Flying high
Trip Start
Feb 10, 2006
1
55
76
Trip End
Feb 01, 2007
Nazca,
Peru
Saturday, October 28, 2006
The pilot was great, very professional and spoke clear English (and a number of other languages). He made sure we knew exactly where to look and what we were looking at, even providing sound effects! The lines were actually very clear despite the haze (result of another earthquake tremor) but I gave up trying to take close up photos as my stomach was doing itīs own loop the loop and you ended up not seeing anything if you peered only through a lens
A) Church that looks like an observatory
. So I just pointed the camera vaguely out the window and decided just to buy postcards later instead if they didnīt come out. The pics arenīt so clear but you get an idea of the shapes.To help us get some idea of who and why the lines were created we went to the Maria Reiche museum. She was an amazing woman, came over from Germany and spent her whole life exploring, mapping, cleaning and campaigning to have the lines protected. Think the locals are very glad she did so as itīs a nice little money earner now with all the tourists that come here. Maria died a few years ago at a ripe old age, she spent the last twenty years of her life in a local hotel - they agreed to give her free room and meals if she gave talks each night to attract tourists. These proved very popular so they have been continued, and luckily for us, in English. The talk was excellent, you sit in small, dark, round room and the speaker projects the stars and pictures up onto the ceiling. Still not clear on who or why the lines were created - landing strips and welcome pictures for aliens? Most popular theory is that they were linked to the desperate need for water and a strong belief in gods who could help the people survive a forty year drought. Some lines point to water sources, some point to the point where the sun rises at the solstices, some appear to have been lines to be walked for religious observance
B) The moon!
. Some creatures like the monkey and the spider can only be found far, far away in the jungle so they must have been trading over huge distances. Shamans in the jungle see the animals depicted here as particularly significant and believe they can fly when taking visionary drugs. For them, the life they see in these dreams is more real than the lives we are living and so maybe the pictures are connected to shamanistic experiences and this explains why they can only be seen from the air. All very confusing but fascinating and very, very impressive. And the scientist let us look through his telescope after, which was awesome.The next day we took a tour out to the cemetery. The tour included a visit to a mining centre where the miners work freelance and with very little in the way of mod cons - they still sieve the gold by foot!
The cemetery is in the middle of the desert and has been thoroughly ransacked by grave robbers. Many mummies still remain - complete with hair and skin but all their goods have long gone. Caught sight of a couple of beautiful little owls on the way. They live in burrows and seem quite happy to sit about in the sun. Very sweet.
Comments
Nazca Lines
The Nazca Lines have to be seen. No amount af description really gives them justice. If the word amazing was ever to be used, it should be used in descibing the Lines. My favorite is the Hummingbird. The planeride is not so bad if you are sitting in the front (where I manage to knock the controls out of the hand of the pilot in my effort to take a picture).
-Kåre