Peru: Nazca Lines

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05/04 - Nazca Lines

We used Cruz del Sur for the 13 hours trip Cuzco - Nazca and it was the best bus company ever tested. Digital screen on board, internet and Facebook available when cell-phone signal was available, games, movies, like on a plane. We also had a diner (you have the choice between meat or vegetarian when you book your ticket), and a small breakfast which was welcome. The seats are larger and more comfortable than in any other bus company we have been using so far. They offer a little cushion and a cover for the night.

Cemetery of Chauchilla:

We took the tour with our hostel Brabant to visit the Cemetery of Chauchilla where mummies have been found only 50 years ago. The site has been racked by unrespectful people in search of the potteries and some textile to sell them on the black market. Therefore a lot of mummies have been destroyed but some have been found and put back in the cemetery where they belong. They all face East as they believe in resurrection and East is Machapapa meaning the re-born - where the sun goes up. Some have dreadlocks as the customs evolve with time. It means that they were rich. The textile found on them is pure cotton The one in red is tanned with the Cochinella, little red insect found in the cactus still used today by pharma and beauty companies as it is used in the lipstick for example. The price of this insect on the market is quite high.

Nasca Lines:

Took the tour also through our hostel for 80$ each - duration of the flight is almost 1 hour. We were 4 passengers, 1 pilot and 1 co-pilot. We took motion sickness tablet before to make sure to enjoy the experience. The flight was more or less smooth even so the plane was going left and right to enable everyone to see properly the lines. We saw the 13 of them: The Whale, the Trapezoids,the Astronaut, the Monkey and the Dog, the Hummingbird, the Spider, the Condor, the Heron Bird and the Pelican, the Arbol and the Hands, the parrot. It is amazing to see the drawings, just something from the X-files. The lines are straight, well-defined. What does it mean? Why is it there? Well, we supposed we will never know - one mystery that this world will never reveal!

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