Peru Trip

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October 27, 2009 - Nazca

I forgot to mention that we stopped off at a small winery yesterday where we sampled some of the wines made here. Though at 40%, they were more like spirits than wines and with nothing to eat since breakfast, I was a little pissy.

After a very full dy yesterday, today was about the Nazca Lines - and maybe a few other things nearby.

Before dinner last night, we attended the Naza Observatory for a briefing on the many theories about how the lines came to be and more interesting, why were they made?

The theory that seems to be most widely accepted, is that over a period of 80 years, the lines, shapes and pictograms were made to mark out important dates - change of seasons - and also as a representation of the constellations as they saw them - e.g. the Big Dipper was seen as the Monkey.

Following breakfast, we leave for the airport, about 15 minutes away, at 9:00am.

Due to the size of the planes, we are split into two groups, one of 5, the other 4. The first group of 5 - Kath, Chris, Mike, Kim and Stephen - took off into the desert sky about 15 minutes after arriving (we were expecting a much lengthier wait due to the numerous tourists and tour companies).

No sooner had we walked back into the terminal after seeing the others take off, we were met by Wilfredo (Intrepid tour guide) telling us that we were good to go. With that, Megan, Richard, Aine and I were joined by Jo (a Kiwi lady) and taken to our plane for our trip over the Nazca lines.

Juan-Carlos, our pilot, usheed us into the 6 seater plane where he and Jo sat up front with Megan and Richard in the middle and Aine and I in the back.

The figure of the whale is the first we see out the right hand side, which is where I am seated. To give all of us a good chance to see the pictogram, Juan-Carlos makes a left turn. A very tight left turn that sees us nearly vertical and done at a rapid pace.

And so begun the aerial tricks that would see our stomachs be turned in all directions...

To see the images as they were intended, from above (if only by tourists and not the gods of an ancient culture) was spectacular. To imagine the amount of careful work and time consuming work is still baffling without truly knowing the reasons why and how.

So enthralled was I by these amazing feats of ancient ingenuity, that I didn´t quite connect the reason the Aine wanted to know the pilot´s name - it was also quite warm and noisy in the little cabin.

It then tweaked about a minute later - she´s gonna yack...

I quickly pulled the little blue plastic bag out from the seat in front of me and handed it ti Aine which she began to fill almost the moment she placed it over her mouth. Luckily, there was sufficient ventilation to ensure the aroma did not fill the small space otherwise I too would have joined Aine in the art of reverse peristalsis as my stomach too was close to rejecting it´s contents.

Megan, sitting in front of me, also fell victim to the tight turns and warm air. So there we were, flying around in a small plane with 1/3 of the people on board quickly filling the little blue bags. Aine double bagged hers which I was grateful for but also worried that more may be required. The pilot was well prepared with a stash of baby wipes and more little bags to fill with vomit.

Juan-Carlos told us via the earphones we each wore that the flight back to the airport would be flat and without turns, no doubt a relief to all on board.

Understandibly, the girls opted out of the next activity - a walking tour of the town of Nazca. Kath, richard and I strolled along the streets looking in each market/stall and in one, I found the best T-shirt I´ve seen here which I bought but will not reveal just yet...

After returning to the hotel after a quick bite to eat and a swim in the hotel´s pool (about 3:00pm), we set off for our tour of a pre-Incan cemetary - given the bumpy roads, it was again probably a good idea that Megan and Aine decided to rest and sit this one out.

The cemetary was situated on a flat part of the desert with about 6-8 huts indicating exposed graves, found by archaeologists and arranged in a display for our viewing pleasure.

Due to the heat and dryness of the area, most of the remains had become mummified, preserving them. Some of the dead were also subjected to post-moretem procedures before being buring (removing organs, etc).

As with other ancient cultures, the dead were buried with their possessios making the area a prime target for grave robbers. They would also open the dressings of the dead in order to check if they had gold transplanted following an injury - usually to replace missing skull pieces from injuries sustained during battles, mostly from sling shots.

Our last night in Pisco was topped off with a meal of spaghetti bolognaise - I added chilli for a Peruvian flavour - and took in the sights and sounds of a live band in the restaurant.

Now for a ten hour bus trip to Arequipa!!

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Photos

Nazca at night
Plaza de Armas

Nazca at night
Plaza Fountain

Comments

[Martine]

plane...
i would have been hurling too!!