Maras Restaurant, San Isidro, Lima, Peru

The legend of the founding of the Incan Empire begins with a heavy rain, and afterwards the four Ayar brothers emerge from a sacred mountain with the mission from their father, the sun god, to find the beautiful Cuzco Valley and lay the foundations of the kingdom there. When the brothers reach the top of Mount Huequey Willca, it becomes clear to Ayar Cachi, Ayar Auco, and Ayar Ucho that their father had chosen Ayar Manco and his wife Mama Ocllo to become the founders and rulers of this empire. This revelation made Ayar Cachi weep miserably, so much so that he turned into a stone mountain. And the massive number of tears he shed later dried and formed the most beautiful salt flats in the Incan Empire. These are still in use today, and from them we extract salt rocks the colors of the Andean gods: purple and lavender. Before dying, Ayar Cachi asked his wife to give his salt-converted body to each inhabitant of the empire.