West of the Andes the weather is dry and the land is arid. In Peru there are some cities in this region. Lima, the capital of Peru, is one of these cities. Nazca and Ica, both south of Lima, are also located in this arid region. Except for the inhabited locations most of the area between the Andes and the Pacific, at least from Lima to Nazca which was the extent of our trip, is a desert. Although, we did see many small towns along the Panamericana Highway that runs thru it as we went from Lima to Ica.

In that desert, south of Ica and near the city of Nazca, there are lines or furrows which have attracted much attention. More interesting, some of these lines form images that are so big they can not be defined from the earth.

The images or figures can only be seen from certain altitude, requiring an airplane, hot air balloon or helicopter to see them in their entirety. This has brought some questions and all sort of opinions, since, as is known, when these lines were made, none of these modes of transportation existed. Many believe that the lines have a religious significance, although others attribute them to extraterrestrial beings.

On these two pictures we can estimate the size of some images. On the upper part of each picture is the Panamericana Highway, an observation tower and an eighteen wheeler truck. These two figures are rather small compared to some of the others. Some reach the 100 meters in length.

To see the Nazca Lines we made tour reservations in Lima, although since it is a tour it can be reserved from anywhere. From Lima we were taken to Ica through the Panamericana Highway. The trip was about three and a half hours long. From Ica we went on a small airplane over the Nazca Lines. The pilot was very pleasing and made certain we could see the lines. After seeing the Nazca Lines we came back to the airport, threw up our lunch (one of us did not make it to the airport), and continued with our trip thru Peru.

Note: In other places in the Andes there are also lines forming rectangles and lines projecting from the same point as radiating.