| Nationalgeographic.com has neither edited nor researched this dispatch. |
| October 15-18 |
 On a hotel balcony overlooking the Plaza de Armas of Arequipa, Peru, I sit, pensive and calm, waiting for the expedition to begin. Also at rest, the dormant volcano, Misti, casts its daunting shadow over the city’s churches and people. This tranquillity, however, belies the turmoil and uncertainty of the past week as our team, led by high mountain archaeologists Johan Reinhard and José Antonio Chávez, prepares for an expedition to the mountain Pichu Pichu. Our quest? To uncover more clues about Inca religious practices, especially those involving the Capacocha ritual, or Inca child sacrifice. Part of the secret is housed in the Museum of the High Altitude Sanctuaries Project of the Southern Andes located in Arequipa, where the Ampato Ice Maiden, and another mummy “Sarita” (discovered last year on the mountain Sara Sara), rest frozen in temperature controlled cases. Their important discoveries have offered both the archeologists and the museum laboratory’s manager, Ruth Salas, a bounty of information about Inca culture and religion. Our expedition hopes to further that knowledge. |
| But before we could tackle the ice fields of Pichu Pichu and begin our excavation on the summit, more mundane affairs needed attention. “The satellite modem isn’t working,” Johan said to me. Silent expletives let loose from within, similar to those within my cube back at headquarters. We would all be in trouble if our satellite modem was not functioning. Transmissions from the summit and base camp, an impossibility. I also knew more heads than just mine would be needed to fix the problem. But alas, one rule in today’s modern world is universal: tech support and a whiz UNIX programmer are never far. |
 Contact was made with the computer lab of Catholic University of Santa Maria and within hours, I was teaming with a whiz group of programmers. We haggled for two days trying to figure why the computer wasn’t accepting the satellite modem through the COM port. And while sufficient for ordering an omelet or chatting with taxi drivers, my Spanish was not up to the task of finding networking solutions. Fortunately, computerspeak is an idiom truly cross-platform across countries. Words like Internet, modem, dial-up networking, COM Port 1 were all tongued in English. In the end, we managed to parley like brothers. |
| After hours of installing and disengaging devices, ports, modems, etc., we arrived at a simple solution: reinstallation of Windows 95. Victory cries let loose when we saw the established network connection on the laptop screen! Yet I believe we were also marveling at our stupidity for missing such an obvious fix—par for the course in dealing with computers. Gracias amigos! |
 The kindness and generosity of my friends at UCSM seems the standard for the Peruvians I have met thus far. I taxi back to the hotel, relieved at the fix, yet apprehensive for what comes next. Like Misti, we all must wait now, silently anxious and spewing with internal fervor to get to the dig. Part of the team has already left to establish base camp and acclimatize to the altitude. |
| Tomorrow, we go to base camp to continue set up. And in the days to come, we’ll assault the summit and search for more artifacts and Inca burial sites. So stay tuned over the next couple of weeks. For if the past few days are any indication of what we will face, I promise you a wild ride. |
Yancey Hall
nationalgeographic.com