We started our four day trek of the Inca trail by driving an hour to kilometer 82 (the starting points are measured by the train track) near the town of Chilca. Here we met our porters, had our first of many group pictures and got our passports stamped to get onto the trail (the Canadian government is going to love that one). At around 10:00 we started our hike up the mountain with the eventual destination of Machu Picchu.
The first two days of the Inca trail, as it has come to be known, actually isn't the original trail. As parts of the trail are still being uncovered, when the trail was opened, they created a connecting trail from the train tracks to the actual Inca trail. The route we took is the most common route and stretches for a total of 43km with an altitude reaching 4,200m and descending to approximately 2,400m at Machu Picchu (a lower altitude than our starting point). For most tourists, this hike takes 4 days, but for the porters it can be done much faster. Our guide for instance did it in one day, and the record is 3 hours and 45 minutes. Considering this is up and down, consisting of thousands of steps and for a distance of a marathon, it is better than impressive (we actually met the porter who holds the record, a local hero since he beat world renowned marathon runners ... good for a local boy in sandals). The average tourist walks only 11km a day, but due to permits, we happened to get the longest hikes, where on one day we actually covered the distance most groups cover in two days.
The first day of hiking was mostly through an open landscape. As it is still quite close to the train tracks, there are shops along the way to pick up some water, and there are lots of local people going about their daily business, mostly farming. For most people the first day is a gentle climb and they all spend the night at the base of what is known as "Dead Woman's Pass". Luckily for us, we still had another two hours of climbing, almost straight up to our campsite at Yuncachimpa, an elevation of 3,300m (after starting at 2,500m). Even though the hike was no more than 12km on the first day, it took us almost the entire day as we stopped along the way to look at various ruins and take many rests. The main ruin we visited today was Patallacta, a semi-circle town built at the base of a mountain that supplied most of the food for Machu Picchu.
The next day we were to have quite an early start as it was going to be our longest day, covering about 15km over the two main mountain passes, Dead Woman's Pass at 4,200m then Runkuraky pass at 3,900m. It shouldn't be too bad except that we had to go down a valley that descended to almost 3,100m. Needless to say it took Sandy and me all day and we didn't arrive at camp until after dark. The trek up to Dead Woman's Pass was mostly through the tundra, but the way the trail was structured, we kept seeing what we thought was the top. Until we made it there did we see that we actually had another 500m to go. After about 6 of these false peaks, and 3 hours of hiking uphill, we reached Dead Woman's Pass. From there it was another 2 hours of going downhill. This was the point at which Sandy started to have problems with her knees which didn't stop bothering her until she went home to Canada.
At the bottom of the valley is the town of Paq'aymayo where we had lunch (and where most people spend the night). The nice thing about the Inca trail is you can't go on it without a tour group and porters. Since they are unionized, there is only a limited amount of weight that they can carry (about 24kg) and you have the carry the rest (my bag was about 6kg ... not much at sea level, but a lot at 4,200m). There is also a formula to calculate the number of porters per group, so in order to make them all useful; they bring all the luxuries of home. By the time you reach the lunch stop, they have set out individual buckets for you to wash your hands and set up the cooking and dining tent (complete with a tablecloth). It makes the entire journey quite luxurious. In order for them to get there so far before us, they actually run along the trail. The hardest obstacle you have on the trail are the porters running by. Sadly today, since those of us in the back took so long, the rest of the group had eaten lunch before we arrived and were heading out when we got there.
After lunch we started our second pass .... about 600m up followed by 600m down - a nice way to finish our day. Yet again we happened upon lots of false peaks, one of which we were so sure was the top, we spent all our energy getting there and had to rest for quite a while since there was still another 30 mintues of hiking left to get to the top. Along the way we happened upon a second set of ruins, Runkurakay. As we didn't have the main guide with us (but we had Marcella ... God bless her. She was great to hike with, even if Sandy did completly freak her out when she had an asthma attack on Dead Woman's Pass) I made up a story that this was a bathroom along the trail and the women had more stalls than the men's bathroom. It turns out I wasn't far off. The Incas had built little towns and check points along the way for those hiking the Inca trail (we met up with the real trail just before lunch) to provide shelter, food and a washroom. This was one of those checkpoints. Not to be outdone, Jim actually found a mountain that looked like an Inca king over looking the valley, and this was probably the most likely of all the stories we heard about carvings in the hills.
We reached the top of the second summit just before sunset, and as we still had about 2 hours of hiking left for us, Freddy (the main guide) sent two porters back to help us and bring us some flashlights. God bless him since there were a lot of steps that we didn't see in the dark. It actually made for an interesting hike. You could randomly turn your head and right beside you was an old Inca fortress which if you didn't turn your head at the right time you would have missed. Who knows what else we missed that night.
The third day was supposed to be our very easy day, but I think for Sandy it was the hardest day. Most of the route was downhill as we only had to go up about 200m in the entire day. It was also only a 5km hike, so we should have been done at around 2 in the afternoon. Well, Sandy and I did make that 2:00 deadline, but sadly for Sandy, there were over 3,000 steps down that we had to make that day. I think it took her about twice as long as everyone else as each step hurt like hell. Yet again Marcella was with us and helped us go along.
The third day was also probably the most beautiful day as we were hiking through the cloud forest the entire day, which made for some lovely scenery. The steps also made for an interesting addition to the trail as some of them were actually carved into the rocks. It's hard to imagine that in 100 years the Incas built tens of thousands of kilometers of trail in this fashion. We reached the campsite at around 2:00 in time for lunch, a shower (yes, the last site has a bar, restaurant, and shower facilities) and a well deserved rest. Before dinner I headed over to Wiñaywayna to see probably the most beautiful example of Inca construction. The hike was quite easy, but I made the mistake of going down the steps to the bottom of the town to see what was at the bottom ... this meant I had to come back up again.
The next morning we had a very early start to the day, leaving at around 4:00am (the bar closed at 10:00pm the night before ... probably the only one that closes that early in the world) so that we could do our last 3 hour hike to Machu Picchu and reach the sun gate in time to watch the sunrise. As it had rained the night before, the sun gate was quite the disappointment as it was quite foggy and you couldn't see anything. The only saving grace were the last 52 steps that were straight up ... you actually had to climb on all fours in order to reach the top of the hill.
From the sun gate it was a gentle walk down the trail where we started to see the day's tourists ... they were walking up to the sun gate in clean hiking boots, Coach handbags and lovely designer walking sticks. Most were very impressed that we had just hiked the entire trail, and to be honest, we felt like they didn't deserve to be there. When we reached Machu Picchu it was still quite foggy, so we went to the entrance to the site to have a drink and wait for the fog to clear. This is where Sandy had real problems. If her knee didn't hurt her before, on this last set of steps she could feel the tendons actually tearing in her knees. When we got to the bottom a few of us found ice for her knee. Sadly for her, this meant she wouldn't be as maneuverable when we visited the actual site. She missed out on the tour, but still managed to see quite a bit of the site at her own pace (I think she only missed the guard house at the top of the hill).
