20th November

2 hours sleep and a shower did wonders. This morning we are off to see the Nazca Lines. Here is the history bit...The Nazca Lines are a series of animal figures and shapes none of them repeated and up to 200m long. Each one, such as the spider, monkey, hummingbird is executed in a single continuous line, most created by clearing away the brush and hard stones of the desert to reveal the fine dust below. No one knows their meaning but it is thought they represent an ancient calendar or link sacred paths or huacas (power spots).

The shapes are unrecognisable at ground level which means the only way to see them is by plane. Or Cessna 206 to be precise. In the cockpuit we had Capt. Eduardo and second officer Williams! In the cheap seats behind we had Jean and Ted and Peter and Jane. One of the perks of not being in a couple means you get the best views. I remember the last time I was in a 6-seater. We were in Nelson, New Zealand and I had a parachute strapped to my back!

The take off was smoothand the Capt. didn't require any of my flying experience. We flew about 3000 ft until we got to the lines and then banked hard to the left. Capt. Eduardo's english was basic but with a quick shout of "Man, lady under wing now. It is the spider. You look please." we were taking many a photo. Some of the images I have to say I missed but took the photo anyway.

We systematically went through each shape with shutters opening and closing throughout and then headed for home. Eduardo then unexpectedly said over the intercom looking directly at me "now you fly" and pointed to the controls. After a quick look of disbelief on my face and abject terror on the faces of the other passengers I grabbed the stick and steered towards the airport. Well, I like to think it was towards the aiport but I had enough trouble keeping the plane steady to worry about direction, but I think I did OK and it was a great experience.

Eduardo regained control after about 5 minutes and we touched down safely. Being in the flight seat has the added advantage of getting the landing on video. I'm sure my Mum can't wait to see that! A great morning and one of the best trips I have done in South America. Once on the ground we headed for the giftshop to buy postcards in case the photos haven't come out. Ted was outside and lying prostrate on a bench and it turns out Jean ouked in the sick bag on the flight as well. The editor of this blog would like to point out at this stage that both afflictions were apparent BEFORE Williams took control of the plane.

We went back to the hotel for a lie down by the pool and then headed to Nazca for lunch - chicken stirfry, house salad and beer. It's what us pilots eat all the time. Nazca is a typical Sotuh American town - busy, dirty, lots of dogs, horns blaring and shops selling lots of tat. We were back by the pool by 2pm.

The second excursion of the day was off to the Chauchilla Cemetary. 30 years ago grave-robbers found and pillaged the ancient cemetary at Nazca and left human bones scattered in the desert. Italian and Peruvian archaeologists have since restored 12 of the many graves and propped up the remains of the inhabitants for the fee-paying public. If this morning was exhilirating then this afternoon was certainly gruesome.

The graves contained bones, clothes, baked bodily fluids, hair and ceramics. The mummification process was so advanced (and different from the Egyptians) you could actually still see parts of an eye and a tongue on one poor soul. Our guide, another Hilda, was very dramatic and extremely adept at scaring the shit out of me. The most fascinating part of the site was being able to see human bone, clothes, hair on the paths leading to the tombs, ie that hadn't been excavated but had been revealed by the wind blowing the sand away displaying the macabre findings in plain view. We even found a mis-shapen wisdom tooth of one unfortunate.

The museum had the best preserved specimen with ribs and other bones well preserved and flesh stuck to bandages. The poor bloke looked just like Bob Marley. Also included on the trip was a visit to a ceramic and gold factory with a demonstration on how to make the former and mine and extract the latter.

We got back to the hotel at 6 and dinner at 7. Another chicken dish, the best Pisco Sour so far and ice cream for pud. Red 3 sentences of my new Dean Koontz and that sent me off into a deep sleep.