From Arequipa we took a night bus north up the coast to see the mysterious Nazca Lines. Spread along 500 square kilometres of arid desert the lines consist of over 800 straight lines, 300 figures and 70 animal or plant drawings. The reason for the lines remains unknown. The German scientist Maria Reiche suggested the lines were from the Nazca cultures from 900BC to 600AD and claimed they formed part of a sophisticated astronomical calendar. Others claim they are alien landing sites or representations of shamans’ hallucinations caused by taking drugs. Having seen them I’m putting my money on the latter.
Shortly after arriving we caught a local bus 20 minutes from Nazca along the Pan American Highway to an observation tower to view the lines up close and personal. We had read the tower was 50 metres high. It was more like 15! Our oblique view of ‘the lizard’ and ‘the hands’ was a real disappointment. The forms seemed tiny and nothing like the vast condor shapes stretching across the desert that we were expecting. We walked up a nearby hill to view them from a different vantage point but again saw relatively little.
The 50 metre platform which was actually more like 15 metres
Oblique view of 'The Hands' also known as 'The Frog' from the platform
Every now and then a tiny plane would circle overhead. It was obvious the only way to see these lines is from the air. We had heard of a plane crash in October killing 6 tourists and more recently in February injuring 10. I won’t repeat the expletives that came out of Rachel’s mouth but lets just say she wasn’t very keen on the idea. Undeterred, I booked myself a 45 minute flight the following morning for 100 US Dollars.
The tiny plane and the pilot
I was advised to skip breakfast because the 6 seater plane can feel a bit like a rollercoaster, especially if the wind is up. Once inside and seated the plane felt like a toy. It was like being back in my Fiat Panda, in fact the stereo looked very similar. The take off was surprisingly very smooth. The Peruvian pilot was banking hard left and right and we were soon seeing the whale, the monkey, the hummingbird and the impressive 200m condor to name just a few. The experience was fantastic, if only for the ride itself. Some of my fellow passengers didn’t enjoy the ride quite so well and I can say for certain that the Canadian lady behind me did not skip breakfast. Cusco next and the famous Inca Trail…
The Hummingbird
The Spider - Middle of the photo and down a bit
The famous Condor - Below and just right of the rectangle
I was sat just behind the pilot with an amazing view of the runway. It was nice to see it. Phew!!
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