Once the fog lifted we headed out with 3 hours to explore Machu Picchu. This has to be one of the most awe inspiring sites in the world and it can't be described in words. The massive expanse of the site is as incredible as you would imagine. It is an entire town with religious centres, residences, agricultural centre, guard house and other things we could not identify. This rivals any other ruins in the world in shear size and you can't possibly explore it all in three hours without skipping over things or not giving it the time it deserves. Definitely it was the best way to finish the hike.
After we had finished exploring the site, we headed back to Cusco by train and bus. We all were quite tired, but all felt it was the most worthwhile part of our trip.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Apr. 29 - The Sacred Valley
Today we made our way to the starting point of the Inca trail. In order to get there we had to go through the Sacred Valley; a stretch of valley full of fertile soil and Inca ruins.
Our first stop on the way was at Ccaccaccollo, a community which GAP has sponsored as part of its Planeterra initiative. GAP located this town and selected it as a place where it felt they could help the community grow. They hire most of the men in this community as guides on the Inca trail, and helped train two women in traditional weaving practices. These two women then went back to Ccaccaccollo to help train the rest of the women and now have a thriving traditional weaving business. GAP continues to help this community by bringing their tour groups here to buy the merchandise the town produces. As part of this visit, the women dress up in the traditional costumes and provide a demonstration on the whole weaving process from the different types of wool, dying, spinning the wool and actually making the final products. It turns out that we are paying about 50 soles (about $20) for something that the women will spend a month making, it hardly seems fair and you definitely don’t feel like bargaining after hearing that. Following the presentation we were given a little time to talk to the women and purchase some of the items, the only problem was that you would then have to carry these items along the Inca trail and our bags were already overweight.
From Ccaccaccollo we headed over to Pisac, one of the best examples of the Inca agricultural terraces. In order to help increase the agricultural production, the Incas built thousands of agricultural terraces that can be seen throughout the Sacred Valley. Pisac in particular were the best built and took most of the thought. They built them on the east side of the mountain so as to better soak up the morning sunlight and remain warm throughout the day, thus increasing productivity. They also found the soil at the bottom of the valley was more fertile, and thus carried it up the hill to increase production. But after a few years they noticed that most of the nutrients had been taken out of the soil, so back to the valley floor (maybe a 10km hike) to get more soil to fill in the terraces. The amount of work here would have been incredible, but it worked.
At the top of the hill at Pisac is a ceremonial site where the Incas worshiped their four main gods: Earth, Wind, Sun and Water. It was also an important burial site at the top of the hill, so situated that the dead would be closer to the Sun god and reincarnation. When you look at the hill where the grave yard is, there are hundreds of holes where the Spanish broke in to rob the graves of gold, but found nothing. This is because this particular grave site was for the commoners, therefore no gold. Leaders, rich and holy people were buried in other, more ornate locations in the fetal position, unlike the commoners who were buried flat on their back (the thought here is that the leaders were going to be born again, and the commoners were going to just have to get back to work).
After the ruins, we headed down to the town of Pisac to partake in their market day. With only 15 minutes to explore the market, there was no way to grasp the entire size of the market, although it wasn’t as big as Otavalo’s market in Ecuador. Once back in the bus we made our way to a small hacienda where we had a lovely lunch before our last jaunt in the bus to Ollantaytambo, our rest stop for the night.
Before we settled down for a rest at Ollantaytambo, we went to the ruins located in the middle of town, a lovely hike up many terraces, to learn about the purpose of the town, in particular its importance as one of the last stands of the Incas against the Spanish, which the Incas actually won. This site was not only a military site, but it is an example of Inca ingenuity. First off, the town itself still maintained the Inca style of construction, which included rivers of water going through the street so as to supply the town with water. What happened when they came to the main street in the town was move the water underground so that the siphon power would force the water back up on the other side of the main street and keep flowing. If this isn’t impressive enough, they had to find a way to supply their grain shed with water way up on the hill. They did this through the same siphon technique, but using a water source high enough to push the water up to that level .... from 10km away. The grain shed was high on the hill for a specific reason as well. There was wind up there to keep everything cool and refrigerated so that the food didn’t spoil for the town people.
Here, Mario (our guide for the Sacred Valley) told us about how the Incas got the large rocks up the hill (some weighing more than 20 tons). He said they built an incline, much like the Egyptians. Unlike the Egyptians, they didn’t use any wheels to bring the rocks up because if they broke, the rock would fly down the hill and they would have to start over again. Instead they developed a compound that they would spread along the road across which rocks moved (the quarry was at least 20km away ... in some places it was as much as 40km away, and they did all the carving and shaping of the rocks there) and when the rock stopped, the pressure of the rock would turn this compound into glue, and once they started moving again it would unstick and slide easily. Remarkably, considering the rocks were carved so far away, they fit together so closely that they didn’t need any mortar between the rocks, and you can’t slide a piece of paper between the rocks if you wanted to. They even knew how to arrange the rocks (slanted backwards and off centre from each other) to prevent issues with earthquakes. All in all, this society was incredibly advanced.
Our first stop on the way was at Ccaccaccollo, a community which GAP has sponsored as part of its Planeterra initiative. GAP located this town and selected it as a place where it felt they could help the community grow. They hire most of the men in this community as guides on the Inca trail, and helped train two women in traditional weaving practices. These two women then went back to Ccaccaccollo to help train the rest of the women and now have a thriving traditional weaving business. GAP continues to help this community by bringing their tour groups here to buy the merchandise the town produces. As part of this visit, the women dress up in the traditional costumes and provide a demonstration on the whole weaving process from the different types of wool, dying, spinning the wool and actually making the final products. It turns out that we are paying about 50 soles (about $20) for something that the women will spend a month making, it hardly seems fair and you definitely don’t feel like bargaining after hearing that. Following the presentation we were given a little time to talk to the women and purchase some of the items, the only problem was that you would then have to carry these items along the Inca trail and our bags were already overweight.
From Ccaccaccollo we headed over to Pisac, one of the best examples of the Inca agricultural terraces. In order to help increase the agricultural production, the Incas built thousands of agricultural terraces that can be seen throughout the Sacred Valley. Pisac in particular were the best built and took most of the thought. They built them on the east side of the mountain so as to better soak up the morning sunlight and remain warm throughout the day, thus increasing productivity. They also found the soil at the bottom of the valley was more fertile, and thus carried it up the hill to increase production. But after a few years they noticed that most of the nutrients had been taken out of the soil, so back to the valley floor (maybe a 10km hike) to get more soil to fill in the terraces. The amount of work here would have been incredible, but it worked.
