The Best of Both Worlds

The drawings of various animals and geometrical figures etched in the desert floor, known to everybody as the Nazca lines, are probably the most important (interesting?) archaeological site in this part of the country.  They were constructed by the Nazca people, and along with their pottery are the greatest representations of this culture.  I had been a bit skeptical of the whole thing before I came (I thought it was probably just a tourist trap), but I came away from seeing them very impressed, and it turned out to be a great day. 

My flight over the lines was scheduled to leave at 10 this morning, though I had been asked by the people at the tour agency to “have patience” with the flight schedule.  Apparently there is some kind of oil shortage here due to a ship that didn’t arrive on time (I also thought I overheard someone say that the US was screwing Peru over somehow, but who knows).  Anyway after waiting two hours, me and four other people finally were allowed to cram in a tiny six seater Sessna OB 1655.  Oscar, our pilot, handed us out maps of what we were going to see, and calmly describe the flight plan.  I had been worried that starting out so late would not have let us get a good view of the lines as the sun would be too strong, but this turned out not to be the case.  The plane took off and as soon as we approached the first set of drawings, a whale, the pilot maneuvered the plane at such an angle that the wing was pointing directly at the ground to where the picture was sketched.  Sure enough, there it was, easily seen in the flat plane below.  It looked like a chicken scratch, but one done with enough skill to actually carry some artistic merit.  We then went through all 13 sets of the lines, every one of them clearly visible from the plane.  They arent that big, but it is definitely cool to think that some group of people 1500 years ago was here, yet still communicating with us through their monumental art this very day.  The plane ride, however, was the worst I have ever experienced, and makes any roller coaster in the world look tame.  I didn’t throw up, but I sure did feel like crap the entire 35 minutes.  All said, I am very glad I did it, it was just nice to finally get out of that plane at the end. 

There are many theories to what the lines mean.  The most accepted one today is that they were involved somehow in praying for water, as many of the trapezoids point to specific points where water could be found.  But this just explains the geometrical shapes, and says nothing about the spiders, birds, fish and plants that are also found.  My opinion is that they probably did not have a specific purpose, but are just representations of the culture of the Nazca people.  Possibly they have some religious significance, but that really isn’t what is interesting about the lines.  These shapes are direct representations of what the Nazca people were thinking about, what was part of their lives.  That is pretty cool to be able to see. 

After all that I went back to the hotel to rest, and have my stomach recover from the plane ride.  I went to take a swim at the pool in the hotel, and then stopped to watch the soccer match between Villareal and Arsenal with some of the hotel staff.  It was a relaxing way to end the day, and now I am here at an internet cafe waiting for my bus to Arequipa to arrive.  It is going to be a cold trip up into the mountains, so I hope it wont be too much of a shock after the warm desert here in Nazca.