Visiting Nasca

Getting off the night bus we boarded a van that would take us to our resort. First we past rows of wooden shelters, which are home to hundreds of squatter's moving to the city. No running water, sewer system or electricity, just square wooden boxes with a door and if they were lucky a window. Again we were faced with the reality of true poverty. Just past the squatters were fields and fields of cacti. Someone should farm these we thought and a few minutes later learned they do.

Using the word resort was a bit of an overstatement, but it did have a pool and for one of the first times on the adventure it was actually warm enough to shed our coats. Before we would relax Randy and I joined the tour of the Pre-Inka desert cemetery, with 1500 year old mummies, bones and pottery on the desert floor. Twenty grave sites open for the tourists to see the burial traditions of the Pre-Inkas. It is so unfortunate that the grave robbers of years gone by destroyed so much of the sacred lands.

Back into town for a well deserved lunch. Randy being braved decided to try beef heart. I stole a small bite but was really enjoying my hamburger. Then back to the resort for an afternoon of relaxation beside the pool. The first time on the entire trip where we just took time to relax and soak up the sunshine.

Dinner tonight was a traditional pig roast, with all the entire dinner being cooked under ground. Not an entire pig like we have seen in other countries, but the same concept for cooking the food. Interestingly enough the potatoes and vegetables were loose in the ground and the meet was wrapped in banana leaves. Dinner began with a ceremonial digging up of the food. They needed a volunteer to shovel the first scoop of sand of the buried food and Randy was chosen as the father of the Gods to do the honors. Dinner was good, not great just good. Unfortunately for Randy he still had a stomach bug from the previous days and food was just not his friend.

Tomorrow we would travel to the Nascu lines. One of the world's greatest archaeological mysteries. You have to option to fly over the area in a small plane to get a view of the entire mysterious lines crossing the desert or simply climb a tall ladder to a small lookout to get a feel of the patterns. We chose the lookout option. The lines consist of depictions of birds, insect and animals etched into the ground. The only way to truly recognize the patterns is from the air. Who , why and how the patterns were drawn continues to be a mystery to archaeologists today. It was cool to see.