The flight to Peru was a long and boring flight as most of it took place out over the Pacific. The thing was I could always see those mountains off to the right, the towering peaks of the Andes. That made for a comfort, knowing that land wasn’t that far away, I could see it right there. Even at 12,000 feet I couldn’t glide all the way to the coast, so logically I knew that it really wasn’t different than when I was crossing the Atlantic. But emotionally, it is different seeing land right there. I guess that is an example of just how un-logical we upright apes are.
If you want a laugh and a wonderful example of this, Google a list of phobias. The list goes on and on, and on… And keep in mind, phobias are irrational, illogical fears. Oh yes, we can be so logical in philosophy texts but in day to day life the majority of people are as irrational, illogical and unscientific as the most backward tribe in the New Guinea forests. Why else would people be frightened by Evolution? Why else would we have all of these blue laws on the rolls? How else could otherwise intelligent seeming people believe the obviously ridiculous fairy tales… Okay, I better back off on that one or I’ll get my plane fire bombed by a zealot.
Speaking of religions that seem weird to us today, while our own are obviously the revealed word, I was headed for the Nazca plateau. The Nazca plateau was home to the Nazca lines, weird drawing in the desert. The lines were discovered by early flyers over the region, they weren’t noticed by folks at ground level.
The western side of South America has some unusual climates. The towering Andes can wreak havoc with weather patterns. There are several places where they cause all of the rain to fall on the mountains and none to fall on the coastal strip. The driest place on Earth is the Atacama Desert at the base of the Andes, not far from the Ocean. But it doesn’t get any rain for years at a time. Another such place is the Nazca area. But man, ever hardy, managed to eke out a living in two river valleys on both sides of the Plateau. The rain would hit the Andes and come down these valleys. By damming and diverting the water they managed to grow enough crops to sustain themselves.
About the famous lines. Speaking of gullibility, ever heard of Chariot of the Gods by Erich von Däniken? Yeah, this yahoo said the lines on the Nazca desert were created by space aliens. And people believed him. How did he get away with it, I mean other than humanity’s innate irrationality? The Nazca people did not leave behind writing. They were a pre-literate people. Today we can’t say for sure what all this stuff is. That allows the most outrageous interpretations and most people will not use logic, they’d rather believe the ridiculous.
What is the truth about the lines? Were they built as landing strips by aliens? First fact, how they were built. The Nazca desert is dark. This is caused by a volcanic layer containing ferrous oxide which turns dark from ‘rust’ over time, just inches thick mostly made of fist sized rocks poured out and deposited over the plateau. But just below the thin layer is a layer of whiter rock. The ‘lines’ were built by people walking along, picking up the top rocks, and carrying them to the side and dropping them in piles. Does that sound like the construction techniques of an advanced race able to fly across space? Not a chance. But it is what a semi-primitive group like the Nazca could do.
Von Däniken also said the straight lines were landing strips for the aliens. Well, I went out and looked. Those were not solid smooth places to land. They also tend to start on the raised points of land and head off. I don’t know any landing strips that start on hills; you land on level places. So what are the lines? It took an American astronomer turned archeologist to figure them out. He plotted all of the lines on the desert then ran them through a computer program, the kind that calculated that Stonehenge was designed to show the rising sun of the summer solstice. The program showed that the lines were designed to align with the rising sun on November first. That the date on our modern calendar is the first of a month is coincidence. But November first is the start of the rainy season at Nazca, and rain was the most important thing for the Nazca people.
So logic shows that all of these ‘landing strips’ did involve Gods, but not aliens as Gods. The lines were attempts to invoke the rain gods and ask that the Gods to send the rainy season once again to allow the Nazca to eke out on more year of existence in that harsh land.
As I neared Peru, the coast angled towards my course getting closer and closer. I pulled power and began a long slow descent to Nazca. To help the tourists bring in their money, the Peruvians built a beautiful airport, Maria Reicha Neuman airport in the desert near the town of Nazca right near the plateau. Maria was a German who came to see the lines and fell in love. She spent the rest of her life fighting to protect them. I guess it was worth it since it is now a world heritage site and protected.
I leveled off about a thousand feet over the desert and flew over the plateau. The lines are clear and distinct from the air. I was glad I had a little map since I couldn’t tell what most were just by looking. Oh, the monkey and the spider were easy, but many were just squiggles to my eye. Oh, another thing you hear is that the lines are visible from space and aliens used them to navigate. No and no. They disappear as you get high enough.
I circled over the plateau a few times getting my fill of the lines. To me, not a computer, they were a confusing mess of various shapes sizes and thicknesses. I guess a computer could sort this all out, but I couldn’t. It looked like the scribbling of a child, not the plan of an advanced race who could look down and see the whole thing. I called into the airport and turned south, landing a few minutes later. It was easy getting a tour out to the plateau, since that is the only game in town. The desert, where annual rain is measured in minutes per year, retains all the marks of construction. If aliens had used heavy equipment to build these lines, there would still be evidence. There isn’t.
The natural explanation, the logical and scientific one, I guess isn’t as sexy as the illogical impossible fairy tale explanation and just like our phobias believing fairy tales seems to be all too human.
I know I promised to quit obsessing on food, but there is a place in this little town in the middle of nowhere that has fantastic food. I don’t know why but Peruvian food, at least this kind is outstanding. I can still taste it. Being close to the sea it wasn’t a surprise that seafood predominated. They had a ceviche sampler plate, so tasty and rich in fresh fish flavors and a chupe de cammerones, shrimp stew that blew the doors off. Okay, I’ll quit, it is getting to be lunch time.
After dinner, I hung out at the hotel bar. A duo of women came in and sat at the bar. There were talking in a foreign language and I guessed it was French. I got their attentions and asked if they were French. Unfortunately for me, they were Belgiques and were affronted at being called French. They proceeded to ignore me, quite openly. I was called out on pitches. I hung out for a little more but didn’t see another chance and so, retired to my room, licking my wounds, sadder but wiser as they say.
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Copyright Rod O'Steele © 2009