Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Day 15 - The Search for Meaning in the Desert

After a good breakfast (because you never know when the next meal will happen), we headed East towards the Andes, Cuzco, and the Amazon basin.

In the morning we say more of the same ... sand, desert, flatlands ... with the mountains in the horizon.  As we made our way East we had to cross some mountain ranges (through more roughly carved tunnels) and saw some beautiful green valleys in between the arid landscape.

We made it to our hotel in Nasca as one of the motorcycle's front tires was quickly losing air (lucky) and then we headed to the airport for our flights to see the famous Nazca Lines.  This whole area is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Some people refer to this flight as the "vomit comet" because of its intricate figure eight flight patterns to ensure passengers on both sides of the plane can see the lines as the plane banks at what felt like 90 degrees which resulted in spectacular close up views of the lines.

One cannot help to wonder why these lines are here ... why from 400 years BC to 500 AC so much effort was put into this ... these lines go on for 800 miles and there are hundreds of them. 

Was it just plain art? Where did these people live? Was it a cry for help? At this scale, one just wonders if this is just an attempt for mankind to find a meaning beyond life on this earth.

Survived the plane ride ... barely ... and headed back into town for an afternoon cappuccino, a swim in the hotel's pool, some rest, and dinner across the street from the hotel. 

Tomorrow will be our longest ride yes as we head towards Cuzco.  Hundreds of miles of turns as we climb the Andes again.  We will spend the night in Abancay at an altitude of 8,000 ft.

Heading East from Huacachina towards the Andes

More rustic tunnels to cross mountain ranges

Coming out of some tunnels as we approach Palpa

A little angel rests here

The switchbacks down to Palpa

Palpa and its massive green valley in between arid mountain ranges

Yes! We are close

At the airport in Nazca for our flight to see the lines

Wouter and I excited about the experience to see the lines up close

The Monkey 

Intricate terrain with lots of water-made carvings

The spider

The plant

The spaceman

The dog

The condor

The hummingbird




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