We came to Nazca to try and uncover the mystery surrounding the Nazca Lines.........a striking network of over 800 lines, 300 geometric figures (geoglyphs), and some 70 animal and plant drawings (biomorphs) spread over 500 square km's of arid desert that can only be appreciated from the air in a plane due to their size. These lines date back to Paracas and Nazca cultures from 900 BC to 600 AD. So how could they create these magnificent (and very large) surface drawings at a time when they couldn't truly appreciate the finished product? Different theories exist.......an astronomical calendar mapped out by sophisticated mathematics, ritual walkways, representaions of shaman's (witch-doctor's) dreams, and even extraterrestial landing sites. Well, our research hasn't taken us very far. We tried to fly over the Lines which almost everyone does when they come to Nazca. Unfortunately, a pilot's strike has just started grounding all the planes. Apparently, there was a plane crash 2 weeks ago (the pilot had a heart attack) and so the government made a hasty decision requiring a co-pilot to accompany all future flights to prevent a similar disaster. However, since the pilots use Cessna aicraft that only hold 4 passengers for the one hour flights there was much local concern surrounding the added cost and 25% loss in revenue (one precious seat) resulting in the strike. So no flight for us. Then we attempted to go to the Planetarium last night where they were going to explain the various theories about the Lines and let everyone come to their own conclusion. Just as our lecture was about to begin there was a city-wide power failure......so we collected our refund and quickly hailed a taxi back to the safety of our hostal. The mystery remains but I'm sticking with my own personal theory that some had ingested way too many cocoa leaves. We are going to try the Planetarium again tonight before taking an overnight bus to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon to do some hiking.
Before coming to Nazca we spent 2 days in Pisco on the ocean where we took a morning boat tour to Isla Ballestas, known as the poor man's Galapagos. For anyone who doesn't have the time or money to visit the Galapagos, this is a must-do if you are on the coast south of Lima. For $25 pp we saw many species of birds (boobies, pelicans, terns, cormorants and more), sea lions with their pups and Humbolt penguins, along with local fishermen pulling up their nets overflowing with fish. In the afternoon we went to the Paracas National Reserve to explore the history of the area. Unfortunately, Pisco was destroyed by an earthquake in 2007 and they are still recovering from the devastation (zoom in on the dome of the picture of the local church)......many people still live in their busted up homes since they have no insurance and very little money. I gave some $ to a helpful, older deaf man at the bus station who had lost his hearing and home in the earthquake, and had been hired by the bus company to do small jobs around the terminal. I'm sure there are many others than could use our help.
All for now, we'll provide another update after hiking thru the canyon.
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