The longest day of the year. The Summer Solstice. A day of positive energy and glorious sunlight. That is, of course, if you do not live in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Once again, we awakened to sucked in fog and bitterly cold weather. So much for seeing the sun rise and pop through an ancient temple. There actually is a Sunstone at a local science museum, but they are closed at sunrise and no one there seemed to know what I was talking about.
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Stonehenge. Now that would be incredible. Except that it is so packed with folks on the same mission that I think it might be hard to see and really enjoy.
Machu Picchu, in Peru, is another site. Intihuatana, the stone solar clock at the top of the mountain marks the event. A younger me would have relished that experience. I figure now, I most likely would keel over and drop dead from the lack of oxygen.
| Intihuana - Wikipedia photo |
The ancient Mayan temple El Castillo, at Chichen Itza in Mexico, is the place to be for the equinoxes. I was there, ages ago, but not for the equinox. And now I hear you can't even climb up the temple which produces a shadow snake twice a year. I did scale the temple, and almost did not return. I don't particularly like heights, especially when ascending ancient stone steps with nothing more than a chain to hang on to. Then I made it to the top, gazed out over the marvelous ruins and jungle, then glanced down the steps. My stomach did a 180. How was I ever going to descend all those steps which appeared to be at a 45 degree angle? Obviously, I did make it back down, walking backwards, stooped over, and hanging on to the chain for dear life.
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Photo:Fcb981 -Wikipedia
Maybe next year I will find an ancient site in which to witness the sunrise on the solstice. Or I could look into the Southern Hemisphere Summer Solstice. That's only six months away. I don't know of any historical monuments, but there must be some.
The sun finally made an appearance, and I plan to enjoy every single minute of this special day.
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