At the top of the hill at Pisac is a ceremonial site where the Incas worshiped their four main gods: Earth, Wind, Sun and Water. It was also an important burial site at the top of the hill, so situated that the dead would be closer to the Sun god and reincarnation. When you look at the hill where the grave yard is, there are hundreds of holes where the Spanish broke in to rob the graves of gold, but found nothing. This is because this particular grave site was for the commoners, therefore no gold. Leaders, rich and holy people were buried in other, more ornate locations in the fetal position, unlike the commoners who were buried flat on their back (the thought here is that the leaders were going to be born again, and the commoners were going to just have to get back to work).After the ruins, we headed down to the town of Pisac to partake in their market day. With only 15 minutes to explore the market, there was no way to grasp the entire size of the market, although it wasn’t as big as Otavalo’s market in Ecuador. Once back in the bus we made our way to a small hacienda where we had a lovely lunch before our last jaunt in the bus to Ollantaytambo, our rest stop for the night.
Before we settled down for a rest at Ollantaytambo, we went to the ruins located in the middle of town, a lovely hike up many terraces, to learn about the purpose of the town, in particular its importance as one of the last stands of the Incas against the Spanish, which the Incas actually won. This site was not only a military site, but it is an example of Inca ingenuity. First off, the town itself still maintained the Inca style of construction, which included rivers of water going through the street so as to supply the town with water. What happened when they came to the main street in the town was move the water underground so that the siphon power would force the water back up on the other side of the main street and keep flowing. If this isn’t impressive enough, they had to find a way to supply their grain shed with water way up on the hill. They did this through the same siphon technique, but using a water source high enough to push the water up to that level .... from 10km away. The grain shed was high on the hill for a specific reason as well. There was wind up there to keep everything cool and refrigerated so that the food didn’t spoil for the town people.
Here, Mario (our guide for the Sacred Valley) told us about how the Incas got the large rocks up the hill (some weighing more than 20 tons). He said they built an incline, much like the Egyptians. Unlike the Egyptians, they didn’t use any wheels to bring the rocks up because if they broke, the rock would fly down the hill and they would have to start over again. Instead they developed a compound that they would spread along the road across which rocks moved (the quarry was at least 20km away ... in some places it was as much as 40km away, and they did all the carving and shaping of the rocks there) and when the rock stopped, the pressure of the rock would turn this compound into glue, and once they started moving again it would unstick and slide easily. Remarkably, considering the rocks were carved so far away, they fit together so closely that they didn’t need any mortar between the rocks, and you can’t slide a piece of paper between the rocks if you wanted to. They even knew how to arrange the rocks (slanted backwards and off centre from each other) to prevent issues with earthquakes. All in all, this society was incredibly advanced.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Apr. 27-28 - Cuscotopia
Today we had an early departure flight to Cusco. As this was Manuel's first trip as a guide, things went a little slower than planed. In the end we did manage to get our flight to Cusco with very little time to spare (it was better than a 24 hour bus ride). One nice thing about the flight is that it was a beautiful day over the Andes, so our hour flight gave us some remarkable views of the Andes and it's green hills and snow capped mountains.
Once we were in Cusco, most of the people on our trip got their first taste of altitude sickness. For most this just meant they were a little light headed, but we were all rather surprised to find that there was a stand at the airport selling bottles of oxygen for the tourists. Cusco might be high, but it isn't so high that you would require extra oxygen. We did find the hotel had their own oxygen tank, and they were serving Coca Tea like it was going out of fashion (everywhere you went they were selling either the tea to drink or the leaves to chew on). Due to the altitude, most of the people in our trip slept all afternoon after we had lunch.
After our lovely nap (part of my daily ritual now....probably will have to do something about that when I start working again) we took a walk around the Plaza de Armas, taking pictures of the buildings in the city, and then took a short stroll around some of the blocks around the city centre, just trying to help acclimatize faster. To give you an idea how small the city centre is, we happened to bump into everyone in our group during our hour outing.
As we found out quickly, Manuel knew all the coolest places to eat dinner and we were never disipointed. Tonight we happened upon a small Peruvian diner that allowed me to try Alpaca meat. I recommend to anyone to try alpaca, it tastes very close to beef and was remarkable. But due to the altitude (a very good excuse if you are ever looking for one) we turned in early so as to conserve our energy.
The next morning we got up when we were ready and found out over breakfast that there was not enough room for all of us to go on the ATV ride, so Sandy and I opted to go horseback riding instead. While we were waiting for our tour to start, we walked around the town looking for equipment we would need for our upcoming Inca Trail hike (walking poles, warm clothes, hats, etc.) and explored the town looking at all the craft shops. One of interest was an art shop where we spent about an hour talking to the owners about Peruvian art, the artists and how their styles changed. In the end we bought a lovely piece of art from the lady, making her first sale at the art gallery.
While walking around we happened to bump into Manuel who informed us he wanted to talk to everyone who was going on the ATV tour at 1. So we headed back to the hotel, and we decided to go in two different groups. As Sandy and I were more than willing to back out this morning, Manuel made sure we went in the first group. We headed out to a restaurant for a quick lunch, and through some confusion, we ended up eating with a GAP group that just finished the Inca Trail and gave us a quick description of the trip. It made us very excited to start hiking the trail ... especially since they told us the food was great.
The ATV ride was tons of fun. We started off (Nick, Anastasia, Nina, Nnenna and Sandy) with some lessons on how to ride the 4-wheelers and got a safety lesson before we headed out on our ride. The first 10 minutes of the ride were through the streets of Cusco before we managed to get off road through the mountains around Cusco. Once we went off the main streets we were blessed with beautiful views of the mountains, travelling through farm country, adobe brick houses and a lovely lake. On the ride though, Nnenna had a few problems. One time she went off the road and got the ATV stuck. The second time she managed to sharply turn the ATV and flipped the bike. Luckily she was spared any injury. But the most nerve-racking part of the ride was coming back where we had to drive through the city during rush hour. There's nothing like flying through the streets at night praying that you don't get run over.
Once back at the hotel we started our briefing for our Inca trail trek. We were given a list of equipment and bag to put everything in, but also given a 6kg limit. The problem is that when we started packing, we couldn't fit everything in our bag, and when we finally did get it in we were overweight. There is no way you can get everything they tell you to bring in the bag. We had to weigh it three times before everything fit. After Freddy (our guide for the Inca Trail) had finished his briefing, everyone was ready for the 4 day Inca Trail hike.
