Andean Experience Ch. 02: Marina's Choice

Later that afternoon, Jag took his little group to see the gigantic mud brick temple pyramid of Huaca Huallamarca, right in Lima itself. The flat-topped structure with a long sloping access ramp was built about 200 BCE and used for ceremonies by a succession of peoples after that.

The contrast between the massive ancient structure and the modern office and apartment buildings so close by was striking. They were monuments from two different times!

After the academic day was complete, Jaguar dropped the four of them off at La Casita, leaving them under Chloe's guidance for meals. Jag would be sleeping at home again, a chance to recharge himself with that good night's sleep he still needed. He'd pick them up at 10:00 for a second full day in Lima- Day 6 in the revised itinerary.

First, he drove straight to EsSalud Hospital to learn more about Wayne's condition and to ascertain Marina's decision. The man seemed much improved after some repairs, though still asleep. Jag and Marina spoke in the hallway so they wouldn't disturb him.

"Wayne is in good hands now. But, I really need some sleep, Jag, so I want to leave while he's resting," and she looked closely at Jaguar with those big blue eyes.

"Sure, Marina."

"Right now is fine. He'll likely be out for a long while. Maybe 'til morning?"

"Whatever you say," and they turned to leave the hospital.

Outside, by the mini-bus, Marina took Jag's arm and came closer.

"You have an apartment in Lima, right? Anybody else there?... No?.... Could you take me there? I need to rest and at the hotel everybody will be at me with questions and concern. Do you mind? Just to sleep, that's all."

"No, there's no-one at my place," he repeated, hoping that Miranda wouldn't drop by again tonight.

"Then take me there, Jaguar."

When they reached his apartment building, he carried her bags down the corridor. A quick check of his new hiding place told him that Miranda hadn't found his key. Jag ushered Marina into the small apartment and set about fixing them some food.

"A drink, Marina? Something to help you relax?"

"Trying to get me drunk?" she joked. "I just want a little food and a big sleep. Nothing more."

"Of course. Anything more never crossed my mind!" Jaguar grinned, as if to admit that it had.

"I know why they call you the jaguar. Don't think that I'm going to be your next prey!" Marina laughed.

"No. In fact, I'm going to be on the sofa tonight and you get the bedroom all to yourself."

"Good, because I'm dead tired. And I have some big decisions to make, you know."

"About the trip?" Jaguar asked, inviting her to say more.

"And Wayne," she added, and Jag now sensed that this was about more than whether she'd continue on the tour.

That night, if Marina hadn't been sleeping so soundly, she might have heard some strange, soft chanting in Spanish rising from the sofa.

"Hacer su estancia".... Make her stay...."Hacer su estancia".... Make her stay.... "Hacer su estancia".... Make her stay."

Jaguar believed that he had the power to shape events with his incantations. "He must go,' had led to the very likely departure of Wayne Rasmussen from the tour. Perhaps it would ensure that his wife would remain to complete it? He was the jaguar, with a power to either curse or coerce. He had every expectation that ancient Peruvian magic would work to his advantage again.

****

"It's whatever you want to do, Marina. Your choice."

"I'd feel so guilty not going back with you."

"I know that you don't really mean that. This trip hasn't worked out for us. We were looking for a miracle cure, and it didn't happen. Admit it."

"Still, you're injured, badly. I shouldn't leave you here alone," Marina said, careful to say "shouldn't" rather than "won't", and it didn't surprise Wayne.

"I know you want to continue the tour. Jaguar is a decent guy. He got me here in time, and apparently, he's been in to see me too. And I like a man who shares his weed with everybody," Wayne laughed before clutching his arm against his body. "Fuck, that hurts!"

"Oh Wayne!" Marina said with some concern before continuing. "What are you saying?"

"You're free. Don't think that I don't know how much you want to go on with him. He's the jaguar, right? Indiana Jones. He'll take good care of you."

"It's not about him, Wayne. I'd like to stay with the trip because it's so interesting. A chance of a lifetime to experience all this myth and mystery. Jaguar will treat me as well as any of his passengers- like he did with you, even though you gave him a hard time. That's all I expect from him."

"Go then, Marina. I'll fly home in about a week. The travel agent will take care of everything for me. After that...."

"What, Wayne?"

