The Nazca Lines are what drew me to Peru. How on earth could an ancient civilisation draw such enormous yet accurate shapes? Even today it would be considered an accomplishment. But before the age of aeroplanes and drones? It should have been impossible.
Yet a short flight takes you up over an array of enormous animals – a monkey, whale, humming bird, condor. And don’t get me started on the astronaut. If this was created pre-aeroplanes, it was definitely before the dawn of space travel.
Several theories abound. From honouring water sources and hills, to aligning with the dark patches in the sky. It will probably always remain a mystery. And that is fine with me. Knowing might take away a little bit of the magic.
Of course most people go to Peru to see Machu Picchu. I hadn’t but it turned out to be more impressive than I could ever have imagined. No other site in the world has had me just sitting and staring at it for an entire morning. I’d done the tour, learnt the history but now I just wanted to stare. To imprint that amazing image onto my brain.
It may not be ancient but 500 years ago it was still quite a feat. A citadel on top of a mountain. And with stonework and drainage systems to rival modern architects’. With the mist rolling in over the mountain-tops, it is stunning. What is equally amazing is that it was lost to history for almost 350 years. Known only to the local Quechua villagers until it was rediscovered beneath the sprawling jungle in 1911. Who knows what else is hidden beneath those trees?
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) wasn’t quite what I had expected. As one of the most remote places on earth I had imagined wind-swept outcrops, not lush tropical island. Dotted around the turquoise coastline lie hundreds of ancient moai. Effigies of ancestors, they stand atop gravesite ahu, their backs to the ocean protecting their villages. Some restored and re-erected, some left lying where they fell. They are the ultimate headstone.
In the quarry lie many more moai, broken and abandoned. And here the mystery gets even bigger. How did they ‘walk’ them 7 miles to their oceanside resting places? How did they get the enormous topknots atop the head? And how did they learn the stonework techniques of Machu Picchu, 2500 miles of ocean to the east?
Our ancestors were a clever bunch. Isolated communities, inhospitable places, no dreams even of today’s technology. Yet they built some of the most sophisticated and enduring symbols on earth. Astonishing.
Three weeks. Three awe-inspiring sites. This really has been a magical mystery tour.