Nasca is a small town of approx 30,000 which is known for the unusual lines that were drawn into the desert floor in pre Inca times.

There are many theories of what the lines were for and why the were created. One of which is that they line up with the stars (but only 30% do), the other that they were made as running tracks and the final and most credible is that they were made for worship of the gods and they made the shapes so that they could be seen by the gods who would appreciate their efforts.

We enjoyed a flight over the lines (well sort of enjoyed as I was almost sick) and they were pretty amazing to see some of the shapes. Aliens, birds, monkeys, triangle, whale and a lot of other shapes. The flight was approx 45 minutes in a small 4 seater airplane. The pilot made sure each side of the plane could clearly see each of the shapes so there was a lot of turning hard to each of the sides which was good for the viewing just not so good for the stomach.

The shapes were made by simply moving the rocks that were dark to reveal the lighter coloured earth below. Due to the heat in the desert the rocks don't move much so the lines have stayed almost eactly as they were created.

Straight after the flight we got straight into a van for a tour of the cemetary (once again not the best as my stomach didn't have any time to recover). The cemetary was also pre Inca and unfortunatly most of the graves had been robbed a long time ago.

This made the graveyard interesting as the remains of broken pottery, human bons, cotton used to wrap the boddies was easily seen on the top of the sandy ground as the remains that the grave robbers didn't want.

Twelve of the graves had been exacivated and mummies replaced inside for us to see. The bodies were wrapped in cotton before rigimortous set in and then placed in fetal position facing the sun. Food, weapons and valuables were placed with the bodies for the afterlife.

Children and babies also had their own small graves but wen't considered as important so wern't placed with the adult graves.

The sun is so hot and it only rain for 30 minutes every 2 years and so the mummies are very well preserved. One on display in the small museum building had the skin sill clearly on view on the body.

After the cemetary we went to see a small pottery place where they still make pottery the original Nasca way.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing at the hotel, reading and watching TV.

The restaurant was very happy to see us for lunch and dinner as I didn't see anyone else in their the whole time we were there.

The shop was also pretty good, and I bought a few little things to take back which I think made the shop lady very happy as well.