Baby, it's getting good, let the fun begin.
I woke up at 7:00 am this morning and I did some stretching. I noticed we had no power or internet so Larry and I walked to find coffee and Wi-Fi. We communicate with Martin via the WI-Fi while enjoying a bit of yummy hot coffee. We wanted to check in and make sure Martin was still coming at 9:30 am because plans tend to change at the last minute.
We were picked up at 9:30 am for a 10:00 am flight in a Cessna 207. I don't know if I ever mentioned that I am a pilot, my father was a pilot and my 26-year-old daughter is a commercial pilot. So I love to fly, enjoy being around planes and hangers.
Martin knows our pilot Bruno, he’s 24 years old. We went up in an 8-seat plane with a pilot and first officer. The flight was only 30 minutes long, but we got to see many of the Nazca animals, figures, and aqueducts from the air.
Here is a little quick history on the ancient "Nasca lines" created on the desert floor by native peoples in the desert in southwestern Peru about 1,500-2,000 years ago by the Nasca culture, prior to the invasion of the Incas. The lines, which are etched into the surface of the desert by removing surface pebbles to reveal the lighter sand beneath, depict birds and mammals, including a hummingbird, a monkey, and a man, as well as zigzags, spirals, triangles, and other geometric figures. Called "geoglyphs," the elaborate figures are located about 250 miles south of Lima, and measure up to 1.2 miles in length. Their meaning has been the object of centuries of speculation. Some experts have hypothesized that the figures had ceremonial or religious functions, or served as astronomical calendars. But a slate of scientific tests has led the UMass team to theorize that at least some of the geometric shapes mark underground water.
There is a link to this article at the end of this story.
Check out the pictures below to see our photos from the plane, what an amazing and beautiful landscape. Everything looks better from the air.
I was super happy with many of our pictures, but the experience was totally amazing and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Peru. Martin’s wife Veronica was with him this day. After the flight, we had lots of breakfast snacks at the airport.
Next, we drove to another Nazca line that points to where the water is. Mirador de geoglifos de santo Cristo.
We continued our day tour of Nazca by visiting some ruins called Los Paradones They were located close to our hotel. It once was an old Nazca village until the Incas built over it. The ruins are still covered in soil, but much is uncovered. I hope you're able to get the feel of this magnificent place through our photos so please enjoy the slide show below.
The Aqueducts were built by the Nazca people 200 BC. They were used by the Incas and now by the people of Nazca. We found a piece of pottery that Martin says is 1500 years old. We then went to the Aqueducts (Cantalloc) to see how they work.
We walked all the way down to the end of the 40 aqueducts. Veronica, Martin’s wife, scraped some white powdery stuff from the cactus that lined our path. They told us this powder was actually small animals and when rubbed into a paste turned blood red. It is a natural cloth dye and very expensive. Super interesting!
We came back to the hotel around 2:30 pm. I swam in the cold pool and tanned. The power, water, and internet were all back on. Martin and Veronica were coming back at 5:00 pm to take us to a sacred area close by to do a spiritual energy ritual. We enjoyed our time relaxing at the pool.
Martin was late coming to pick us up. As we waited, I noticed him down the street pushing his car. We walked down to help. His car had died, and he couldn’t get it started again. They lifted the hood to check the battery cables. The cables were loose. After several minutes of tightening and trying to start the car, it finally worked! They borrowed some plyers from a shop owner to tighten it up good before we left. We drove to the other side of the valley down a rocky dirt road…..and it kept getting worse. We ended up at a dead end. They were still repairing this road. Martin said that we would try again another day and take a different road. We drove back into town, and he dropped us in town so we could grab dinner.
He suggested a restaurant called Gula. The menu had a lot of pasta and pizza. Larry got the lasagna, and I had a nice green salad and veggie soup. Mine was good and not too filling.
We had a good walk back to our hotel. We passed the square with many people enjoying the warm evening. Much like the Mexican culture, the People of Peru come out at night. All the stores, shops, restaurants, and vendors were open for business. Back at the hotel, we looked at our pictures from the past few days. We have seen a lot in the short time we have been in Peru.
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