Nazca Lines

In America, Peru 2001 On  04/06/2001  One comment

Flying over Nazca Lines is a good excuse to come to Peru. These famous drawings, believed to be made by Nazca and Paracas cultures centuries ago, can only be see from the of air. The figures were only discovered in the beginning of the 20th century when airplanes flew over the area and pilots saw something on the ground. Up to today we don’t known who did the drawings, neither why they were done. There are some theories, one of the most accepted one is that they have been drawn to be as a calendar showing when to plant and the season of the year… Another theory is that the drawings were done by astronauts, or that the indigenous could make air balloons and would fly over to see the figures.

I arrived in town late in the evening; I came by bus from Lima and I had already reserved a flight to the next morning. I woke up a little anxious; therefore I can get motion sickness in bus, boat, car. I imagined in a small airplane for three people who turn 90 degrees sidewise.I didn’t eat much in the breakfast and took a Dramamine (for the nausea). In the airport they show us a very good video about the indigenous cultures of Peru. What impressed me the most was the skulls pierced found in the coast. They had holes in the bone. It is presumed that they did surgeries in the head, perhaps they cut the skull so that the bad spirits of the illness could go away. The incredible it is that about 50 percent of them had survived. It could be seen the regeneration of the bone. This was done with very rustic copper tools and the patients would drink chicha (local drink that can be hallucinogens) as analgesic.

During the flight I was in front with the pilot. The first drawing we saw was the astronaut, a great figure drawn on a rock. The airplane turned 90 degrees to the right and then to the left, this way people from both sides could see and photograph. We did that over all the figures. By the end of the flight I was sick but happy because I could photograph (with two cameras, the analog and the digital one). The figures were very clear, easily to be recognized.  From the ground we cannot identify any. It is known that they had a great knowledge of geometry, mathematics and astronomy. But it is still incredible to know that they has done these about two thousands years ago. I left Nazca with great images in my mind and even greater doubts…