The chapel was built in 1946 in memory of the killed members of the resistance of the Secret Army, an armed Belgian resistance group. The symbol of this resistance group is an inverted triangle with a lion's head. The secret army was mainly active from 1944 after the Allies landed in Normandy. In September 1944, several resistance fighters gathered in this forest to attack the Germans with the Allies. The German troops became aware of the preparations due to treachery and attacked the animal shelter in Rotem (code name: Anatol), in which more than 130 resistance fighters from the region were killed or captured.

Sacred garden of the Coricancha temple. Spanish chroniclers describe it as a garden of golden plants with leaves of beaten gold, stems of silver, solid gold corn-cobs and 20 life-size llamas and their herders all in solid gold. Also many other animals like colibris, snakes, butterflies and even spiders formed a detailed garden of gold and silver. Gold was considered the "sweat pearls of the sun" and silver the "tears of the moon".🌞🌚

Coricancha "The Golden Temple" with Convent of Santo Domingo above. The Coricancha was the most important temple in the Inca Empire. It was destroyed during the Conquista. It must have been very impressive with lots of gold decorations. The remains form the foundation of the convent. There is a museum inside which also includes art collections (Cusco School and contemporary art). The green area is the sacred garden. The man in the white shirt is just leaving a small archaelogical museum, which is located directly under the garden.

That's on my way from Santa Teresa (Machu Picchu) to Cusco (capital of the Inca Empire). I traveled with a colectivo, that's what the collective buses are called in South America. The whole trip was an adventure. A little later, when it was already dark, we stopped in the middle of a winding road somewhere in the mountains. We had to push the bus for it to start again. Most of the other passengers, although native, hardly spoke Spanish. Not every Peruvian speaks Spanish as a mother tongue. Quechua is the most spoken language in some regions. When we finally arrived in Cusco, it was after midnight. I remember how excited I was when I finally got to the hostel.😁

Burning palo santo in front of a mirror.
I discovered this "holy wood" in Peru. Bursera graveolens beguiles with a sweet soothing scent and has a nice relaxing effect. It contains a lot of resin, so it burns very well. Palo santo is closely related to frankincense. Both belong to the plant group of torchwoods. The smell is quite similar.

The intensely fragrant smoke is supposed to drive away bad energies. Shamans and medicine men use it for ritual purification and healing. People use it to clean their homes of bad energy. In fact, mosquitoes and moths don't like it at all.

In Peru, no trees are cut for harvesting. The twigs and branches are collected from the ground. I don't know how this is handled in other countries.

Traditionally, coca leaves are consumed in the Andes. You get it offered on every corner in plastic bags. The original form of consumption is by chewing the leaves. Mate de Coca is something of a national drink in Peru. It's also available in small tea bags, but I always had loose leaves. There's even chocolate with coca leaves! Very often there are restaurants and bars that somehow refer to coca.

The leaves are used as a stimulant, as a dietary supplement, for ritual and medicinal purposes. They help suppress hunger, fatigue and cold and are very effective against altitude sickness as they improve oxygen uptake. Also, the coca leaves have always had a spiritual meaning.

I found it similar in effect to black tea. There are no known side effects and you won't get addicted to it. It would take about 300 grams of dry coca leaves to extract 1 gram of cocaine by chemical extraction.

And please don't misunderstand, I'm absolutely no friend of the drug cocaine. People who snort this in order to feel superior, thereby contribute to terrible atrocities such as murder and trafficking.

😂 When I waited in Santa Teresa for the bus to Cusco, I met a Swede. He was in transit and brought some rapé from the Brazilian Amazon. He couldn't tell me exactly what's in it. Tobacco and other plants, he said. It looked a bit like crack, so I just tried it. What should happen bad?😅
Shamans use it ritually to establish contact with the Great Spirit. You blow the rapé with a v-shaped tube into the nostrils. The shamans actually take longer pipes and blow each other's nostrils. It's very strong tobacco, which burns in the nose and goes directly into the head. Shortly thereafter, a deep relaxation spreads throughout the body. I found it very pleasant, so I got some on the San Pedro market in Cusco and brought it to Germany. I still have most of it. It is really strong! Always fun to offer it to my friends. 😜 But actually there is a much deeper meaning behind it. Those who are interested should search for "sacred rapé rites".✌☺

Sometimes I visit other planets. On Beta Carotene, everyone is invisible because they eat so many carrots.

Salt-tolerant coastal vegetation in the Atacama Desert, the driest desert outside the polar regions.

My first stopover was in Paracas, where I stayed for a few days. I got off the bus early in the morning, where a friendly taxi driver greeted me directly. Actually, I wanted to walk, but the price was too cheap to say no. We drove along the paved road. I had no idea what kind of area my hostel was in. When we left the paved road and drove through a slum populated by stray dogs, I thought this was just the way to the hostel. But we stopped in the middle of it. I lit a cigarette and let the impression sink. After a few puffs Nicolas came out the door and greeted me warmly. I was 4 hours early but that wasn't a problem. His wife Mary immediately made me a fresh breakfast while Nicolas prepared my room. It was a very nice and maintained hostel. Not for high standards, but with a lot of love and attention. The first impression of Paracas immediately lost importance and I was glad to have such a nice accommodation. Tourism in Peru is just beginning to develop. But that's also its special charm.