A mere half hour walk from my house and across the river are these unexpectedly serene and magical stone reservoirs. I have no idea if they're Inca, they've definitely at least been reconstructed, but water flows into them from the ancient canals running down the mountain and then continues out the other side through more canals to irrigate lower fields. You can control the amount of water flowing out and the direction it flows by blocking or unblocking different canals. (I didn't take a picture of the canals, blast!) Imagine an immaculately constructed rectangular stone pool with clear, cold water flowing endlessly over a carved stone spigot in one corner, tucked away in a grove of tall eucalyptus, fruit trees and lush grass all around. Also there is a big old bull tethered nearby. It's the classiest pool I've ever swum in!
A few weeks ago the weather was completely perfect for going and taking a dip in the icy springwater at midday when the sun was blazing. Noah, Blair, Lil' Jacky and I all set out for adventure. We took a minor wrong turn and had to scale terraces, climb up spectacular Inca steps and go around ingeniously prickly gates (for deterring animals). Jacky swam in the river but did not like it very much when we put him in the pool. He vastly preferred snoozing in the cushy mounds of grass nearby and pretended he didn't hear when we called him to come down to the pool and hang out with us. Lastly, I tried to take a family portrait.
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