Nazca Lines

Peru. I wanted to see the Nazca Lines.  On the way, the striking miners had blocked the roads with rocks so that I was heading away from the Nazca Lines. Now I was another day away from them. It was another two days before the miners’ strike (paro) ended. They seemed happy, parading down the street, cheering and holding banners. I was relieved and happy because the roads were open so I would get to fly over the Nazca Lines, one of the main reasons I had come to Peru.

You can’t see much of anything from the ground except the long line to buy tickets.  Otherwise, the site was a long stretch of sandy desert looking territory.  After a long wait, I was called for my plane ride.  I rode in the co-pilot’s seat so I had a lovely view.  

The Nazca Lines make pictures (whale, dog, monkey, bird, etc.) visible from far away, like up in an airplane.  The pilot told me the lines marked ancient irrigation routes, but I believe the verdict is still out. Their creators’ sense of proportion must have been great to create such images, that can only be discerned from the air. Even then, the dog was so huge that it took me forever to spot it. The whale was the most like a drawing as it had curved lines.

What had intrigued me about the Nazca Lines were the stories of extraterrestrial help in making these images (geoglyphs) to create road signs for space ships! The theory about irrigation routes made sense as did the theory that the lines marked routes for ceremonial processions. These did nothing to dampen my satisfaction in seeing this sight. How might these designs in the desert look to non-Earthling eyes, gazing down from a space ship?

Here is information on the Nazca Lines. And this article has some good photos.

Something New:  Cat Glyph discovered.  (Oct. 2020)

The Nazca Lines are a Unesco World Heritage Site, largely due to the research and tenacity of Maria Rieche. 

Viktoria Nikitzki of the Maria Reiche Centre warns climate change may damage the Nazca Lines.

TATTOO—Journeys on My Mind by Tina Marie L. Lamb is available at Amazon and BarnesandNoble and iBooks and Audible.

Buy it. Read it. (Or listen to it.) Let me know what you think. –TMLL