"After that, come back only if you want that. It's your call. This was our last chance trip and it failed miserably. So now, it's your choice, Marina. I'm giving that to you."

"Wayne... I'm continuing the trip then. It'll give me time to do some thinking about us. Then I'll decide."

"Your choice, Marina. Your choice."

Later that morning- the second full day in Lima- she phoned Jaguar with the news that she'd be staying with the tour. Of course, he was delighted, chalking it up to the ancient magic that he seemed capable of unleashing with simple incantation. But, he acted cool and business-like, clarifying that Wayne would definitely not be continuing.

"So, Marina, I have some time today to find a replacement passenger. If I recruit a woman, you'll need to share a room with her. A guy would stay with me, or maybe Mike. Can I go ahead?"

"Definitely. Wayne is going home in about a week and I'm staying on until the end of the trip," Marina affirmed.

She had made her first choice, but the bigger question about her relationship with Wayne remained with her for now.

Jaguar's plan for the morning and mid-afternoon was to take the remaining four to a couple of smaller museums in Lima. One featured golden objects from Peruvian cultures, particularly Inca masks to the sun god Inti.

These were priceless items, probably worth a king's ransom- as much as the cruel Spanish conquistadores had taken from the Inca to release their captive emperor, Atahualpa. Then they beheaded him anyway.

The other museum had more Nazca pottery and ceramics featuring the Oculate Being, with its glaring, all-seeing eyes and strings of severed heads. Ancient Peruvian gods were often both powerful and blood-thirsty!

After a mid-afternoon meal together, Jaguar gave the group rare free time, a few hours to shop or see the architecture of old Spanish colonial churches and cathedrals in Lima's core. He needed time to comb over his stand-by list and call some friends to find a replacement for Wayne. If he couldn't fill the seat in the bus, a significant slice of his profit would be lost after giving Rasmussen a partial refund.

Later that evening, Marina said her good-byes to Wayne- perhaps for the last time. Jaguar had come to take her to the hotel, and wished her husband well. Before he left, Rasmussen called him back to his bedside. He signaled for Jaguar to come closer.

"You win, Jaguar- you and your Andean Experience. Treat her well and be sure that she enjoys this trip as much as she hopes to. I'll be in Wisconsin in a week, but she knows I accept her decision."

"Thanks, Wayne. You're a big man. I underestimated you, and now I think you've done the right thing. We both know how much she wants to do this."

Wayne just smiled, because Jag didn't understand that he was meaning more than the tour itself. Then they were gone, about to rejoin the rest of the group at the hotel. But once outside, Marina had a request.

"Take me to your place, Jag," she smiled. "I'll stay the night again, if you don't mind."

"Still need more sleep, do you?" he said naively.

This time Marina wasn't ready to sleep. Nor did Jaguar spend the night on the sofa again. She felt free for the first time in years, now that the door of her cage was open. Marina had made her choice, her entire choice.

At first, Marina and Jag just talked about the rest of the trip as he bided his time to see what she had in mind for tonight. He was the jaguar, patient, waiting for the right time to make his move.

Soon enough, he had dragged her to his lair, where both lay naked, his lean, muscular body stretched against her smooth, curved flesh. She was going to mark her new freedom by spending a heated night with this jungle beast.

While Jaguar had years of experience with women, Marina surprised him. This gentle woman with the big eyes and the soft voice came back at him with an intensity in bed that he couldn't recall. Soon he was unable to think of anything but satisfying himself and this highly desirable woman who wanted it so much.

They were good together, driving each other higher and higher with every passionate kiss, with every forbidden touch. Jaguar's paws roamed over her sensuous flesh, eliciting soft moans of want and need. He felt himself pushed beyond all endurance as he plied her fine body.

Time passed quickly in the heated rush. Finally, both strained to their peaks, gasping as they reached the crest, then fell into the space beyond.

Afterward, while Marina drifted off to sleep nestled beside him, Jag lay smiling. His appeal to the power of the Chavin jaguar had come through once again. His incantations had asked to "Make her stay", and she had come to him tonight.

Jaguar had been changed by many years exposed to the ancient myth and mystery of Peru. He had come to believe in the magic of the past, and already he had used it to bring this lovely woman into his bed, her husband going home. Now she was his.