Once we were in Cusco, most of the people on our trip got their first taste of altitude sickness. For most this just meant they were a little light headed, but we were all rather surprised to find that there was a stand at the airport selling bottles of oxygen for the tourists. Cusco might be high, but it isn't so high that you would require extra oxygen. We did find the hotel had their own oxygen tank, and they were serving Coca Tea like it was going out of fashion (everywhere you went they were selling either the tea to drink or the leaves to chew on). Due to the altitude, most of the people in our trip slept all afternoon after we had lunch.
After our lovely nap (part of my daily ritual now....probably will have to do something about that when I start working again) we took a walk around the Plaza de Armas, taking pictures of the buildings in the city, and then took a short stroll around some of the blocks around the city centre, just trying to help acclimatize faster. To give you an idea how small the city centre is, we happened to bump into everyone in our group during our hour outing.As we found out quickly, Manuel knew all the coolest places to eat dinner and we were never disipointed. Tonight we happened upon a small Peruvian diner that allowed me to try Alpaca meat. I recommend to anyone to try alpaca, it tastes very close to beef and was remarkable. But due to the altitude (a very good excuse if you are ever looking for one) we turned in early so as to conserve our energy.
The next morning we got up when we were ready and found out over breakfast that there was not enough room for all of us to go on the ATV ride, so Sandy and I opted to go horseback riding instead. While we were waiting for our tour to start, we walked around the town looking for equipment we would need for our upcoming Inca Trail hike (walking poles, warm clothes, hats, etc.) and explored the town looking at all the craft shops. One of interest was an art shop where we spent about an hour talking to the owners about Peruvian art, the artists and how their styles changed. In the end we bought a lovely piece of art from the lady, making her first sale at the art gallery.While walking around we happened to bump into Manuel who informed us he wanted to talk to everyone who was going on the ATV tour at 1. So we headed back to the hotel, and we decided to go in two different groups. As Sandy and I were more than willing to back out this morning, Manuel made sure we went in the first group. We headed out to a restaurant for a quick lunch, and through some confusion, we ended up eating with a GAP group that just finished the Inca Trail and gave us a quick description of the trip. It made us very excited to start hiking the trail ... especially since they told us the food was great.
The ATV ride was tons of fun. We started off (Nick, Anastasia, Nina, Nnenna and Sandy) with some lessons on how to ride the 4-wheelers and got a safety lesson before we headed out on our ride. The first 10 minutes of the ride were through the streets of Cusco before we managed to get off road through the mountains around Cusco. Once we went off the main streets we were blessed with beautiful views of the mountains, travelling through farm country, adobe brick houses and a lovely lake. On the ride though, Nnenna had a few problems. One time she went off the road and got the ATV stuck. The second time she managed to sharply turn the ATV and flipped the bike. Luckily she was spared any injury. But the most nerve-racking part of the ride was coming back where we had to drive through the city during rush hour. There's nothing like flying through the streets at night praying that you don't get run over.Once back at the hotel we started our briefing for our Inca trail trek. We were given a list of equipment and bag to put everything in, but also given a 6kg limit. The problem is that when we started packing, we couldn't fit everything in our bag, and when we finally did get it in we were overweight. There is no way you can get everything they tell you to bring in the bag. We had to weigh it three times before everything fit. After Freddy (our guide for the Inca Trail) had finished his briefing, everyone was ready for the 4 day Inca Trail hike.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Apr. 25-26 – Return to Lima ... Again
The bus from Mancora arrived a little later than we were told as there were some issues with the brakes. This caused a delay of about 2 hours. Some of the passengers were getting quite frustrated and in the end actually took their bags off the bus and got in another bus for Lima. Much to their dismay the bus departed about five minutes after them and didn’t have any further problems with the breaks.
Once we arrived in Lima we headed to the GAP hotel where we were going to meet our tour group the next day. Sandy had booked a room for us to stay there but when we arrived they informed us that there was no reservation for us and the hotel was entirely booked. So off we headed to find an internet café to find Sandy’s reservation. GAP had still not sent it to her, so we went on the hunt for a hotel. On our third try we managed to find one, but as most of the day was gone by this point we decided to relax and spent the rest of the day checking out some shops around Miraflores.
Saturday morning provided us with a very slow start as we had to wait for our laundry which, as usual in South America, took longer than expected. We also had to go on a hunt for the rest of our stuff that some how didn’t make it into our laundry bag. Once we had all this sorted out, took my extra bag to South American Explores to store it until I return to Lima We then checked into the next hotel where we were to start our GAP trip - it was late afternoon. As Sandy hadn’t seen the downtown of Lima we opted to head in that direction for the afternoon and poke around the rather small historical centre of Lima.
This ride downtown was Sandy’s first experience of the city busses in South America. Now the interesting thing about the busses in Lima, even though it is a larger and wealthier city than Quito, is that the busses are involved in a more chaotic race around the city. Sandy affectionately called it the “Bus Race” and that is what it was. The busses in Lima are 15 passenger vans with letters and numbers to indicate which route it is. Depending on the bus company, an S route could take you downtown or out to the airport. The only thing that helps is that they have someone yelling out the bus window telling you where this bus is going (but you can’t understand them ... ever) and they also have the names of the streets written on the side of the bus (not much help as you can only read it after the bus has passed). The bus race gets its name from the competition these busses have to get passengers. At the red light the busses line up in order to get the best position to attack the street. As soon as the light turns green, the busses swerve in and out of each other trying to get to the sidewalk to pick up the passengers and then speed off again to catch the next fare. This sounds like any bus system, but when you have 20 minibuses lined up at a stop light which has two dedicated lanes of traffic, it turns into utter chaos. I can guarantee this is going to replace betting on horse racing in a few years ... the word just has to get out.
In the historic centre of Lima, I took Sandy to some of the places I had already visited, including the Plaza d’Armas and the catacombs. But the highlight of the trip was our lunch at Norky’s. Now, I will admit, since I had been eating most of my meals with a family, I wasn’t very good at my Spanish words for food, but after this lunch, that all will change. We looked at the menu and found a meal that looked interesting to share - a collection of different types of meats and a salad with French fries. It turned out we should have opened our dictionary. This meal came with enough food to feed a family of six. Once we took off the meat with which we were familiar, it got kind of interesting. We weren't sure it the safest mystery meat was was pork, chicken or turkey. But we are quite sure the most interesting mystery meat was some part of an animal's digestive tract. To describe it any more would prevent you from eating for a few weeks. But needless to say, Sandy and I couldn't stop laughing and kept comming up with comments on what it looked like and how it culd be one of the best kinds of food to include in a diet plan .... eat a plate of this and then you can have all the dessert you can eat.
After our late lunch we headed back to our hotel and met our GAP tour group. We felt very confident about our group and thought they would be lots of fun to travel with. After dinner with the whole group, we turned in early as we had to catch an early morning flight to Cusco.
