Toro Muerto (Dead Bull) is the rather peculiar name for a fairly large tract of desert not far from the small pueblo of Corire. It is "famous' for a series of petroglyphs, carvings of animals, shapes and figures, on big rocks scattered all over the area. Not much is really known about these, or the people who made them, as there has been very little other archeological evidence found around them. The area was evidently not used as a settlement and does not appear to have been a significant ceremonial site. The style of the markings suggest that they may well have been first made by the Wari people between 1500 to 1000 years ago although they may have been added to in later periods up to the Incas.

We took a local bus from Arequipa for the three hour journey through the mountains (nothing in South America ever seems to be really close). We knew that Toro Muerto is up in the desert awy from the road but the track is supposed to be a signed a few kilometers before you reach Corire. We asked the driver to let us off there and he seemed to understand what we wanted. Sadly we were mistaken. We were following the route on our sketchy map and we knew we were close but the next thing we knew we were pulling into Corire. We approached a taxi driver about taking us back but he wanted what appeared to be a very high price for a very short trip. He insisted that it was a long way and very high but we had our instructions that implied it would be only a short walk.

So we set out to retrace our steps to the turn off, which was a bit further than we had expected. We then headed uphill passing through some fields towards the desert. After a fair amount of walking we reached another little sign that indicated that the entrance was a further four kilometers uphill (and we knew that there were a couple more steep kilometers from the entrance to the stones themselves) We realised at this stage that the taxi driver had been right and our guidebook directions were definitely wrong! Still we were committed at this stage so we continued our uphill path, past shelters and grazing animals on miniscule smallholdings, to the ticket office arriving in the early afternoon.

We had to sign in and realised that only six tourists, including ourselves, had visited that day so this can't be described as a tourist honeypot. The young man showed us a rough map of the area (but didn't give us a copy) and indicated the way to the stones. Essentially his instructions were, 'keep walking uphill towards a disused telegraph pole and when you see the white house with the letters AM on it, keep uphill and to the left. It will take you about half an hour'. This did not really prepare us for the absolute vastness of the desert when we got out there. Although behind us were the green spaces of the valley bottom, in front and all around us lie dry sand and rocks stretching as far as the eye could see. It was hard to judge the distances and impossible to tell, beyond the landmarks that he had pointed out, if we had gone astray. The route, as you might imagine, was considerably more complex than his instructions, the white house just a couple of crumbling walls, and we were quite relieved when we finally reached a brow and saw in front of us the small shelter that marks the first of the large white rocks.These rocks on which the petroglyphs are carved were thrown out during volcanic explosions about 50 million years ago in the Valley of the Volcanoes, nearly 100 kilometers away. Although it is clear that these rocks stand out as different to the basic stuff of the desert here, it is interesting to speculate why people felt the need to ascend to this lonely place and make their marks

Printed on the back of the ticket was a sketchy route around the stones but attempting to use it would be a recipe for disaster. With no clear landmarks and an undulating surface it would be easy to get lost. The fierce sun and difficult sandy surface also meant that walking around was pretty slow going. We opted to follow a broad arc through the stones, keeping the shelter within sight.

The markings are really strange. Many represent animals such as snakes, birds, llamas and pumas, the stuff of all ancient art in this area, interspersed with figures that are clearly human. Amongst the markings were some groups of lines and symbols that did not convey anything obvious to us. On many rocks are zigzag markings that struck us as lightning but some reading suggests that they are related to water. Certainly looking around this arid spot (the fertility of the valley is more recent) there seems to have been little else to stimulate art than the lack of water and the need for animals to sustain life.
 
Sadly, many of the rocks are not in good condition. Some of the deterioration probably comes from the stresses of the harsh sun (during the day the rocks become too hot to touch). Others appear to have been deliberately fractured, perhaps so visitors can take home a souvenir carved rock. And of course others suffer from the seemingly inevitable graffiti. Sad that all the effort made to make these marks, perhaps a thousand years ago, can be spoiled by someone's desire to put their name on a stone.

We made our way back down to the road and flagged down a passing bus to return us to Arequipa. It had been a long day and we reflected how in England we would never set out on a day return trip that involved six hours on a bus. South America is giving us a new perspective on terms like 'close' and 'nearby'!