Long before the Inca, there was the Nazca. Long before geohydrology and hydraulics there were the Nazca underground aqueducts. And long before GPS and teodolites there were the Nazca lines.Now, the cheapest way of catching a glimpse of the impressive line art is to stop in the middle of the desert, pay the two soles they charge you and climb up the viewing platform. The second cheapest would probably be to get a helicopter licence, buy or rent a decent minichopper and fly the 500 sqrkm yourself. The most expensive way would be to take a plane flight from Nazca airport, and that's what I did. 120 US$ was what they wanted, and even though it might not have been worth such a humongous sum, I would have regretted it had I not done it. The flight offered amazing views of the Whale, the Astronaut, the Colibri and the Monkey, among others, and the pilot tilted the plane generously from both sides, so that everyone in the 12-seated Cessna could get a clear view through the windows.After the linespotting there was high time for skullspotting. Valle las Trancas in Chauchilla is an old Nazca burial ground. They were highly skilled conservators, and some of the mummies are very well preserved, including skin, mouth and hair. Children were mummified too, sometimes after decapitation. The bodies was placed in foetal position (to represent the circle of life thing, birth and death and rebirth and that sort of thing) along with their belongings, usually some kind of finely painted pottery and placed in a tomb, with its roof mereley a metre below ground level.Decapitation was also a major point on the Nazca agenda. As their enemies were slain, their heads were chopped off, their brains removed and their eyes and mouth were sewn shut with cactus thorns.As lunchtime approached, we left the macabre moors and headed for the coast, reaching Puerto Inca in good time for swimming in the lethal waves, playing beachvolley and taking a short walk to the nearby inca ruins in the amazing rock formations.Yet another night under the stars, and why was there a Batman logo among the Nazca lines?
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