It was the middle of the night. I was suddenly awakened from my dream. I’m not sure if it was the bitter cold Andean wind slipping underneath my door, piercing through my blanket or the shrieking cries of a pack of stray dogs just outside my door on the street.
Their sounds were not peaceful, but painful. Something was happening. Their cries turned into howls then soon became attacks and finally screams.
There was a fight. It was now freezing cold.
I stayed under my blanket despite the cries calling me to go outside and do something. My ears were like ice. Freezing in the bitter night cold.
The growls continued then suddenly there was the gnashing of teeth. One dog squealed in pain. Agony. I could then hear all of the dogs disappear into the silent night.
Except one.
One lone dog remained.
His cry was excruciating. He seemed to be calling for help. No other dogs remained. I wanted to go to him. But where?
Over what seemed to be an endless infinity of time the cries began to soften, then became slower. It seemed like hours between each fading cry for help.
And then suddenly it stopped.
Only silence.
There was only the cold night.
How did the Incas build these walls with only their bare hands without any advanced technology?
The lines are so clean that you cannot slip a piece of paper between the cracks.
View From the Road
Archives
Enjoy four years of past articles from the Zen and Ink Journals journey in the archives.
Enjoy published articles from my travels.
Subscribe. Donate. Share the Journey.
Zen and Ink Journals represents hundreds of hours of writing over the past decade, sometimes from a train in remote China or a coffee shop in Kyoto, a hammock in Costa Rica or a simple cabin on a mountaintop in Boquete, Panama or Ciudad Colón.
On these pages, I share my observations of kindness and beauty from my adventures in the world and invite you to listen quietly for the call within you to explore the places that beckon your soul.
If you would like to become a regular subscriber, please consider foregoing the cost of one cup of coffee and a pastry each month ($8) and becoming a monthly subscriber.
If you would like to stop receiving emails from Zen and Ink Journals simply click the unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email.