add it up

Right before I left for Cusco a friend that is traveling through South America just happens to mention... "Hey, Cusco has really great tattooists."

I've been thinking about my next design for months. I knew where and what, just not exactly what. As soon as I decided on the design, and the size I sat down for the next four hours. I have some tattoos that have taken 12 hours to complete, but not all at once. I usually go for about 3 hours - max. What is another hour? Well, let me tell you that given the location - on my spine - and the extra hour - this was by far the most painful tattoo I've had. Three hours in I was fine, but it was that fourth hour that was a killer. Now that it's over, though, I love it.

My newest addition is the big one in the middle of my back. This is an Inca design of a condor. Condors represent protection. The Inca people had three animals that had major importance: the condor, the puma and the snake. Condors fly and therefore watch out over the earth and offer protection and a connection to the sky. The puma represents strength, and the snake intelligence.