The lines! The lines!
I’ve seen the Nazca lines! Not a lot of them, as most are only visible from the
air and there was no way I was going up in a small plane and vomit for half an
hour to see them, no matter how amazing they are.
My tour guide Jeffrey
picked me up at 8.30am and we headed north along the Pan American highway.
First stop was a natural hill by the roadside, the place from which many of the
actual lines originate, in particular the one that marks the line of the
sunrise on the mid-winter solstice. The Nazca desert is littered with heavy
rocks – heavy with various minerals, which is part of the reason the lines
haven’t been destroyed over time. The lines were made by clearing pathways of
varying widths and depths (to a maximum depth of 30cm) of the surrounding rocks
– and the lines are as long and straight as I’ve read about.
From the hill, you
can see only lines, one rectangular area and a few small circular formations of
larger rocks, which may have housed ceremonial fires. Unbelievably, the Pan
American highway has been built right through this magnificent place, bisecting
lines and, as I saw later, one of the figures – the head of the lizard is now
separated from its tail.
The tree |
Jeffrey waiting for me at the bottom of the tower |
From the first
viewing tower, not far from the hill, I could see three of the figures very
clearly and close up, the tree and the hands and the dismembered lizard. The
tree (the local name is huarango) was
particularly distinct and was perhaps 20 metres long, relatively small when
compared with some of the other figures but still impressive.
Continuing up the
Pan American, after about 15 minutes we turned off to the second tower. Here we
saw the human-like figures of a hunter with a bird in his hand, and a family
group of mother, father, two children and, set slightly apart, a baby. Strictly
speaking, these are not Nazca figures, as they were made by the people of the
neighbouring Paracas culture and were made by heaping up stone to create the
shapes, rather than taking them away. Fascinating! But what a time for the zoom
on my camera not to be working.
For some obscure
reason – lost in translation! – but I gather something to do with soaking in
the energy, Jeffrey made me breathe in deeply at each of these places (or was
this just an excuse to touch my arm, shoulder, tummy?!).
The other Nazca
figures passed unseen from the car, though the low-flying planes buzzing
overhead marked their positions as we retraced our steps back to the outskirts
of the city, then turned inland and sped like rally drivers along 13kms of dirt
road across more sandy desert to the pyramid complex of Cahuachi. Within a 24
km2 area lie the remains of 36 pyramids. This site is where most of
the exhibits I saw yesterday in Antonini’s Museum came from. These are adobe
brick pyramids and were built to house the dead and for ceremonial purposes. As
Jeffrey put it, the Nazca lines were an open temple to the gods, and the
pyramids are closed temples to the gods.
We couldn’t
approach the most significant pyramid as part is still being excavated and part
is being reconstructed – not sure if I agree with that process but it does give
the visitor a better idea of the pyramid’s structure. Just walking around the
exterior, we were walking atop adobe walls, could peer into huge grain silos
sunk into the sand and see the holes where two enormous clay water jars would
have sat – both the silos and the jars would have stored excess supplies in
times of plenty, as insurance against times of scarcity.
The most amazing
thing for me though, as a history geek, was to walk up and down the ploughed
furrows of a field below the pyramid and, with minimal effort, turn up shards
of beautifully decorated 2000-year-old pottery, including part of a cat’s face,
a fragment of a spider and various geometric designs. I was so tempted to take a couple of pieces
(and, as these will probably never be collected for museum display or any other
purposes, it would probably have been acceptable) but, out of respect for the
site, left my finds in the earth from whence they had emerged. Jeffrey was
impressed with my decision – he said most tourists just take what they find.
On the way to this
site, while speeding over the lumps and bumps of the dirt road, and on the
return journey, Jeffrey sang me romantic songs, not something any man has ever
done before! It was a very sweet, if a trifle bizarre experience.
Jeffrey down an aquifer |
Our last visit of
the day was to the aquifers, the Nazca civilisation’s version of the Roman
aqueducts and their answer to the droughts that have plagued this area for
millennia. There are several of these aqueducts running from the mountains down
into the city, most of which are underground but still accessible every so many
metres by spiral pathways built down into the ground. The spiral shape is not
just for ease of access but also serves to funnel air into the aquifers, partly
to cool the water and partly so the people who ventured into the underground
portions of the tunnels to clean them could breathe more easily. Most of the
length of the aquifers is underground to prevent evaporation of the previous
liquid and all are constructed along a curving, snaking path, rather than
straight, to slow the flow of the water. The channels have stone-built sides, 2
metres tall, which have survived the frequent earthquakes that rock this area,
though no mortar binds them. Jeffrey told me it is this very flexibility that
makes them strong and tremor resistant.
What was most
delightful was the bird life that perched in the trees that ran along the line
of the aquifers’ route – sparrows, doves, one small darting bird of brilliant
red, a tiny brown humming bird and many others sang to their hearts’ content
which, together with a wall spilling over with the vibrant colours of
bougainvillea and a pleasant cooling breeze, created a near idyllic scene. I
could easily have stayed longer.
The last snippet of
information I gleaned before we headed back into town was concerning the field
next to the bougainvillea wall, which was filled with cactus. This variety is
grown for the insects which live on and in them, as the insects produce
cochineal. There was a piece of paper on the ground which a previous tourist
guide had smeared with insects, producing the distinctive colour to show his
tourists.
Jeffrey wanted me
to spend the rest of the afternoon with him, eating and talking, but I
declined. He was a very nice man and I would definitely recommend him as an
excellent tour guide but I was a little uncomfortable with his increasingly
amorous attention. I wasn’t afraid of his intentions, it’s just that I haven’t been
used to a man paying me that sort of attention in recent years and, as I was
off back to Cusco that evening, there seemed no point in encouraging him any
further. He certainly made my trip to Nazca more fun and interesting!
Back in town, I ate
a late lunch, then sat under a shady tree on a bench in the plaza, writing up
my notebook, people watching and very much enjoying not being constantly pestered by shoeshine boys and trinket
sellers, as would have been the case in Cusco. It had been a wonderful long
weekend, full of amazing sights and incredible ancient culture. Thank you,
Nazca and Jeffrey for your hospitality!
This is really amazing. I love seeing all the places you go and dream about seeing them myself one day.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed with your decision to leave the pottery bits behind, too. I'm not sure I could have made the same one, but I'm getting better about just taking a photo and having that satisfy me, so maybe. Love that cat!
I guess it took the rest of us a while to catch up to their logic with their aquifers. California took quite a while to start using buildings that would rock rather than break.
Thanks, Ursula. I'm glad you enjoyed my trip to Nazca and I really appreciate your comments.
DeleteHi Annie! I loved your description of Nazca, it´s really amazing that place! I went there last month and got mesmerized! I did the aqueducts with th same guide! he is really nice! I wish to send him some photos of the group, but I lost his contact.. do you have it? can you send it to me?
ReplyDeletethanks, and have a nice trip!
Hi there. Thanks for your kind words.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Jeffrey wouldn't mind me sharing his email address as it might bring him more guiding work. It is achakoalto@hotmail.com