“Paititi is steeped in legend,” Andy began. “And it’s hard to separate fact from fiction. The word first shows up in Spanish documents dating back to the sixteenth century, when natives were overheard talking about a secret Inca city in the jungle. From there, the various legends grew, new stories were created, and original information was distorted.

“Based on these different legends, some people believe Paititi is a lost city of gold, while others think it’s simply the last refuge of the Incas after they were conquered by the Spanish. Others believe Paititi to be a lost people, the last pure ancestors of the Incas.

“As for the gold, there’s a grain of truth to the legend. When the Spaniards entered Cusco—after executing Atahualpa—they pillaged all the gold and silver they could find. But according to both Spanish documents and oral history, the Spaniards only found a small portion of what existed in the Inca capital. The bulk of the Inca’s treasure has never been found—at least, its discovery has never been reported—and it’s believed that in the months leading up to the conquistadors’ ransacking of Cusco, the Incas were able to spirit most of the gold, silver, and precious stones deep into the jungle. It was there, legend has it, that they built a jungle citadel to protect their treasure.”

“Where exactly?” Libby asked.

“That’s the difficult part. There are several different versions of the legend. Most have Paititi located in the jungles of eastern Peru, just on the other side of the Andes Mountains. Other legends have Paititi located in the thick jungles of the Llanganates Mountains in Ecuador. Others maintain it’s somewhere in Brazil.”

“What about Bolivia?”

Andy nodded. “Mostly western Bolivia, near the Peruvian border.”

Libby glanced down at the notebook on her lap and asked, “Can you talk a bit about the document found in the Vatican archives?”

“Sure,” Andy said. “So, in 2001 an Italian archaeologist found the report of a missionary, Andres Lopez, buried in the archives of the Vatican. In the report, which dates from around 1600, Lopez describes in great detail a large city rich in gold, silver, and gemstones, and called Paititi by the natives. Lopez didn’t give an exact location, evidently, to avoid ‘gold fever,’ saying only that it was covered in deep rainforests and waterfalls. Nothing much came from the report’s discovery, other than a bit of controversy suggesting that the Vatican was trying to keep the document secret and the gold for themselves.”

Libby said, “Okay, a couple more questions. Are Paititi and El Dorado the same thing?”

“They are not, though they’ve become intertwined over the years. The Black Panther movie made it all the more confusing.”

Libby crisscrossed her arms and slapped them to her chest. “Wakanda forever.”

Andy laughed.

“Sorry,” Libby said. “Please continue.”