Taking the high road over the Andes
(WorldNews Argentina)

`Thank you, Pachamama, for allowing us to reach this sacred place,` I say through chattering teeth while offering coca leaves to the matriarchal deity revered by many Andean Indigenous peoples. Benevolent Mother Earth and goddess of fertility, Pachamama`s spirit is still believed by some to preside over the natural world - including here on the freezing summit of Cerro Toco, a 5,600-metre-high volcano in northern Chile`s Atacama Desert. ......