A Little Bit of Culture

After the madness in the desert. Time for a bit of culture and history in the form of the Nazca Lines, ceremonial pyramids and ancient burial areas. And maybe tasting some local food.

The Nazcas lived between BC500 until they were beaten by the Incas in about 1450. The land here is very dry, it only rains for 30 mins a year and was known as The Land of Pain by the Incas.

The Spaceman

The Monkey

Mysterious lines were etched into the dessert on a massive scale and the only way to fully appreciate them is to fly over the top. Some of them are geometric shapes 2/3 kilometres long and others more representative of things. Birds, monkeys and spiders. Their purpose is unknown. It’s believed they were created between 500BC and 500AD.

The Humming bird

The bodies in the tombs have been preserved by the dry desert air.

Later we camped on the beach, cooked on an open fire and then headed back up into the Andes to the White City of Araquipa. The highlight here was a visit to see the remains of an Inca princess ceremonially sacrificed to the Gods on top of a 7000m volcano and then frozen in Ice for 550 years until found 20 years ago.

Weirdly we spent an enjoyable evening in the Red Lion watching footy before heading of the next day higher in the mountains. All part of our acclimatisation for the big walk.

And I’ve had my first taste of guinea pig.