Once we arrived in Lima we headed to the GAP hotel where we were going to meet our tour group the next day. Sandy had booked a room for us to stay there but when we arrived they informed us that there was no reservation for us and the hotel was entirely booked. So off we headed to find an internet café to find Sandy’s reservation. GAP had still not sent it to her, so we went on the hunt for a hotel. On our third try we managed to find one, but as most of the day was gone by this point we decided to relax and spent the rest of the day checking out some shops around Miraflores.
Saturday morning provided us with a very slow start as we had to wait for our laundry which, as usual in South America, took longer than expected. We also had to go on a hunt for the rest of our stuff that some how didn’t make it into our laundry bag. Once we had all this sorted out, took my extra bag to South American Explores to store it until I return to Lima We then checked into the next hotel where we were to start our GAP trip - it was late afternoon. As Sandy hadn’t seen the downtown of Lima we opted to head in that direction for the afternoon and poke around the rather small historical centre of Lima.
This ride downtown was Sandy’s first experience of the city busses in South America. Now the interesting thing about the busses in Lima, even though it is a larger and wealthier city than Quito, is that the busses are involved in a more chaotic race around the city. Sandy affectionately called it the “Bus Race” and that is what it was. The busses in Lima are 15 passenger vans with letters and numbers to indicate which route it is. Depending on the bus company, an S route could take you downtown or out to the airport. The only thing that helps is that they have someone yelling out the bus window telling you where this bus is going (but you can’t understand them ... ever) and they also have the names of the streets written on the side of the bus (not much help as you can only read it after the bus has passed). The bus race gets its name from the competition these busses have to get passengers. At the red light the busses line up in order to get the best position to attack the street. As soon as the light turns green, the busses swerve in and out of each other trying to get to the sidewalk to pick up the passengers and then speed off again to catch the next fare. This sounds like any bus system, but when you have 20 minibuses lined up at a stop light which has two dedicated lanes of traffic, it turns into utter chaos. I can guarantee this is going to replace betting on horse racing in a few years ... the word just has to get out.
In the historic centre of Lima, I took Sandy to some of the places I had already visited, including the Plaza d’Armas and the catacombs. But the highlight of the trip was our lunch at Norky’s. Now, I will admit, since I had been eating most of my meals with a family, I wasn’t very good at my Spanish words for food, but after this lunch, that all will change. We looked at the menu and found a meal that looked interesting to share - a collection of different types of meats and a salad with French fries. It turned out we should have opened our dictionary. This meal came with enough food to feed a family of six. Once we took off the meat with which we were familiar, it got kind of interesting. We weren't sure it the safest mystery meat was was pork, chicken or turkey. But we are quite sure the most interesting mystery meat was some part of an animal's digestive tract. To describe it any more would prevent you from eating for a few weeks. But needless to say, Sandy and I couldn't stop laughing and kept comming up with comments on what it looked like and how it culd be one of the best kinds of food to include in a diet plan .... eat a plate of this and then you can have all the dessert you can eat.
After our late lunch we headed back to our hotel and met our GAP tour group. We felt very confident about our group and thought they would be lots of fun to travel with. After dinner with the whole group, we turned in early as we had to catch an early morning flight to Cusco.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Apr. 17 - 25 - Surfing Safari
Sandy arrived late Wednesday night (more like Thursday morning). That morning we headed out so Sandy could see a bit of the city. We went along my favourite walk through Miaflores to Larco Mar and along the cliff to the "Park of Love"; a Gaudí inspired surreal park with little messages in the 4 mosaics talking about love.
Later in the afternoon we boarded a bus to Mancora. Since it was an 18 hour bus ride we opted to partake in some first class luxury and we were rewarded handsomely. Plush leather seats, food rests, leg room and the seats went back almost completely to make a bed. Surprisingly though, this didn't make the ride any faster, but at least the movies were in English and there was some AC.
When we arrived in Mancora, we were swarmed by taxi drivers trying to get us to use their taxi. I had gotten used to this in South America, but these were more aggressive than I had ever seen before. The crowd of them was so thick that they blocked your access to the luggage and you actually had to physically force your way through the crowd. Not really the best welcome to Peru's beach paradise.
When we finally had our bags, we headed off to Laguna Camp, hopefully our hotel for the week, but we were turned away because they didn't have space (we went back later that day and found they actually did have space, so we booked it for the rest of our stay). We got back into our motor taxi and made our way to our number two choice, Sol y Mar, known to be rather rowdy, but it was cheep and on the beach. They did have room for us so we droped our bags.
Our first day, like most of our days in Mancora, was spent relaxing - sitting on the beach, reading, eating, drinking, swiming and fighting off people trying to get us to eat at their restaurant or trying to sell us jewelry. A typical day in paradise!
On Saturday we changed hotels (Sol y Mar had no one else staying there ... even though it was the party place) and moved into Laguan Camp, a small collection of bamboo bungalows with hammocks strung between each palm tree, so we decided to add something to our daily routine - sleeping in a hammock. All in all it made for the perfect vacation ... away from my vacation.
Before we changed our hotel, we went for our first surfing lesson. Mancora is one of the best places for surfing in Peru, this is evident by the perfect waves and abundance of surf shops. It's warm water, sandy beach and easy access to the waves also makes it one of the best places to learn how to surf in Peru. This was the main reason for travelling up to Mancora, but due to tired arms, sun burns and various other aliments (bugs, blisters and cuts ... from surfing) I only managed to take three lessons and surf alone only once.
The lessons were actually very well thought out and people are able to pick it up very quickly. After getting a board and waxing it up we headed out on the waves to learn. The instructor would hold onto the back of the board and kick from behind when a wave came and actually sit on the board until you were up. They would continue doing this, slowly weaning you off the extra stability the instructor provides by sitting on the board, until all you need is an extra push and someone telling you when to paddle. All in all it was a great experience and I was so excited when I managed to get up all on my own.
Mancora wasn't all fun and games in the sun, it also had a sad side. Walking along the beach you are bombarded by people trying to sell you things or get you to eat at their restaurant. As we were there for almost a week we got to know two of these people in particular, Israel and William. They were little kids who ran away from home in search of a better life, and they found that life on the street was better than what they were used to at home. No one seems to know where these kids live in Mancora, but they appear to make enough to live on by selling shell necklaces to travelers. One nice thing is that by coming to a small town like Mancora, they were looked after quite well. One restaurant we visited would actually feed them at night after the guests had left.
Once we finished our week of relaxing on the beach in Mancora, Sandy and I got on another 18 hour bus ride back to Lima where we were going to meet our GAP tour group to start our Peruvian adventure.
Later in the afternoon we boarded a bus to Mancora. Since it was an 18 hour bus ride we opted to partake in some first class luxury and we were rewarded handsomely. Plush leather seats, food rests, leg room and the seats went back almost completely to make a bed. Surprisingly though, this didn't make the ride any faster, but at least the movies were in English and there was some AC.