****

Next morning, Jaguar and Marina arrived at La Casita to pick up the rest of the travelers. They were surprised to see Marina without Wayne, and it didn't take long for them to notice that there was chemistry bubbling between her and Jaguar. He explained that Wayne would be flying home in about a week, and that he'd generously encouraged his wife to continue with her dream trip.

He also mentioned that they'd be meeting a new recruit tomorrow morning, an older man taking the now-empty seat in the bus.

The drive south from Lima along the coast was pleasant after they had cleared the ring of slums and choking traffic which spread out from the city. In Latin America, the best areas are often downtown, while sprawling, non-descript settlements are outside the core. Past those, the traffic opened up and the skies cleared to a bright blue. Traditional Peruvian music poured from the bus speakers.

One of their rest stops was an area which fronted the Pacific Ocean. Waves crashed along the shore while seabirds wheeled overhead, diving to take fish near the surface. Jag explained that the coastal strip of Peru is very dry, despite the ocean close by. Winds blow offshore, leaving ancient cultures along this coast to capture and preserve occasional rainwater and run-off using elaborate collection systems. The Nazca culture practiced such measures.

They camped again overnight, close to the city of Nazca, their focus for the following day. Supper was freeze-dried food cooked over hot coals, then Jaguar built up the fire for the evening. The group noticed that Marina quickly settled in next to him in the circle of six around the flames. But they were pairing off at every opportunity themselves: Chloe snuggled close to Mike, while LeeAnn and Zezy had become friends.

They wondered if Jaguar would be sharing his little stash with them again, but he had a surprise. He pulled a bag out of his pocket and took out a small handful of leaves, passing them around the fire.

"Take just a couple of leaves and pass the rest along. This is coca leaf, at one time an important ingredient in Coca-Cola, the origin of its name. In the leaf form it's a mild stimulant once used widely among Andean peoples to chew or to drink as a tea. It was officially banned by the World Health Organization because the leaves contain a tiny percentage of cocaine.

Coca's still grown and used, especially among Indigenous people in Latin America. Try some if you choose. Chew it for a while to see if it has any effect on you at all. Don't worry. You won't trip out or become addicted."

A little later, Jaguar poured a half dozen small bulbs from the bag and passed them around the fire.

"Just take one if you want, because this is more powerful stuff. It's the bud from the Peyote cactus and was probably used by those stoned pilgrims seeking visions from the bloody Lanzon at Chavin de Huantar. Take no more than one, because these buds have mescaline in them, a real hallucinogen. In a larger quantity, they'll bring a psychedelic experience, like in the Chavin temple.

I've sliced these small so that you are only getting a tiny dose of mescaline. By the way, this is totally illegal in the United States, so don't try taking any back with you."

Whether it was the mescaline, or simply the power of suggestion, a few members of the group began to act in unexpected ways. Jaguar noticed that Chloe and Mike became rather amorous, openly kissing each other without restraint as Zezy and LeeAnn stared. Marina snuggled closer to Jaguar, making no pretense to hide her growing affection. Then he changed the game.

"Let's dance, everyone!" and this led to wild gyrations around the campfire until the effects of the magic buds wore off.

The next morning, Jag was up early to make breakfast and Marina joined him, already taking on a new role as 'his woman'. She had slipped into his tent that night and they had kept each other warm by zippering their sleeping bags together as one. Then she had played the feline aggressor, pulling Jag close and yielding her body until both appetites were sated.

After breakfast, the first order of business was to break camp and drive an hour or so to Nazca's airport. The last-minute replacement for Wayne was meeting the tour there, before they all boarded a short flight over the Nazca Lines.

Lorenzo had stepped out of a black car a short time before, not waving as it sped away toward Lima. One look at him, and Jaguar wondered if he had made a mistake in his haste to fill the vacancy.

Lorenzo Martinez was about fifty, maybe older, and quite obviously Andean. His name had come to Jaguar after a series of phone calls from a travel contact in Lima. He had explained that this "friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend" wanted to venture out, "to see some of his own country." He was willing to join the group in a day, and he'd be paying the full remaining fare in cash, right on the spot.

That was all that Jag needed to hear. Now he wasn't so sure about that quick decision.

The man looked untrustworthy, like someone with a criminal background or a price on his head. A long scar ran along his jaw, and one eye drooped like a beaten prizefighter. His sullen, swarthy face evoked immediate suspicion. But, as Jaguar counted off the crisp bills, he smiled, then turned to his tour group to introduce Lorenzo. They looked at one another in concern.

