From Cuzco we headed to the coast and Nazca where the inexplicable lines lie in the desert – drawings of animals, birds and men etched in the sand thousands of years ago. Why is the question many have tried to answer but none have succeeded.

We know the ride down to Nazca is going to be a long one but we don’t expect more than 600 ks of winding roads making their way through the mountains. We ride up in to the clouds where the temperature drops to 0.5 degrees and ice forms on the bike. We ride through a snow storm, rain and hail. When we finally arrive in the desert town of Nazca it is dark but it is warm.

A six-seater - perfect

 

 

The best way to appreciate the Nazca lines is to fly over them. There are small six-seater planes that take you up and over the desert. They take two pilots – a move to safer flying following a fatal crash a few years ago. The pilots dip the planes on both sides so we can all see the lines. They position them under the wings so there is no missing them.

 

 

 

 

The hummingbird

 

 

 

It really is hard to know what to make of the Nazca lines. Some are indistinct and you need to use a great deal of imagination to pic them out. But there are others, like the monkey, the hands, the tree and the spider that are clear. And there is the astronaut – what do you make of all of this?