Page 68 - Joe and Laurie's Anniversary Cruise

origin. Theories range from pre-Inca irrigation systems to pleas from the
ancient Peruvians to the gods above to help with their farming, and
even extra-terrestrial intervention.

There are over 800 straight lines, 300 geometric figures and 70
animal and plant designs, also called biomorphs. Some of the
straight lines run up to 30 miles, while the biomorphs range from
50 to 1200 feet in length (as large as the Empire State Building).

Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejia Xesspe was the first to study
the lines in 1926 when he spotted them from a hike in the nearby
hills. However, since the lines are virtually impossible to identify
from ground level, they were only first brought to public
awareness with the advent of flight—by pilots flying commercial
planes over Peru in the 1930s. But it was not until 1939, when a
team of researchers flew over the desert, that anyone recognized
that some of the lines formed the shapes of animals.

The lines are known as geoglyphs – drawings on the ground made
by removing rocks and earth to create a “negative” image. Most of
the lines are formed by a shallow trench with a depth between 10
and 15 cm (4 and 6 in). Such trenches were made by removing the
reddish-brown iron oxide-coated pebbles that cover the surface of
the Nazca Desert.

When this gravel is removed, the light-colored clay earth which is
exposed in the bottom of the trench produces lines which contrast
sharply in color and tone with the surrounding land surface.
Because there’s so little rain, wind and erosion, the exposed
designs have stayed largely intact for 500 to 2000 years.

Your flight lasts for approximately 100-minutes before touching back
down at the Pisco airport. After a short comfort break at the airport,
you'll re-board your coach and transfer back to the pier.

Please note: The flight can encounter some turbulence and involves a lot
of banking and tight turns that can subject sensitive passengers to air

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