Nazca

The Nazca lines are drawings on the ground believed to have been made by the Nazca culture between 200 and 700 B.C. They were made by removing the reddish pebbles on the ground, revealing the lighter sand/earth underneath. No one is exactly sure with what purpose they were constructed. Perhaps it was religious or astronomical. So far, the windless, arid climate has preserved these drawings. They can only be seen in two ways: either walk up a really tall ladder at the mirador to get a look at just two of the pictures (lame!) or take a sobrevuelo (an overflight.) I took a sobrevuelo.

Luckily for me, two other couples were on my flight, which meant that since I was solo, I got to sit next to the pilot. His name was Andy, (in South America they love naming kids with American names, Yessica, Brian, etc.) and belive it or not, he lived in Chicago for 3 years in the town next to where I grew up while he was getting his pilot's license. No me digas! (you don't say!)

It's one thing to be in a 6 passenger plane and flying straight. It's another to be dipping at an angle doing 360 clockwise for one side to see the lines, and then leaning over to the other side and going counter-clockwise for the rest of the passengers immediately after. But Andy showed me how to lean into it...

This is the fertile land next to the desert area where the lines are.

Can you see the bird?

This one has a monkey in the top, left-hand corner. (Nazca is no where near the jungle, or monkeys f.y.i.)

This is a hummingbird.

While good at fixing planes, the mechanic that took this shot clearly does not know how to compose a good photograph.