by others. One of the greatest mysteries here is the frieze showing Tahitan-like rafts arriving on this shore with forty people for settlement. It would have been possible for such a feat to occur with the skills of the Polynesian people.

Did they assimilate with the earlier Mochica who were in decline? There’s no evidence of conflict in the archeological findings of this agricultural and fishing society.