Kepfram & Ellie's Travel Journal

Nazca (or is it "Nasca" - no one seems to know....), Peru: We flew over the Nazca Lines - carved into the sandy soil of southern Peru´s plateau between 200BC and 600AD. Look closely at the picture and see if you can identify the image of a monkey at the bottom, center (click on the image to enlarge it).
There are many theories about how a people would make symbols so incredible large that they could not be seen from the ground - the theory that makes the most sense to me is that these were lines they walked the outlines of their creature creations in order to pay respect/worship that which they symbolized.
There are also theories about why the civilization disappeared - the answer appears to be drought, but the place has basically always been a desert. There is also an extensive system of aqueducts to capture and direct the large quantity of underground water.
The 25 minute flight was stomach turning, but worth it. We also saw a traditional style refinery where gold was extracted from rock found in local mines, a traditional pottery "factory", as well as local Necropolis with some interesting mummies...(go see our flikr album to get a look, I decided to spare the kiddies and not post those photos here....).

Ellie