Lineas de Nazca

See the Nazca Lines - CHECK!

Ever since we got to Peru, and especially since we started doing souvenir shopping, going to the Nazca Lines became a must. They are on everything! If it doesn't have Machu Picchu on it, it has the Lines. 

To conclude our Ica adventure, we headed to Nazca. 

Apparently, like everywhere else in Peru, the weather is very temperamental, so you have to plan with flexibility to have time to wait in case the weather sucks. With that warning, we planned our Nazca trip with Alfredo while we were in Paracas. 

After our adventures on the sand dunes, we hopped on the Soyuz Bus. I thought I heard it was only an hour or so ride, but it was actually more like 3, which is a less than pleasant surprise. The bus ride wasn't so bad though, other than the fact that because they let people on and off throughout the ride, they have to check your ticket sporadically. Less than good for falling asleep. Ah well. 

When we got in, Micki came and picked us up and took us to the hospedaje. We got in late and needed to be up early, so after finding a quick meal we headed to bed. 

Said quick meal, was not our brightest moment. It gave a few of us some real problems. And so began our rocky day... 

When we woke up, the weather wasn't great, but fortunately we had planned to do a tour of the area that day as well. Instead of doing it in the afternoon, we started with the tour. 

First, we visited the water filtration windows. Basically, they are tiered circles in the ground and water runs under them. It used to be part of Nazcan aqueduct system. Next, we headed to see the trapezoids, which show the direction of the water flow. They were made by lining up the heavy black rock that is found in the desert in the desired shape and then the winds keep the middle part clear, so the upcome is real easy. Then, we headed to Los Paredones, which is one of the Incan ruins that is now being restored. When people started moving to Nasca after the Incans, most of their structures were dismantled and destroyed, so not much is left. Finally, we stopped by a pottery shop, where this guy does replicas of pottery found on the archeological sites using techniques from the time. That's pretty awesome. 

Karlee showing off one of the
bigger water filtration windows.

Showing off one of the replica vases..
or maybe it is real?!

Can you see the trapezoid?

Por fin! The weather cleared up just in time for the tour to end, so we headed straight to the airport. Once there, we checked in and got settled in for a movie about the Nazca Lines, which we proceeded to watch 1 1/2 times. SO. MUCH. WAITING. It was an interesting documentary though, that talked about how little rain the area gets and how the people lived in such conditions and that people gave themselves up in sacrifice for water. 

After what seemed like forever of waiting, we finally got called up to go through security and wait for our plane. 

So, the plane fit 6 people and it was called "The Magic Green Carpet." Haha. 

We were briefed on the plane and shown where the barf bags were and then we got in! The pilot and copilot went over their safety checklist (which was odd, but comforting, considering the reputation of some airplanes is less than stellar - only about 40% of the planes are in operation now, because they were not up to code/standard and there were lots of accidents). 

The Magic Green Carpet

We got up in the air and our pilot began directing us where to look to see the lines. The first image we passed by was the whale. I thought the lines were going to be a lot bigger, so it took me a bit to find it, but no worries, I did. Then, it became a sort of game to find the rest. 

Melissa knew what was coming...

The other part of the game was not getting sick in the plane. I've been in a small 2 seater plane before and knew they you can feel more of the bumps and changes, than in big planes. I didn't get sick last time, so I didn't think I would have problems this time either. The difference with this ride is that in order for both sides to see the lines, you have to approach the lines, then tilt to the side to see out the window. Then you make a circle and tilt to the other side. It was so awful. 

The pilot would turn around to ask us how we were doing and I kept shaking my head that I was fine, but apparently Melissa and Karlee's body language told him otherwise. For the rest of the trip he was giving us a countdown until we'd be back. Haha. Once on the ground and parked, Melissa and Karlee basically fell out of the plane. I wasn't so bad off, but I didn't feel good either. Out of the 5 of us, Rebecca was the only one that didn't feel sick from the plane. 

From the Chinese food that didn't sit well, to the plane ride that made everyone nauseous, it was an exciting day, just not necessarily an excellent one. 

However, we can all say we've seen the lines now! I attempted to take pictures of them, but as I said, they are smaller than I thought and I haven't been able to refind all of them. I saw them all in person though! 

They are: whale, trapezoids, astronaut, dog, monkey, condor, spider, hummingbird, heron bird, pelican, tree, hands, & parrot. 

"Astronaut"

"Tree" // "Hands"

"Hummingbird"

Done and done.

~nos vemos~