Nazca was really another highlight of the South American trip. It was impressive and nothing short of the expectations I had built up over time, from reading books about the mysteries of the world as a child to documentaries on Netflix.
It’s wow. But for some the flight can be bad, being a small plane. But I really liked it. Pilots tilt the plane far enough, and often enough, that every part of the plane can look at every important drawing. There are a lot of gigantic drawings. The lines are said to have been created by the Nazca culture between 100 BC-700 AD. The specialists used satellite images, but also on-site research, walking these lines. In total, these lines are 4.4 km long.
These drawings are not only visible from the plane, but also from the surrounding hills.
Some of the drawings feature images of animals such as birds, llamas, monkeys, human forms, fish or jaguars. Some images are simple geometric shapes and lines, while others feature more complex symbols such as trees and flowers. The shapes were first drawn by removing the reddish stone above to expose the earth below. While the exact purpose of the shapes is unknown, most scholars agree that they carry some religious significance.
The Nazca Video:
To begin with..
In the summer of 2019 I went on an intensive tour of western South America. Passing through five territories of the continent took me through fascinating places, unique in the world. I stood by the Hand of the Desert, looking up at the southern night sky of the Atacama desert, and drove the largest dunes in the world and the paths of desert valleys with such a different appearance that people gave them names like the Valley of the Moon or the Valley of the Planet Mars. I took night pictures near the Three Sisters in the Valley of the Moon. I gazed westward into the Pacific Ocean, out in the open, alongside the stone statues of the vanished civilization of Easter Island—the eastern tip of Polynesia. I had lunch in the middle of the Bolivian salt desert and at night I photographed my reflection in the water mirror of the flattest and whitest place on Earth. We stayed in a villa made of salt and cactus wood. We went to the cactus island of the salt desert. I listened to the stories of the astronomers from ALMA – an observatory located at over 5000m altitude, but also to those of the native inhabitants of the floating islands of Lake Titicaca. We drove fast on dirt desert roads to see the flamingos at sunset. I went to Macchu Picchu. I went to Cusco. We saw the oldest pyramids in South America, the over 5000 year old ones from Caral. I went to the witches market in La Paz and saw the singing fountains in Lima.
It was a monumental trip in just one month, parts of which could be monumental trips in themselves. The pretext was the few minutes of solar eclipse, the third solar eclipse for me. The rest of the trips and the fascinating things experienced concentrated within a month make me wonder what I do with my time at home when week after week, month after month goes by without discovering anything notable. And I miss leaving again.
The tour was organized by the SARM Romania astroclub, of which I am a member. The official name was SARM Romania Expedition – South American Eclipse 2019, extending from June 25 to July 22, 2019.
Given the intensity and extension of the trip, we have divided the story into 9 parts, presented in chronological order as follows:
- Buenos Aires;
- Chile – Introduction to Chile and The Solar Eclipse 2019;
- Easter Island;
- Chile – Atacama Desert, Valley of Death (or Mars) and other amazing places;
- Chile – Moon Valley and the Flamingo Birds;
- Bolivia – Salar de Uyuni or the Salt Desert;
- Bolivia – La Paz, Tiwanaku and other amazing places;
- Peru – Machu Picchu and Cuzco;
- Peru – Lima, Nazca and the Caral Pyramids.
Nazca
July 18 – Thursday
We left for Nazca at 07:30, and we arrived around 10. It is recommended that the flight above the designs be in the morning because after noon turbulences can appear from the coast and they no longer take off. The flight over the lines lasted until around 13.00 as we flew in groups of 12 people.
Nazca was really another highlight of the South American trip. It was impressive and nothing short of the expectations I had built up over time, from reading books about the mysteries of the world as a child to documentaries on Netflix.
It’s wow. But for some the flight can be bad, being a small plane. But I really liked it. Pilots tilt the plane far enough, and often enough, that every part of the plane can look at every important drawing. There are a lot of gigantic drawings.
By the way, flight scheduling requires everyone’s weight, and it doesn’t hurt to have duck bags handy during the flight.
You can also get a Nazca stamp in your passport, you can get some kind of diploma of participation, nice touristy shit. From there I got some really cool fridge magnets. Otherwise, the traditional leather products and other local materials seem a bit more fake and more expensive than in Bolivia. It’s worth taking the crap out of Bolivia if you’re going to buy souvenirs.
The lines are said to have been created by the Nazca culture between 100 BC-700 AD. The specialists used satellite images, but also on-site research, walking these lines. In total, these lines are 4.4 km long.
These drawings are not only visible from the plane, but also from the surrounding hills.
Some of the drawings feature images of animals such as birds, llamas, monkeys, human forms, fish or jaguars. Some images are simple geometric shapes and lines, while others feature more complex symbols such as trees and flowers. The shapes were first drawn by removing the reddish stone above to expose the earth below. While the exact purpose of the shapes is unknown, most scholars agree that they carry some religious significance.
The first to research them with interest were archaeologists Paul Kosok and Maria Reiche. They claimed that the drawings indicated to people in the past where the Sun and the stars rose. The lines were drawn with sticks, then a small layer of soil was removed, making the lines 10-15 cm deep.
After Nazca we left for Lima, where we arrived in the evening, a bit tired, around 21-22.00. We stayed at Hotel Continental 3, in the historical area of Lima. Lima would be the last destination in a very long and detailed trip.
Okay, actually there was one more trip next to Lima, to the fascinating Caral archaeological site.
