We were in the middle of breakfast when Freddy (tour agent) turned
up to say we were leaving in 20 minutes for our flight over the
Nazca lines - we thought we had another hour on top of that to play
with. We had to be ready to check our when we got back so it was our
fastest showering and package routing to date.
Apparently its good weather for flying and the
airport have been ringing round to get people to come out early.
From what we were told yesterday we had expected to have to wait in
a queue at the airport for an hour or so before we set off. Not so,
we turned up and left straight away. This wasn't great for me as I
had a dose of travelers tummy (possibly also due to quite large
amounts of alcohol last night!) and my request to use the bathroom
before we went was met with a very firm "no time" response.
The plane was a little 6 seater. I've never been
in one so small before so it was pretty exciting. It rolled slowly
forwards and down to the end of the runway, turned around and before
we knew it we were off and up in the air. We had been warned (by
Freddy and Duncan and Jen) that it was a bit of a roller coaster and
that we should not have a large breakfast before we flew. Our
earlier than expected departure meant that it was less than one hour
since we had eaten so potentially risky. Every one is provided with
a plastic bag just in case.
We were also given a map showing the way we would
fly over the lines and outlining in which order we would se the
various shapes. The plans did roll and turn sharply a couple of
times as we flew over each design twice so that both sides of the
plane got a good view. My tummy lurched once or twice but turning
into the roll and focusing on the horizon soon balanced out any ill
feeling.
From the air you start to get a feeling for how
impressive this site is. The shapes are clearly delineated but from
1,000m up don't look particularly large. Stef has taken pictures but
I've not looked at them yet so don't know how well they will come
out. While the animal shapes were stunning, what I found more
impressive were the geometric designs - lines stretching straight
into the Horizon connecting geographical points of interest as well
as large triangular and trapezoidal shapes. Its a real criss-cross
of activity and a feat of engineering - the lines don't lose their
directness even when they go over hills and down into dips.
The most commonly held current theory is that
they were used to make processions and ceremonies to the gods to
bring water to the region. Research in the Andes ice files has shown
that there was a forty year draught at the end of the Nazca period.
This is likely to have been the main cause of the demise of the
Nazca's, after nine separately distinguishable periods of activity.
The ceremonies mainly involved walking
processions. Failure to stay on the lines would have been cited as
the cause of any subsequent crop failure or other malaise. Walking
the lines that mark out the animal shapes is thought to have been
done because this would endow the individuals with the qualities of
that animal. Around the lines archaeologists have found pottery and
ceramics which they believe were smashed as part of the rituals.
They also found evidence of human sacrifice - giving something back
to Pachamama (Mother Earth).
After the flight we saw a video of a BBC
programme on the lines. This was much more informative than the
lecture last night providing greater context. It was odd watching a
BBC documentary in a brick shed on the edge of an airstrip in the
middle of the Peruvian desert. People in the UK may begrudge having
to pay the TV licence fee but I think its worth it for the quality
of programmes they make.
Back in town we booked our bus but have gone with
a different, cheaper and relatively new company. This may turn out
to be false economy but the company was recommended by Freddy's
cousin so hopefully it will be OK. We spent the middle of the day
sorting out pictures and trying to remember what we'd spent our
money on so we could check if we were within our budget. It has been
a really sunny day and pretty hot with it so we were both glad to be
in the shade.
In the afternoon we had another tour to the
Chauchilla Cemetery. The name Chauchilla is derived from the Quechua
language and means middle lightning. In total the cemetery is about
2km square. It was discovered in the early 1900's but over the next
30 years grave robbers relieved the tombs of their gold, ceramic and
textiles just leaving behind bones and broken bits of pots
which were scattered across the site.
About 12 tombs have been restored and mummies and
bones have been placed in them to create an impression of the tombs
as they originally were. The Nazca believed in life after death so
people were buried with their possessions and food as they would
need these for their journey to, and life in, the next world. The
quality of the tombs and their contents reflected the wealth of the
person who had died. Human sacrifices were sometimes also made. A
small museum on the site has some mummies on display. AS the climate
here is very dry they are remarkably well preserved and their skin,
hair and nails are still intact.
Archaeologists have learned a great deal from
this site. The Nazca suffered from arthritis, osteoporosis and
tuberculosis. They also had a high incidence of infant mortality.
Average life expectancy was between 35 and 40.
After the cemetery we were taken through to a
craft centre for a demonstration and the inevitable exit through a
shop. The demonstration showed how the Nazca made their pottery. The
clay is dug up from the ground, soaked in water for a few hours and
them mixed with another powder for form a soft a and pliable clay to
work with. All of the pots were made by hand using moulds, no
spinning wheels were used. The paints used to decorate the pots were
made by grinding different coloured ores into powder, again
mixing/soaking them with water but then filtering the resulting
paste. There were seven base colours that the Nazca could get from
their surroundings and they then mixed these to give greater
diversity.
Once the base pots were made they were left to
dry and harden in the sun for about an hour before any holes and
handles were added. After another hour of drying they were painted.
Each colour also took time to add and to dry but the resulting
painted surface was rough to the touch. Pebbles from the river bed
were rubbed against the skin to get the natural oils and were then
rubbed against the pots to create a very smooth finish. It must have
taken about 2 days to get this far in the process. The pots were
then fired overnight and after 14 hours of cooling down were ready
to use. The firing ensured the painted colours remained fast.
Gold Rush in Nazca
We felt obliged to but something and bought a
small pot (which will probably break before we have chance to get it
home). We declined the shop in advance at the next stop, a workshop
showing how they extract gold. The process is labour intensive with
chunks of rock being ground down through successive processed to a
fine powder. It is then mixed with water and liquid mercury until
the gold is extracted (we both lost the plot a bit on this demo so I
have probably got the process wrong!). The average miner extracts
seven grammes of gold a week, each of which sells for between US$7
to US$ 13 - not a great income.
Back in town we paid for the tours, bought water
for the bus trip and went for an early dinner. We're really just
killing time until the bus leaves and both of us are twitchy. We had
looked forward to coming to Perú because there would be loads to see
and do, particularly compared to Paraguay. What neither of us had
expected was that it would be so tourist oriented. In Uruguay and
Paraguay (less so because we traveled by bus) we shaped and
influenced what we did. Here, to make the most of the sights you
need a guide and in most cases this means a pre-packaged tour.
What we really need is a base for a week or so
that we can move around from. Every day we are either moving on or
seeing something and it is as if we are under pressure to do so. We
have agreed it would be good to just have a "normal" day or two
where we work to our own timetable rather than that of a hotel, and
where we do normal everyday things - washing, supermarket shop,
paperwork etc ending up curled up in joggers and a fleece on the
settee with a takeaway pizza for tea watching a good film on the
telly. It is not going to happen for a while!
After dinner we decamped back to our hotel lobby
killing more time waiting for the bus. Its our first overnighter and
we are not really sure what to expect. Although the days have been
hot the nights are cold and we are not sure how warm and cosy the
bus will be. As with so many things on this trip, time will tell!
