Nasca 29th July 2009
Nasca,
Peru
Sunday, June 28, 2009
29th June 2009
We arrive at 6.30am to Nazca and were taken by mini bus to our hotel. We
checked in and showered and had 4 hours to kill before meeting back
at 11am for our flight over the Nazca Lines and tour. The lines
consist of patterns and pictures etched in the ground, crisscrossing
a wide area of flat desert. Some of the lines measure up to 10km in
length, and yet remain perfectly straight. The depictions of birds,
insects and animals are only recognizable from the air. Who drew the
lines, and why, is something modern archaeologists can only theorize
about, but current beliefs suggest that they may be part of complex
agricultural calendar.
The entire desert area was also once the home for the ancient Paracas and
the Nazca cultures, which preceded the Incas by more than half a
millennium. Remains of the Nazca culture are still visible and we saw
these on our tour of the ancient Pre-Inca desert cemetery site of
Chauchilla, with 1500 year-old mummies, bones and pottery on the
desert floor. The tour also included a visit to an artisan's
workshop, where modern masters create Nazca style pottery.
At 11am we met to go to the airport for our flight over the Nazca Lines
but apparently the airport was too busy so we had to wait until
midday. We sat in the sun until our mini bus turned up, once at the
airport we had to wait another hour before finally going for our
flights. Daniel didn't take the flight and waited in the airport
whilst the rest of us split into groups of 5 and went up to admire
the lines.
Once in the air you could see the lines really clearly but the flight was
really wobbly and therefore made us all feel rather travel sick.
After the flight we went for a buffet lunch before taking our 2 hours
tour of the cemetery. Due to the delay with the flight, we rushed our
tour as we didn't fancy being in the cemetery after sunset.
We returned to the hotel at 6.45pm and for those who we hungry, tea was
at 7.30pm, Laura and Zoe decided against it and watched a film
instead. After tea some of the boys had a table tennis competition
whilst other relaxed before going to bed about 10.30pm.
