Nazca

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  Nazca, Peru
Monday, May 15, 2006

During the many tours that we did in Peru, we learnt lots and lots about the Incas and the cultures they conquered (pre-inca cultures). The most violent and feared pre-inca culture was in fact the Nascas! Therefore, I was more wary than usual when we arrived in this dry dusty little desert town. We arrived at 6am and were greeted by lots of locals shouting at us offering tours and places to stay. We have experienced this at almost every arrival post, except these people were crazy, they were not just the usual pushy types, they were screaming at us and seemed to be on the brink of war. It was a little scary but thatīs ok, we were very excited to be here in Nasca and looking forward to flying over the lines and deciding for ourselves (ok just me) whether they were made by aliens or whether there was a perfectly logical explanation for these lines.

The flight was going to be in a tiny 5 seater plane and the flight was going to sway from side to side so that everyone could take photos. Therefore, we were advised not to eat or drink anything before the flight in case we got sick. Jorgen immediately opens up his breakfast pack and eats a sandwich, crackers and juice. I, of course, decide to wait just in case..

Before the flight we watched a really good and extensive documentary on the history of the Nasca culture and different theories on why they created these long lines and figures. Some of the 13 animal shapes they etched out are also on the pottery they created.

It was time for the flight, we were very excited, cameras ready, we boarded the little plane, strapped ourselves in and up we went. The first figure pointed out to us was the Whale. Our fellow passengers were also shouting where, where? It was tiny! I thought these figures were supposed to be massive? We almost necessary to squint to see it. Rather disappointing I thought! Then, we did a loop of the other figures, the hummingbird was fantastic, also the monkey, the parrot and the condor were the biggest and best. Thank goodness, this was impressive after all! As far as you could see, there were lots of lines and trapezoids, they were SO dead-straight. This was probably more amazing than the shapes themselves. The flight was exilariting and thoroughly enjoyable

Nasca is in the middle of the desert, it has hardly rained here EVER. Ok, slightly dramatic, very little rain, maybe once every few years. Anyway, the Nascas had been drawing for a while but they really increased the numbers of figures and lines they drew (this has been determined by some kind of scientific dating in the soil and rocks etc) during a 40-year drought.

The figures are drawn in such a way that people can walk along the lines actually, march along them, they were used in rituals. This was their way of asking the gods for water!!

I am skeptical about one of figures, īThe Alien/Astronautī or rather "The Teletubby" as we called it. It does not resemble the other figures, what I mean by that is, it was not carved or etched out in the same way. This is obvious from the sky. Therefore, I can only conclude that some idiot must have done this to fuel speculation on the origins of the lines.

The Nascas definitely did NOT create the lines as landing strips for aliens. Airplanes could land anywhere anyway, itīs all flat. The poor Nascas were just asking for rain AND worst of all, they were asking a sand dune for rain!!

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Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

03- Astronaut	04- Another Humming Bird	05- Hands (And truck on the highway)	06- Nazca A Dusty Place
07- Keep Clear! We´re Landing

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