So we took a nine hour bus ride to Nazca, opting for the daytime bus due to price and scenery, we weren`t dissappointed. The first view of the coast and the sheer cliff drops take your breath away. The free breakfast and lunch that was provided on the bus was an added bonus.

We arrived in the shanky town of Nazca, which seems to have sprung up from nowhere and is very quickly falling back there. Apart from the lines, there isn`t much else to do there. A lecture on the lines is available however we decided against spending the money on someone telling us that they don`t know why the lines are there.

With many tour operators to choose from, you won`t be hard pushed to find someone to take you to see them. It is your choice whether you pay the money for the flights though. We went for just seeing them from the tower as we couldn`t juctify the money, and we also chose not to go with a tour company, but to jump on the Ica bus which passes the tower and costs 2 soles.

Getting dropped off at the tower was scary though, with a highway stretching out in either directions, and a high red tower being the only other thing you can see, it`s the cheap but uninformative way to see the lines. Another 2 soles to get up there, look in all directions as the lizard is cut in half by the road.

After venturing up and down, we took a walk to the "hill" with the stern words of the women who worked there, that it was illegal to stray from the main road, as there were landmines protecting the Nazca lines. Didn`t need to tell me twice. The view from the hill isn`t that good, you can see the lines, but not any of the other pictures, so we only saw the hands and the tree. Sure from the air it would have been spectacular. As we were walking, an explosion. Obviously our first reaction was a landmine, but the more likely story was that a lorry blew a tire in the distance where the grey smoke was coming from.

After climbing the hill, we waited and waited for our bus, and when it finally arrived it drove on by. We believe this was because it was full, or it could have just been because we were standing at the hill and they only pick up from the tower, either way we had to walk back to the tower and wait for the next one. This also tured out to be full, and we had to sit in the isle. For 6 soles, 4 for the buses and 2 for the tower, the cheapest way to see the lines, although not necessarily the best.