When trying to be hard core just isn't worth it

On my way to the Cotahuasi Canyon, I decided to make a quick stop in Corire to see Toro Muerto, a field of petroglyphs that is a UN heritage site. Cool, I thought, petroglyphs! So off I went, on what was supposed to be a one-hour walk because I scorned the easy way of paying a taxi to drive me there and wait for me while I visited the site.

I had to ask directions multiple times, partly because there were no signs and partly because I didn't really understand what people were saying. Finally I get to this huge desert field and it's still not clear to me where the hell I'm supposed to go. I was in a place that looked like this:



And I'm thinking: Okay, petroglyphs. What the hell is a petroglyph? Am I supposed to be looking on the ground? Are they carved in to the slopes? Finally I figured out, in my genius way, that perhaps I should follow the tire tracks. By this time it was blazing hot, I was totally dehydrated, and I was also completely alone in the desert, which was both disconcerting and a relief. In the end I did find the field of petroglyphs. It looked like this:



Pretty awesome huh? That's what I thought. Upon closer inspection, I did manage to find some petroglyphs.




I couldn't help thinking that they looked like kids' drawings. Is that disrespectful of me? Anyway, I guess I can't expect every excursion to be the best thing ever.