When we arrived in Mancora, we were swarmed by taxi drivers trying to get us to use their taxi. I had gotten used to this in South America, but these were more aggressive than I had ever seen before. The crowd of them was so thick that they blocked your access to the luggage and you actually had to physically force your way through the crowd. Not really the best welcome to Peru's beach paradise.
When we finally had our bags, we headed off to Laguna Camp, hopefully our hotel for the week, but we were turned away because they didn't have space (we went back later that day and found they actually did have space, so we booked it for the rest of our stay). We got back into our motor taxi and made our way to our number two choice, Sol y Mar, known to be rather rowdy, but it was cheep and on the beach. They did have room for us so we droped our bags.
Our first day, like most of our days in Mancora, was spent relaxing - sitting on the beach, reading, eating, drinking, swiming and fighting off people trying to get us to eat at their restaurant or trying to sell us jewelry. A typical day in paradise!
On Saturday we changed hotels (Sol y Mar had no one else staying there ... even though it was the party place) and moved into Laguan Camp, a small collection of bamboo bungalows with hammocks strung between each palm tree, so we decided to add something to our daily routine - sleeping in a hammock. All in all it made for the perfect vacation ... away from my vacation.
Before we changed our hotel, we went for our first surfing lesson. Mancora is one of the best places for surfing in Peru, this is evident by the perfect waves and abundance of surf shops. It's warm water, sandy beach and easy access to the waves also makes it one of the best places to learn how to surf in Peru. This was the main reason for travelling up to Mancora, but due to tired arms, sun burns and various other aliments (bugs, blisters and cuts ... from surfing) I only managed to take three lessons and surf alone only once.
The lessons were actually very well thought out and people are able to pick it up very quickly. After getting a board and waxing it up we headed out on the waves to learn. The instructor would hold onto the back of the board and kick from behind when a wave came and actually sit on the board until you were up. They would continue doing this, slowly weaning you off the extra stability the instructor provides by sitting on the board, until all you need is an extra push and someone telling you when to paddle. All in all it was a great experience and I was so excited when I managed to get up all on my own.
Mancora wasn't all fun and games in the sun, it also had a sad side. Walking along the beach you are bombarded by people trying to sell you things or get you to eat at their restaurant. As we were there for almost a week we got to know two of these people in particular, Israel and William. They were little kids who ran away from home in search of a better life, and they found that life on the street was better than what they were used to at home. No one seems to know where these kids live in Mancora, but they appear to make enough to live on by selling shell necklaces to travelers. One nice thing is that by coming to a small town like Mancora, they were looked after quite well. One restaurant we visited would actually feed them at night after the guests had left.
Once we finished our week of relaxing on the beach in Mancora, Sandy and I got on another 18 hour bus ride back to Lima where we were going to meet our GAP tour group to start our Peruvian adventure.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Apr. 13-14 - Where snowboards go to die
The next stop on my journey was Huacachina, a tiny oasis just outside of Ica, the largest town near Pisco. Huacachina is a hang out spot for travelers along the Peruvian coast where there are all night parties and fantastic sandboarding in the surrounding sand dunes. That wasn’t my experience with the town.
When I arrived in Ica, I was approached by a very friendly man who wanted to save me some time and money and suggested I stay in Ica, at his brother’s hotel. He told me that he owned a hotel in Huacachina and that it was one of the only two that were left standing after the earthquake, only had water for two hours a day and there was no electricity. Had I not been working in Pisco I would have believed him, but I knew there was no way his story was true, hotels had been built very quickly and electricity had been restored within three weeks of the earthquake. When I finally did arrive in Huacachina, as I suspected, there was only one hotel that hadn’t reopened and all others were fine. You would never have known there was an earthquake seven months ago if it weren’t for the one hotel that didn’t reopened.
That night, the party that I had been told about didn’t happen. It turns out that Huacachina is quite dead on a Monday night, not that it should suprise me. In spite of not being surrounded by lots of people to hang out with, I did manage to find three other guys to spend the evening chatting with; two from Argentina, and one from Australia. It made for an interesting evening as I became the translator for everyone as the Argentineans didn't speak much English and the Australian didn't speak Spanish. Even the bartender got into it and had me teach him a few things in English so he could better help the hotel guests in the future.
The next day I got up early in hopes of going sandboarding. After breakfast, I rented a board from the hotel and headed out to try sandboarding. Well, let's just say, this is something that Lonely Planet hyped up more than was needed. I started on a small hill in hopes of practicing a bit. The heat was extreme and you kept sliding back down while climbing the sand dunes. It took about 10 minutes to get to the top, and once there I put on the board, I stood up and didn't move. I had to bend over to push myself along in order to get any speed. Covered in sand, I decided to climb up the highest sand dune in hopes of getting enough speed that I could probably try to turn. After 20 minutes of climbing, I reached the top, put on the board, pointed it directly downhill and didn't move. I pushed myself a bit, and didn't move. All I could do was push myself along and move slowly down the hill. In the end I just took off the board and ran down the hill ... which was more fun and a lot faster. I guess after skiing on real snow, sand just isn't fast enough .... and there's something wrong when you're skiing and suffering from heat stroke .... it just doesn't seem right.
As soon as I got to the bottom of my third run, I took a shower to get rid of the sand (it went everywhere .... I mean everywhere), got a cab back to Ica and hopped on a bus to Lima. My sandboarding and partying adventure in Huacachina was a bust!
When I arrived in Ica, I was approached by a very friendly man who wanted to save me some time and money and suggested I stay in Ica, at his brother’s hotel. He told me that he owned a hotel in Huacachina and that it was one of the only two that were left standing after the earthquake, only had water for two hours a day and there was no electricity. Had I not been working in Pisco I would have believed him, but I knew there was no way his story was true, hotels had been built very quickly and electricity had been restored within three weeks of the earthquake. When I finally did arrive in Huacachina, as I suspected, there was only one hotel that hadn’t reopened and all others were fine. You would never have known there was an earthquake seven months ago if it weren’t for the one hotel that didn’t reopened.
That night, the party that I had been told about didn’t happen. It turns out that Huacachina is quite dead on a Monday night, not that it should suprise me. In spite of not being surrounded by lots of people to hang out with, I did manage to find three other guys to spend the evening chatting with; two from Argentina, and one from Australia. It made for an interesting evening as I became the translator for everyone as the Argentineans didn't speak much English and the Australian didn't speak Spanish. Even the bartender got into it and had me teach him a few things in English so he could better help the hotel guests in the future.
