Weird Science
From South And Central America in 5ish months in Nazca, Peru on Apr 13 '07
This entry is about:
Maria Reich was a fairly incredible woman. Without her, Nazca would just be another insignificant town in the Peruvian desert. She dedicated her life to the enigma of the lines that appear in the desert. Whilst living in total poverty, this lady left her home in Germany to measure, document and analyse why the Nazcas decided to illustrate the desert floor with picturesof a monkey, a man who appears to be an astronaut, a humming bird and many others.
I arrived in search of the sun, thinking that I might find it in the a place where it only rains for a couple of hours a year. I definitely found it. I had read up on the mysterious desert drawings and like a million other visitors to Peru, decided that I wanted to see them too. Most people fly in light air craft over the area, but I decided not too. Firstly, light aircraft kind of freaks me out and secondly, for the money you spend on flying, you can see a lot more. Nazca has so much more to offer.
In the morning, I went to a cemetery which up until about twenty years ago, consisted of a huge waste land of sand with the occasional scattering of human bones, hair and a few mummies for decoration. It must have been a vulture`s dream. Or a necrophiliac´s. I was morbidly curious as to what I might find there so I hopped on the bus christened ´Francesca´, with Luis, the tour guide and drove for miles through what I have decided is perhaps one of mother nature´s most beautiful assets. The desert is stunning at any time of the day, but especially at sunset. Luis explained that grave robbers had ransacked the graves of these ancient relics to steal Nazcan gold, pottery and weavings. Archeologists have however, reconstructed what the tombs of these mummies must have looked like. It was a very macabre experience. Human hair doesn`t carry on growing once a person is dead, as it was explained to me. Some of the mummies still had hair and finger nails.
Having been sufficiently spooked, we went to see how pottery is made in this area. Nazca is famous in Peru for a unique type of ceramics. We went to the workshop of a local artisan who showed us his techniques and how he constructed some of the most elaborate pottery, all with his own hands. Following this, I went to a gold processing plant where we saw how gold reaches us in the form we all know best. Mercury is used in this process, and it appears to have affected the guide who every so often yelled to the guard to say that I had hidden gold in my bra ! The cheek !
Luis took me to his sister`s house to have rice and duck ( which was delicious) washed down with an ice cold beer. All of that walking around looking at interesting things had made me tired. He suggested that I chill by the pool. So I did.
Once sufficiently rested, we then went to a hill from which you can view a few lines. It wasn`t that impressive as you don`t really get to see any of the figures. After this we went to a mirador where you can see two figures in particular; a pair of hands , a tree and part of a reptile which was cut in two when the Pan American highway was constructed. Finally, we went to the museum dedicated to the lady herself, Maria Reich.
In hindsight, I think it may have been better to fly. Only this way can you see all of the figures that were etched into the rocky earth. What is good about what I did was that I saw much more of what Nazca has to offer for a lot less money. The desert is so breathtaking in its simplicity and its vast emptiness. It made me realise how diverse this country really is. Just the day before, I was surrounded by volcanoes and before that, I was hiking through jungle.
But why did the Nazcas draw such elaborate symbols, some of which are over twenty meters long and only visible from the air? In fact, that was how they were discovered in the 1920s. Who knows. Some believed that they were markings for extraterrestrials to land their space ships on. Other wacky theories state that they are huge running tracks. Reich´s theory is that they are symbols for the gods which aim to invoke rain. The latter makes the most sense. What is clear however, is that nobody really knows the answer, and until they do, tourists will keep coming in their droves to try and crack the mystery.
I know you must be fed up of me constantly reminding you but my website is still open for your generous donations. Please feel free to contribute to Project Peru at www.justgiving.com/ciccia
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