Hotel La Maison Suisse Nasca

... a hand-held fire extinguisher next to our plane on the runway, and a Chinese tourist who was staying in our hotel sat in the pilot´s seat, but she kindly moved and all was well.

There are many theories about the famous Nazca lines, but as with much Peruvian history the lectures end with ´´but noone really knows´´, leading to some imaginitive suggestions. The most accepted, because least far fetched is that they are an ancient astrological calender ...

... It looks like it has been made from mecchano and Eduardo, our driver and guide for the day, clearly feels he missed his vocation as a rally driver. It takes about an hour to drive into the desert to reach pure dunes, classic hills of driven white sand that appear to have razor sharp edges. Eduardo drives over the top edges with a cry of ‘Oh ho!’ as we fly into space before racing down the far side. I am glad he knows what to expect the other side of the ...

... The following morning we took the overflight of the lines. It lasted only 20 minutes, but trust me I don't think anyone could stomach such flying for longer than that. To show us a line, the pilot would toss the plan on its right so the wings were perpendicular to the horizon, and spiral down towards the earth. And with little warning, he would toss the plane on its left and repeat the downward spiral. You ...

... could grab our snaps as it flew over the spectacle. This obviously didn't fare well with poor Angela, who ended up using quite a few sick bags! Thankfully the flight was only 30 mins long, and even I was feeling a bit woozy by the time we'd finished.

We got our certificates of completion at the end, a small consolation for Angela I think after her ordeal. And that was Nazca - a place you only need 1-2 days for, but a fascinating one nonetheless. Next was our pit-stop in Lima...

... their mysterious lines on the ground. I admire some of the lines from a metal tower, as I chicken out about flying the funny little aircraft they have there.

The Nasca lines are still a mystery, and many people are dying to sort it out. For example, a German scientist Maria Reiche spent her whole life living near Nasca and examining the lines. She even came up with some really brilliant ...

... for what reasons? Some believe the lines were created by aliens visiting the planet (which might explain the drawing of the astronaut waving), but most believe that pre-Inca civilizations created the lines and used them for astrological purposes. Ian theorized that a couple of farmers, drunk on Pisco sour, lawn-mowed the desert a century ago to create some controversy, which might also explain the drawing of the astronaut waving. The debate is still open to discussion...

... his pants into a more checked one. When I realised what he was doing, I looked away before I saw more than I needed to see.

Eventually the bus arrived in Nazca and could immediately tell the weather there was better than it was in Lima - sunny and blue skies. Nazca is a desert town which wouldn’t be famous if it were not for the famous Nazca lines. I could already see from the bus a little of the lines etched into the ...