By plane, by train, and now by horse of course

The last and only time I was on a horse I was 1 or 2 years old and riding on a horse with my father. The horse rolled over on us and broke my dad´s leg. So what better place to get over a mild fear of horses than in the middle of a third world country 1000s of miles from home.

Laurel booked a horseback tour to the temple of the moon through a local agency. Total cost for 4 was 140 sols (around $12 each USD) and included our transportation to and from the ranch. It turned out to be one of the best $12 I've spent.

On the road to the ranch we passed the ruins of Sawqaecaswan. We had been warned by friends that the ruins are pretty need but not worth the price of the ticket unless you are visiting other sites on the ticket. Our friend's comment was that there isn't much of anything there that you cannot see from the road.

The horses turned out to be rather pony sized. And their speed was an unimpressive 1/2

walk. All of this turned out to be rather less intimidating than I had feared.

The temple of the moon turned out to be pretty cool. A cave explored by the light from my digital camera brought us to an alter. I am pretty sure that the alter is/was used for animal sacrifices. It is located directly under the ceiling where a fisure opens to the sky above. Given the name of the temple, I have no doubt that the moon shines through there at some significant time of the year.