The next day I got up early in hopes of going sandboarding. After breakfast, I rented a board from the hotel and headed out to try sandboarding. Well, let's just say, this is something that Lonely Planet hyped up more than was needed. I started on a small hill in hopes of practicing a bit. The heat was extreme and you kept sliding back down while climbing the sand dunes. It took about 10 minutes to get to the top, and once there I put on the board, I stood up and didn't move. I had to bend over to push myself along in order to get any speed. Covered in sand, I decided to climb up the highest sand dune in hopes of getting enough speed that I could probably try to turn. After 20 minutes of climbing, I reached the top, put on the board, pointed it directly downhill and didn't move. I pushed myself a bit, and didn't move. All I could do was push myself along and move slowly down the hill. In the end I just took off the board and ran down the hill ... which was more fun and a lot faster. I guess after skiing on real snow, sand just isn't fast enough .... and there's something wrong when you're skiing and suffering from heat stroke .... it just doesn't seem right.As soon as I got to the bottom of my third run, I took a shower to get rid of the sand (it went everywhere .... I mean everywhere), got a cab back to Ica and hopped on a bus to Lima. My sandboarding and partying adventure in Huacachina was a bust!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Apr. 12-13 - Visitors from another planet?
Over the past couple of days I had come to the conclusion that I would leave my volunteer project early. After reading my Peru guidebook, I realize that there are a lot of places I want to visit while in Peru and don’t think I have enough time to do it all. So on Saturday I left Pisco and headed for Nazca to begin my travels around Peru.
As you tend to find at bus stations in South America, I was greeted by two women who were trying to get me to go to their hotel (it’s the sales people you find greeting you a lot, not necessarily women greeting you). But the way they do it is quite interesting. They lure you in by saying that they are a representative of a very popular hotel in the guide book, and then while they are taking you there they tell you about this other place that’s better ... it’s usually owned by a brother of the owners, or sometimes the same people, just a different hotel of the same chain. If you decide to go with them, you have to be adamant that you are going to the first place they told you about. So, off I went with them to my hotel, and along the way they asked me about what I wanted to do in Nazca and managed to sell me on two tours that left tomorrow, a flight over the Nazca lines and a trip to the Chauchilla Cemetery (you have to be very cautious about the Nazca lines flight as two days ago a plane crashed in Nazca killing all 5 French tourists ... Volunteer Visions were so nervous about this that they had me sign a contract saying I would not hold them responsible if I died in a plane over the Nazca lines, even if I had terminated my volunteer contract with them).
The "Nazca lines" are the main attraction in Nazca. In total there are about 10,000 lines (one straight line is 25 km long) covering over 500 km² situated about 10km north of Nazca. They are so large the Pan-American Highway drives directly through the middle of them and they are close to the city. When I drove by later on the bus, I kjnew they wer there and where they were located along teh highway, but I couldn't see them becuase I was too close. It wasn’t until the 1920’s that a man flying from Arequipa to Lima looked down while over Nazca and discovered these lines, which form some 300 different geometric shapes, animals and plants. Since then people have been trying to figure out what these lines (which were created between 900BC and 600AD …. dates change depending on who did the research) were built for. Maria Reiche (she studied the lines for 50 years and is assumed to be the authority on the lines) believed the lines create an astrological calendar to help the Nazca people know when to plant the crops, and all the drawings in the sand were symbols of the astrological calendar’s months. The problem with this theory, as with most of the theories, is that only a few of the lines fit with this theory. 
The most important three lines that fit with this theory, are very long straight lines that point to the sun at the solstice and equinox. Other theories include Erich von Daniken’s theory that they are from an alien landing sight. He claimed that the triangular shapes are because of the lift-off pattern created by UFOs. My favourite theory is that of George von Breunig who thought they were running tracks ... who knows why he thought that!
But here is what I find most believable. The images in the sand all represent animals that Shaman (religious people of the time) tend to see in their drug induced dreams. These dreams take the Shaman to, what they believed were places where they can talk to the gods. The creation of the animals tends to coincide with a time when the religious site close to Nazca was abandoned (no one knows why), which was followed by a sever draught for 40 years. It is felt that these symbols were built to appease the gods in hopes they would bring water. Some of the lines appear to point to the mountains where the Nazca people knew there was water. The only problems with this theory are: What’s with the rest of the lines? How did the Nazca people know about monkeys, which are only in the jungle on the other side of the mountains? What is with the alien/astronaut figure?
One thing that has been solved is how they were formed and why they have lasted so long. They figure that the shapes were built at that size in one of two ways. Through a series of ropes and poles, they were able to use a small drawing in the sand from which to create larger scale in which they currently are seen. The second way is that they managed to build a tower from which they could see the drawing, and then move the tower when they started to build the drawing. Probably the most interesting thing about the lines is how they lasted so long, especially since they are created by moving one layer of rocks away to create a contrast between the dark, sun-baked rocks and the light brown earth below ... where is no depth to these drawings, and as such should have been filled in a long time ago. In fact, the nature of the desert is what helped preserve these lines. Because the dark rocks get so hot during the day, the wind is unable to penetrate through the heat layer and touch the ground. On those occasions when the wind is able to reach the ground, it creates a tornado which picks up the sand that might have filed in the line, and carries it away (I saw as many as 5 mini-tornados at one time while in Nazca). Because the earth below the rocks is so hard, the tornados don’t take any of that earth away.
The flight that I took over the lines left at about 8:30 in the morning. I managed to get the co-pilot seat in the front of the plane so as to get a better view of the lines below. Over the 30 minute flight, we managed to visit 11 of the figures and each time our pilot would circle it twice, each time banking to the other side so both sides of the 4 passenger plane could see the lines below. It was better than any roller coaster ride could ever be, especially since there was some turbulence.
Later that morning, I was picked up for my next tour by Jesus, the most interesting character in all of Peru who had so many tall tales that I recommend to anyone going to Nazca to look up Jesus. It was from him that we got most of our information on the Nazca lines, and the Chauchilla Cemetery. According to Jesus (which I did verify later), the Chacuchilla Cemetery was a burial site for the Nazca people over 1,000 years ago. They people were buried in family tombs after being mummified, and as in the Egyptian culture, were buried with things they might need in the next life; water, food and personal affects. When the next person in the family would die, they would open up the tomb and put them in as well, until everyone in the family had died and they would seal the tomb for good.
This burial ground was found about 100 years ago by grave robbers, who would dig up the graves, steal what they wanted, and throw the bodies aside as they were worthless to them, except for those of the important families. It was tradition for many South American tribes to use tools to change the shape of the skulls of important families when they were children to make them look like coneheads or “alien like” ... these skulls were also quite valuable on the black market. By the time archaeologists arrived, there were bodies spread haphazardly around the desert. Only in the last couple of years was the Peruvian government able to spend the money on archaeologists to come in and research. They would then arrange the bodies in a more respectful manner. But as there is not enough money to protect this gravesite around the clock, grave robbers still visit the sight at night and have been known to open up new tombs.