Jaguar had let himself open to a world of trouble. He didn't know it yet, but he would find out soon enough.

****

"Incredible! Look at that! It's a whale," Lee-Ann exclaimed.

"Look at the long straight lines everywhere. I wonder where they're leading?" Mike asked, and Jaguar answered.

"Nobody is sure. Some say they were to mark out the constellations and bright stars. Others think that the lines showed underground waterflow into collection cisterns. The jury is still out on that question, Mike."

The light plane flew across a band of low mountains and another area of the flat Nazca desert opened up beneath them.

"Look! There's a monkey with a big spiral tail!" Zezy called out.

"Do you see that human figure over there on that sloping mountain side?" Chloe pointed from her side of the plane.

Jaguar's tour group were experiencing one of the trip highlights- a short flight above the famous Nazca Lines. It had originated at Nazca's airport, and before they took off, Jaguar gave them a short introduction.

"The lines you're going to see were created by the Nazca people over a thousand year period between 500 BCE and 500 CE. They're straight lines and figures called geoglyphs, made by removing shallow strips of surface soil down to material of a different colour. Many of them show animals, but there are some resembling monsters or aliens. You're going to see at least a dozen today."

"So why are they there, Jag?" Marina asked, a logical question.

"There are lots of different theories, but no-one really knows. In 1969, Eric von Daniken claimed they'd been made by alien astronauts to guide in further landings. I think he might have been into the Peyote buds!"

This brought a huge laugh from everyone but Lorenzo, who hadn't been at last night's campfire. Jaguar continued a bit longer, but he realiazed that he was trying their patience. Everyone wanted to fly.

"Let's go up now and you can see them for yourself. They're mostly concentrated in a small area, so our flight is only part of an hour. Ready?"

They were more than ready.

Zezy: "There's a bird with a really long beak."

Jaguar: "The hummingbird."

Lee-Ann: "And a big spiral."

Zesy: "Look another bird, with long feathers!"

Jag: "The condor."

Mike: "There's a spider over to the left."

Chloe: "I think that one is probably a parrot with a big beak."

The excitement continued like this until the flight touched down. Back at the bus there were plenty of questions. Marina wondered if the designs could easily be damaged by weather and people. Jaguar had an answer.

"There were heavy rains and flooding a few years ago, but afterward the designs were fine. It's usually a dry and windless climate, so the Nazca Desert doesn't shift like the Sahara. This is a World Heritage Site, but people still manage to damage the area, even squatters letting their pigs run through them."

Jag had noticed something suspicious at the airport. The new passenger, Lorenzo Martinez, had hung back from the group, both on the way to and from the airplane. He seemed to be looking around a great deal, like he was wary of something. Then, when a pair of security guards came his way after the flight, he rapidly rejoined the tour group, and made every effort to blend in with them.

Had their uniforms spooked him? Why did he seem so uneasy and alert as he crossed the tarmac? Jaguar was already beginning to get uneasy about the new traveler.

After lunch, the second stop was to visit an ancient cemetery, which would have had intricate burial shrouds like those Elena had shown the group at the Archaeological Museum in Lima. It was close by, a half hour drive from Nazca. This was a very hot summer afternoon, and Martinez, dressed in the rumpled dark suit he wore when dropped off at the airport, was not eager to leave the air-conditioned mini-bus.

"I'll stay here, Jaguar. It's too hot outside."

"I'm not going to run the air-conditioner for you, so it'll be even hotter in the bus. Take off your jacket and roll up your sleeves. You'll be fine."

"You run this trip like a prison," Lorenzo complained.

"You been in one?" Jag shot back, and Martinez just levelled a sullen stare at him, as he took off his coat.

"We'll only be about an hour and they have cold drinks here at that little place over on the left," Jag said, pointing to a shack. "Cold beer, usually."

Martinez' sullen face almost changed to a smile with that, and he joined the group trooping into Chauchilla Cemetery.

They were in the middle of the long, narrow Nazca Desert now, once home to the Paracas culture, then later by the Nazca, who shared many of the same beliefs and practices. Jaguar explained how both groups had developed channels to collect precious rainwater for their agriculture.