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The Nazca lines in the desert of Peru

“A man with no expectations is never disappointed.”

I wish I would have kept those words from Lao Tzu in mind when I went slightly out of my way to Nazca, Peru where the Nazca people scratched some interesting geoglyphs into the desert outside of town around 200 BC.

With no modern equipment, no GPS’s, no airplanes or way to view it from above, no satellites, this amazing tribe managed to…well….scratch a few crappy shallow lines in the sand and call it a day.  It sounded mysteriously fascinating and theories (mostly from people who have never visited the lines) even abound of the pictures of animals, people, and geometric shapes being drawn for aliens to see from space!

The Nazcas were a charming group that lived even before the Incas and were quite fond of severing heads which they carried around as trophies.  Apparently they took time out from a busy schedule of trying to survive in the desert, scaring the crap out of their neighbors, and everyday life to draw some pictures in the hard red earth of Peru.

They were even known to practice trephination which is a fancy way of saying a highly qualified witchdoctor would cut holes into people’s skulls (while they were still awake and conscious) for medicinal or spiritual purposes.  It wasn’t a good idea to complain of a headache after scratching your lines out in the heat.

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The sprawling indoor market in Cusco

One of the delights of budget travel for me is wandering a local market in a strange and unfamiliar place.

It is a welcome assault on the senses.  New mysterious smells (some pleasant, some not) mingle with brilliant colors, unidentified foods, and sounds that can betray some of the small mysteries of daily life for the locals.  It is a thrill just to walk through the swirling vortex of market life.

In poor countries the number one priority is to get something to eat followed closely by the desire to make money and trade.  These two passions coming together in one place make for an exciting, frenetic energy that vibrates in the air as people buzz around making deals, pulling scams, and do their best to live life.

Unlike our shopping malls which pretty much consist of one way transactions, markets in developing countries are dynamic, nerve wracking, and obsessively addictive. Our closest equivalent might be the messy, semi-violent floor of a stock exchange (with a few random pig feet and unmentionable animal parts on display).

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Machu Picchu

My legs were still a little sore from our hike down the tracks when the alarm went off at 04:15.

Those that know me know that there are very few things in this world of ours that will make me leave a warm, dry bed so early.  The motivation this time was the extremely old ruins of the Inca city in the clouds -  Machu Picchu.

This blog post is almost pointless.  Without any way to share pictures, its futile to try to describe the feelings and views I had at Machu Picchu.  All I can say is that the 3 constant weeks of dangerous and hellish bus rides across the full lengths of three developing countries were well worth it. Wow.

Imagine a city carved of stone when there weren’t metal tools, situated above the clouds and surrounded on all sides by mountains.  The scenery and the altitude were both breathtaking.  Dazzling green steps spill down the side of the mountain where they kept their crops.  My conclusion is that these guys were obsessed at cutting and moving rocks.  The messed up thing?  For all the work done, the Inca’s barely got to enjoy it there for 100 years before they disappeared!

Ingenious waterways and gutter systems still working today keep everything a brilliant green. Temples, housing, and even a big stone altar (the perfect shape and size for human sacrifice which they did practice) make your imagination run wild as you walk the same stone streets this race of people walked so long ago.

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