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Published: June 30th 2008
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View from inside
Just a ´slight´ 40 degree angle..... Nazca Lines Having taken yet another overnight bus journey this time from Cuzco we arrived in Nazca just after 8am and upon arrival found ourselves swarmed by touts buzzing around us annoyingly like flies. We were tired and had no time for yet more tales of; we give you the best price rubbish, and so headed for a hotel. Where we were approached by a favourite tout of the hotel, this time we relented and listened to him. He suggested to us that we head straight for the airport as the weather was good and we may be able to fly that day. So we did. Having recently heard of a horrific plane crash with no survivors occuring at the Nazca airport we were very selective with the company we used.
I was apprehensive it was my first flight in a cesna and Thomas', but of course in true fashion he was looking forward to it with an eagerness that I was jealous of. The pilot, Thomas and I along with 3 other passengers boarded the tiny aircraft, put on our headsets, headed swiftly down the runway and were up in the air within seconds....there was no turning
back now.
The pilot passed us our guide map of the layout for the Nazca Lines which had been uneartherd some years ago by Maria Reiche who dedicated the last 40 years of her life studying the mysterious lines to try and determine their true meaning. There are conflicting reports of what they may really represent, some believe they are associated with astronomy, as Maria Reiche did. Others believe they show sources of water or are running tracks or used for ceremonies.
It is understood that the lines were scratched into the Pampa Colorada Sands by 3 different groups; the Paracas 900-200BC, the Nazcas 200BC - AD600 and the Huaris AD630. Some of the lines run in parallels, others are geometrical shapes and the rest depict animals, flora and fauna such as a monkey, dog, humming bird, another bird with a wing span of over 100mtrs, a flower, spider, tree and what appears to be a stereotypical alien type figure.
We also had a great view of the worlds´ largest sand dune, the Cerro Blanca, which defies belief that it is a sand dune and not a mountain. Check out the photo.... it´s the huge white looking
Cerro Blanco
Worlds largest sand dune mountain, well, sand dune, in the distance.
It was tricky to spot the shapes at first but our helpful pilot pointed them out to us and banked the cesna both to the right and to the left so that we all got a really good look at them. Unfortunately with the sideways motion of the plane turning to such an angle for 40 minutes I staggered off the plane at the end with a great deal of motion sickness in tow. The experience was well worth the motion sickness.
Paracas National Reserve, Ballestas Islands Having spent just 1 night in Nazca we had talked to a Finnish couple who suggested if we have time to visit the Paracas National Park, Ballestas Islands. Otherwise known as 'the poor man's Gallapagos Islands', as we felt we fitted that description having not been able to get to Gallapagos we hopped on the bus and arrived the night day. On arriving into the main town square in Pisco we realised that all was not as it should be. The town was devastated, buildings were literally falling down, the roads and pavements were torn up and make shift tents dotted
around the landscape. We later discovered that Pisco had suffered a shattering earthquake of 7.8 on the scale in August 07 where over 900 people had sadly lost their lives. The town is slowly rebuilding itself but with little money was taking a good deal of time.
Having spent the night we set off early the next morning to the speed boat that was to take us around the Ballestas Islands passing by the 'Paracas Lines' on the way. The Paracas Lines were in fact a less impressive etching of a cactus in the side of the mountain. The speedboat ride out towards the islands was a strange experience as we were completely surrounded by the mist coming off the sea and you could see very little ahead of you. It reminded me of an old classic horror movie, 'The Fog'. Eventually we reached the Ballestas Islands and were greeted by the sight, sound and distinct smell of thousands of gulls along with a handful of penguins and sealions with their young. Though nowhere near comparable to the Gallapagos Islands I was still left with a happy high having seen penguins and sealions in their natural habitat for the
first time.
That afternoon we boarded a bus for Lima where we were due to spend 1 night before taking off for Manaus in Brazil the next evening for our Amazon Adventure. Lima will be fondly remembered for our bag being stolen (with video camera), expensive and very poor accommodation and the Champions League final where Manchester United beat Chelsea to the title.
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