Day 69 - The Nazca Lines

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We got a flat tyre at 3am, on a road renowned for night bus hijacks! After an hour or two we were safely back on the road, arriving at Nazca at 8ish. By 9:30 we were on our way to the airport to see the Nazca Lines. The lines were created by the Nazca people by removing sun darkened stone from the desert surface to expose the lighter soil below, some time between the 4th and 9th centuries. This network of over 800 lines, 300 geometric figures (geoglyphs) and 40 animal and plant drawings (biomorphs) is spread across 500 square kilometres of desert. It is unbelievable that the lines are still visible - not covered by sand or rock, or eroded. There are 2 reasons for this, firstly that the stones absorb heat throughout the day, giving them a cushion of warm air as protection from the wind. Secondly, the sand has a high concentration of a chemical that acts like glue, keeping the rocks in their place.

There are many theories for these bizarre lines, two greatly investigated were that the lines were an astrological map, mapping the stars and constellations thus acting like a calendar. This was refuted as astro-alignment accounts for only 30%!o(MISSING)f the lines, and it is only by chance that they map points on the horizon. Another theory was that the lines mapped out underground irrigation channels. The most accepted theory is that the lines were created for religious rituals, mapping routes to be walked, connected to a water/fertility cult. We only saw 12 or 13 of the figures in our half hour flight (including the spider, monkey, hummingbird, condor, alien, dog, hands, whale, parrot and trapezoid shapes) - exciting in itself as my first flight in a small plane (a 4 seater plus pilots). Truly bizarre.

That afternoon we crashed out until hunger drew us out to Los Angeles for their cheapest set menu.

Chris's Corner

Before being dropped at a petrol station in the middle of Nasca, effectively the town bus station, we were actually parked up at a cafe round the corner for 20 minutes. If we had known we were so close we would have probably got off, especially as the bus was starting to become a little dodgy! Whilst Sophie and Taryn got off to go bano and stretch their legs, I stayed on to watch the bags. The only other person to stay on was another Gringo, whilst sat there I caught a reflection in the TV of him go first through 2 bags on his seat, then through numerous others belonging to other people whilst repeatedly glancing at me. When everyone got back on he actually went to the driver and said his camera had been stolen, but very dodgy way of going about getting it back!

When we actually checked into our hostal, the room was great... but the bathroom was designed for midgets. Not the same height as the room, it was effectively a porta cabin built into the room. When I stepped up onto its base, I could not stand up straight, more to the point, the bulb was open and hung straight down from the ceiling, head butted once or twice! Space inside, non existent, the toilet hanging over the shower basin and the door, like a barn, open at the top and bottom, minimal privacy, and the water pressure, a trickle, took Sophie 5 times as long as normal to wash her hair!!

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