 |
Nazca, Peru |
|
We were picked up at the Cabildo Hotel at 5PM and taken to the bus station for our overnight to Nazca. These buses were quite the luxury accommodations. There were three extra wide seats across with a window and aisle seat on one side and a single window seat on the other side of the aisle. These seats reclined almost to horizontal for sleeping. The staff served a hot meal similar to the airlines after which movies played for insomniacs.
It was comfortable and we were able to doze a bit during the ride. Our bus pulled into the Nazca Station at 2:30AM where we were picked up and transported to the Nazca Lines Hotel.I'm afraid we woke the staff up to check us in and tote our bags to our rooms but I'm sure this is quite the norm. The rooms were spacious and the beds comfortable. We slept soundly until 6:30AM when we met for breakfast and began to plan our day. First order of business was to check out the grounds and pool of our oasis in the desert. Dick even found the lobby a comfortable spot to catch a cat nap.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
After arranging for an afternoon flight over the Nazca Lines we decided to explore a bit of the city center and Plaza de Armas which was only a few blocks away. This Plaza is not as grand as those in the larger urban areas, but it is quite pleasant with many benches and shade trees. We settled ourselves quite comfortably on a bench and watched the locals go about their business. Before long we made the acquaintence of Federico, a shoeshine boy who worked the plaza until it was time for his afternoon school.
Nazca's climate is extremely arid. We noticed that many building sported canopies over doorways and rooftops made of reeds. It is an odd mix of the tropical island meets the high desert.
We also noted that most stores and shops were open to the street but street vendors set up shop at the curbside. The major market streets are pictured below. The facade of the Chinese Restaurant stood out in sharp contrast to the surrounding buildings. Refrigeration is not necessary when freshly killed hens are prepared minutes before they are purchased. Chicken livers, hearts and gizzards were also sold separately at the little shop below.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Our flight over the Nazca Lines was scheduled for 4pm. We were excited all day waiting to see the mysterious lines. The afternoon was clear and windy and our plane took off right on time. I was fortunate enough to sit in the copilot's seat where I was able to photograph the lines from both the right and left sides of the plane. The pilot circled each figure on the Plains both to the left and to the right so that passengers on each side of the plane got an equal view of these amazing lines.
As we approached the plains we could see the largest of the geometric figures and the Pan American highway (which cuts across some figures before anybody knew they were there). It is amazing that the figures were ever found and deepens the mystery of why people who lived 2000 to 3000 years ago created the giant figures that they could never see. It also demonstrates the monumental undertaking of Maria Reiche who swept pollutions and debris from all of the figures to make them more visible.
Even now that the figures are clean, the sheer size of some of them make them difficult to see from the air unless you know exactly where to look and what you are looking for. Our pilot circled each figure very slowly to be sure everybody on the plane could identify each one. Once identified they jump off the Nazca plane with crystal clarity. I doubt that they are signals to ancient astronauts as TV program hypothesized, but they certainly are a marvel and a mystery that piques the imagination.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
That evening we watched the program at the planetarium on our hotel grounds. It focused on the constellations of the southern sky, pre-columbian constellations and the possible correlation between those constellations and the Nazca Lines. After the program we peered at the night sky throug a high powered telescope where we clearly saw the rings of Saturn and Jupitor, its giant storm and three of its orbiting moons. We also learned that Maria Reiche spent the last 26 years of her life living in an apartment at the Nazca Lines Hotel until her death at 95 in 1998.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