Now, you are able to walk around about 12 different tombs which have been opened up. All of the tombs contain some bodies in them which, due to the dry climate of the desert, still have a full head of hair and all their clothes surrounding them. The tombs also have a few different types of pottery in them, along with various bones and other items that were in the tombs. One thing that Jesus was quick to point out is that, due to the bodies being thrown around the landscape, there is no way of knowing if these bodies did actually come from these tombs or not. But one thing was for sure, it was kind of awkward going for a walk in the desert, looking down on various dead bodies of adults and children…especially when I was taking pictures of them.
As you tend to find at bus stations in South America, I was greeted by two women who were trying to get me to go to their hotel (it’s the sales people you find greeting you a lot, not necessarily women greeting you). But the way they do it is quite interesting. They lure you in by saying that they are a representative of a very popular hotel in the guide book, and then while they are taking you there they tell you about this other place that’s better ... it’s usually owned by a brother of the owners, or sometimes the same people, just a different hotel of the same chain. If you decide to go with them, you have to be adamant that you are going to the first place they told you about. So, off I went with them to my hotel, and along the way they asked me about what I wanted to do in Nazca and managed to sell me on two tours that left tomorrow, a flight over the Nazca lines and a trip to the Chauchilla Cemetery (you have to be very cautious about the Nazca lines flight as two days ago a plane crashed in Nazca killing all 5 French tourists ... Volunteer Visions were so nervous about this that they had me sign a contract saying I would not hold them responsible if I died in a plane over the Nazca lines, even if I had terminated my volunteer contract with them).
The "Nazca lines" are the main attraction in Nazca. In total there are about 10,000 lines (one straight line is 25 km long) covering over 500 km² situated about 10km north of Nazca. They are so large the Pan-American Highway drives directly through the middle of them and they are close to the city. When I drove by later on the bus, I kjnew they wer there and where they were located along teh highway, but I couldn't see them becuase I was too close. It wasn’t until the 1920’s that a man flying from Arequipa to Lima looked down while over Nazca and discovered these lines, which form some 300 different geometric shapes, animals and plants. Since then people have been trying to figure out what these lines (which were created between 900BC and 600AD …. dates change depending on who did the research) were built for. Maria Reiche (she studied the lines for 50 years and is assumed to be the authority on the lines) believed the lines create an astrological calendar to help the Nazca people know when to plant the crops, and all the drawings in the sand were symbols of the astrological calendar’s months. The problem with this theory, as with most of the theories, is that only a few of the lines fit with this theory. 
The most important three lines that fit with this theory, are very long straight lines that point to the sun at the solstice and equinox. Other theories include Erich von Daniken’s theory that they are from an alien landing sight. He claimed that the triangular shapes are because of the lift-off pattern created by UFOs. My favourite theory is that of George von Breunig who thought they were running tracks ... who knows why he thought that! 
But here is what I find most believable. The images in the sand all represent animals that Shaman (religious people of the time) tend to see in their drug induced dreams. These dreams take the Shaman to, what they believed were places where they can talk to the gods. The creation of the animals tends to coincide with a time when the religious site close to Nazca was abandoned (no one knows why), which was followed by a sever draught for 40 years. It is felt that these symbols were built to appease the gods in hopes they would bring water. Some of the lines appear to point to the mountains where the Nazca people knew there was water. The only problems with this theory are: What’s with the rest of the lines? How did the Nazca people know about monkeys, which are only in the jungle on the other side of the mountains? What is with the alien/astronaut figure?
One thing that has been solved is how they were formed and why they have lasted so long. They figure that the shapes were built at that size in one of two ways. Through a series of ropes and poles, they were able to use a small drawing in the sand from which to create larger scale in which they currently are seen. The second way is that they managed to build a tower from which they could see the drawing, and then move the tower when they started to build the drawing. Probably the most interesting thing about the lines is how they lasted so long, especially since they are created by moving one layer of rocks away to create a contrast between the dark, sun-baked rocks and the light brown earth below ... where is no depth to these drawings, and as such should have been filled in a long time ago. In fact, the nature of the desert is what helped preserve these lines. Because the dark rocks get so hot during the day, the wind is unable to penetrate through the heat layer and touch the ground. On those occasions when the wind is able to reach the ground, it creates a tornado which picks up the sand that might have filed in the line, and carries it away (I saw as many as 5 mini-tornados at one time while in Nazca). Because the earth below the rocks is so hard, the tornados don’t take any of that earth away.
The flight that I took over the lines left at about 8:30 in the morning. I managed to get the co-pilot seat in the front of the plane so as to get a better view of the lines below. Over the 30 minute flight, we managed to visit 11 of the figures and each time our pilot would circle it twice, each time banking to the other side so both sides of the 4 passenger plane could see the lines below. It was better than any roller coaster ride could ever be, especially since there was some turbulence.
Later that morning, I was picked up for my next tour by Jesus, the most interesting character in all of Peru who had so many tall tales that I recommend to anyone going to Nazca to look up Jesus. It was from him that we got most of our information on the Nazca lines, and the Chauchilla Cemetery. According to Jesus (which I did verify later), the Chacuchilla Cemetery was a burial site for the Nazca people over 1,000 years ago. They people were buried in family tombs after being mummified, and as in the Egyptian culture, were buried with things they might need in the next life; water, food and personal affects. When the next person in the family would die, they would open up the tomb and put them in as well, until everyone in the family had died and they would seal the tomb for good. 
This burial ground was found about 100 years ago by grave robbers, who would dig up the graves, steal what they wanted, and throw the bodies aside as they were worthless to them, except for those of the important families. It was tradition for many South American tribes to use tools to change the shape of the skulls of important families when they were children to make them look like coneheads or “alien like” ... these skulls were also quite valuable on the black market. By the time archaeologists arrived, there were bodies spread haphazardly around the desert. Only in the last couple of years was the Peruvian government able to spend the money on archaeologists to come in and research. They would then arrange the bodies in a more respectful manner. But as there is not enough money to protect this gravesite around the clock, grave robbers still visit the sight at night and have been known to open up new tombs.
Now, you are able to walk around about 12 different tombs which have been opened up. All of the tombs contain some bodies in them which, due to the dry climate of the desert, still have a full head of hair and all their clothes surrounding them. The tombs also have a few different types of pottery in them, along with various bones and other items that were in the tombs. One thing that Jesus was quick to point out is that, due to the bodies being thrown around the landscape, there is no way of knowing if these bodies did actually come from these tombs or not. But one thing was for sure, it was kind of awkward going for a walk in the desert, looking down on various dead bodies of adults and children…especially when I was taking pictures of them.
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