82 DATE WITH THE GODS
convincing. Both books dealt with unexplained mys
teries in recorded human history, linking them to
visitors from other planets. Many questions are raised as
a challenge to modern science.
Because these books are well written in simple,
layman's language, anyone with little more than an
elementary education could understand them. They are
fully researched and investigated and well documented.
The authors have traveled to many continents in search
of the evidence of ancient astronauts. I wished I'd had
the opportunity to read one of these books before I had
gone on my trip the previous weekend. My whole
attitude would have been different, both about seeing
UFOs for the first time and the information conveyed by
Rama. I thought about Rama while reading them,
because the authors quoted the Bible extensively, mak
ing comparisons between the Holy Scriptures and the
ancient texts of Indian and Oriental Cultures. It became
very clear to me that the beliefs of various cultures are
very similar, the differences being only a matter of
language.
I also discovered that Von Daniken had gathered
much of his information for his books in the territory
where I was presently working. I decided to do a little
first-hand research on the area myself. I asked Nancy, a
native of Peru, to tell me about the ancient legends and
myths of the ancient Peruvians. I was now convinced
that Peru was a land where history and science could not
come to a conclusive agreement on how the Nazca
markings came to be or who had carved the stone-faced,
brooding monoliths at Easter Island.
This was not my first experience seeing these things.
On two of my previous visits to Peru I'd had the
opportunity to travel to Cuzco, Sacsayhuaman, Mac
chu-Picchu, the Titicaca Lake, Tiahuanaco, going as far
as La Paz, Bolivia. At that time the tour guide told me