The $150,000 Tour of Villa De Leyva: Parte Cuatro: Descent into Hell

Yes, this is supposed to be exactly what you think it is.
Now stop you sniggering.

The final stop of the day:  El Infiernito.  "Little Hell."  So called because of the scandalous nature of the statuary found here.

The official fancy-fancy name is:  Parque Arqueológico de Villa de Leiva Observatorio Solar Muisca.  The Villa De Leyva Archeological Park of the Muisca Solar Observatory.  Some say it's a solar observatory.  Some say it's a field of giant phalluses.  To-may-to.  To-mah-to.

The front part of the park is more "solar observatory" like, with the stone columns lined up for some purpose.

"Solar observatory" for the indigenous Muisca people is a very plausible theory.  But the rest of the park isn't quite as "solar observatory" looking:

Ode to a Phallus:

Translation from the sign, rather obviously, is "The Phallus: Symbol of Male Fertility."

The Muisca weren't shy about showing what they were honoring.

When I saw this huge field filled with giant phalluses of multiple shapes and sizes, I was thinking: There were tall ones, short ones, fat ones, curved ones:

Just like the old song "Spill The Wine," only about giant stone phalluses.  And I do mean giant:

When the Spanish first discovered this field of phalluses, they were scandalized.  They named the place "El Infiernito," Little Hell, because in their mind that was where whoever was responsible for this most likely was now living.  This one was knocked over.

So, yes, while some of the phalluses are standing erect, some are just lying around.  Flaccid.

If this was a solar observatory, then it should be dubbed Phallus-henge, or maybe, Stone-Penis-Henge.

I was at the park at the same time as a group of French tourists (bus tourists) who were getting a guided tour.

The French are more sophisticated about this sort of thing.

And here is a car driving among the stone penes.  If it had been a sports car, say a Corvette, the metaphor would've written itself.

And it's time to bring the saga of the $150,000 tour of Villa De Leyva to a close.  I need a cigarette and a snuggle.

And the Villa De Leyva portion of this trip ends with a night time visit to the Plaza Mayor:

Tomorrow it is back to Bogota.