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July 19 – Friday
Caral Piramyds
Caral is fascinating, incredible. The people of this culture were pioneers, invented farming techniques and built enormous pyramids in South America thousands of years before the beginning of the common era.
The site is quite well laid out with information boards and a visitor centre. The center has an inner courtyard and inside are exposed to the public objects discovered inside the site and stored here to be protected. Many of the stones used in the construction of the city were stolen by the locals and used to build houses or even the huge church in the center.
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July 20 – Saturday
On Saturday we did a day trip to the pyramids at Caral.
And I can say, as a history and archeology buff, it’s worth a whole day.
They were only discovered in the 70s even though they were built 5,000 years ago, a fact established by radiocarbon dating of the organic matter discovered on the spot, but they may be much older.
5,000 years ago, pyramids in South America, in what is now Peru. The oldest civilization in South America.
The Norte Chico civilization – almost as old as the Egyptian one, emerged in the Supe Valley, 200 km from the present site of Lima on the Peruvian Pacific coast.
A hundred or so years ago, the German archaeologist Max Uhle discovered the first vestiges in the area.
Since the numerous pieces of gold that the adventurers dreamed of were not discovered, the site was abandoned for a while. And very good that it was so.
Decades later, more extensive excavations revealed that what Uhle had discovered was only the tip of the iceberg, the achievements of the ancient civilization being numerous and fascinating. The unusual Norte Chico culture of Peru is the oldest civilization in the New World (the two Americas, North and South) and dates back five millennia.
The capital of the ancient state that developed this original civilization was the sacred city today called Caral, a 5,000-year-old metropolis, whose inhabitants had created complex agricultural practices, a fascinating culture, a monumental architecture. Six pyramidal structures, temples, amphitheatres remain from this enigmatic Peruvian culture.
It was only in the 70s of the last century that it was discovered that the “hills” and “mounds” in the area are not natural formations, as was initially believed, but former buried step pyramids.
Three decades later, in the year 2000, radiocarbon dating of the organic matter found at the site could be done, revealing that the mysterious Norte Chico civilization dates back to 3000 BCE.
Historians would record it as the first complex civilization in the Americas.
Caral is one of the 18 settlements identified in the Supe valley, covering an area of approximately 65 hectares. The ancient city is located on an arid terrace overlooking the valley of the river Supe. Some vestiges are incredibly well preserved.
At the center of the Caral complex are six large pyramids arranged around a square. The largest of the pyramids, which has a dominant position in the city plan, covers an area equal to the surface of four football fields and has, today, a height of almost 20 meters.
From the top of the Great Pyramid at Caral, impressive especially for the extent of its base, the kings of the mysterious vanished people could watch over the entire city. A wide nine-meter staircase leads to a series of rooms, which include an atrium and an altar. In the altar room, a small hole can be seen, at floor level, once used for burning offerings. Large rooms were built for the elites at the level of the pyramids, while on the ground there were the dwellings of the craftsmen and those of the commoners (smaller in size). Researchers believe that the model of the ancient city of Caral was also used by other pre-Columbian civilizations that emerged after the sudden disappearance of the Norte Chico civilization. Interestingly, not a single evidence of participation in battles or wars has ever been found in Caral. At the site, the research did not reveal any defensive structures, nor weapons or skeletons showing traces of violence. Historians believe that the people who founded the city of Caral and the Norte Chico culture developed a peaceful civilization where people spent their free time studying the sky and Nature, practicing their religion and playing their musical instruments. The ancient constructions of Caral are considered the most important discovery in the New World, after the remains of Machu Pichu.
Caral was mega wow.
Lima
Returning back to Lima by coach, I had time to observe the surroundings of the capital city. They highlight the great difference between social classes. On the hills near Lima were built a kind of shed-like houses, following the same pattern. I understand that they are for less wealthy people who can also benefit from free land. But at the entrance to Lima there is a kind of document control. It’s almost like a citadel city, that’s how big the wealth gap is in an otherwise poor country, which is richer than Bolivia anyway.
What to do in Lima. The historic center of the city, Lima, is worth visiting, with some of the most famous places in the capital. Alternatively, you can take the Miraflores tour, which departs from the Tourist Information Center at 3:00 p.m.
In the evening we visited the fountains with lights, light show. It is a very good place for artistic pictures.
Parque de la Reserva is a beautiful park and a great place to visit during the day, but at night this park becomes truly magical. After night falls, its famous fountains light up. The entrance fee is 4 soles.
During the day I visited some cathedrals, the squares in front of which were full of pigeons doing a show of their own.
Barranco has historic architecture. At night, Barranco turns into a party zone with excellent restaurants and alternative bars for Peruvians and foreigners. One of the most interesting places to visit is Puente de los Suspiros.
This bridge is in the main part of the neighborhood where two main streets connect.
Being already tired of so much information from over the month, I only visited the Cathedral of Lima and a free walk around the city.
The flight to Amsterdam would be at 20:00. And then home.
Okay, I arrived home in Bucharest only at 00:35, Monday, July 22. Because of the transfer and the time difference.
That was about the mega trip of about 6,000 euros for a month in South America, the trip where I visited Buenos Aires in Argentina, Chile, I saw the solar eclipse in Chile, I went to the desert, I took night photos, I saw petroglyphs in the desert but also Easter Island in the Pacific 3000 km from the coast, I was in the salt desert of Bolivia with its cacti island, I saw Machu Pichu, Nasca and the old pyramids of Caral. Really fascinated.
Videos from Lima: