South America

Show Your World – Nazca, Peru

/ Marie / 3 Comments

This post is participating in the Show Your World event sponsored by Tiny Expats
HPIM0429My husband and I traveled to Peru as a graduation present to ourselves. I had wanted to see the Nazca lines since I first learned about them in high school. The Atacama desert is the driest non-polar desert in the world. As soon as we got off the bus here we could feel the heat in the dusty, hot desert wind. Nazca is a place that is removed from the rest of Peru, both by its remote location and the mystery surrounding the Nazca lines. Some people believe the Nazca lines were created by extra-terrestrial beings. It feels like a place from another time and another world. It is a place forgotten even by its own government. The lizard figure of the Nazca lines is actually cut in half by the Pan-American Highway. The Nazca lines are now protected by the U.N. as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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As well as flying over the Nazca lines, we took a tour of tombs out in the desert. These tombs are thousands of years old, and have been robbed of the precious materials that were originally enclosed within them. I remember getting out of the car, and seeing the ground literally covered in bones from grave robbers that took the gold and other items from the tomb, yet carelessly tossed the mummies out into the dry, desert sand.

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The mummies’ hair has been bleached to a much lighter color through exposure to the unrelenting desert sun. The people of Nazca are very poor. Yet they recognize the economic possibilities tourism provides. They independently have constructed canopies to cover and protect these tombs out in the middle of the desert. There is no official tourism office. The people of Nazca independently work as tour guides to provide a better living for their family.

HPIM0455Even their agriculture is reminiscent of the past. These aqueducts are still used by the local farmers. They were built over 2000 years ago. The stones were set together without mortar, so when earthquakes come to Nazca, the stones rattle and shift against each other, but the aqueducts remain intact. Going to Nazca felt like traveling 2000 years back in time, while simultaneously being in the company of believers in UFO’s and other paranormal activity.

Travel theme: Freedom

/ Marie / 1 Comment

What is freedom? That is a very simple question with a very complex answer. One of the things I love about travel is the freedom I feel from every day life. Especially with four children at home, the daily grind sometimes seems a never-ending cycle of preparing food, cleaning up, changing diapers, etc…What’s interesting is those tasks are still somewhat present even while traveling with kids, but the new experiences, vistas and cultural experiences make these sometimes mundane tasks seem less all encompassing.

But even before we had children, traveling and the adventure of it always provided a sense of freedom. So, here are some photographs that illustrate what makes me feel free.
HPIM0387There is something about being in absolutely the middle of nowhere, completely cut off from the modern world, that evokes a sense of freedom. Out there, one has the time to ponder, to enjoy the moment. A conversation with your inner self about your dreams and desires is much more achievable when there are less distractions. Solitude can mean freedom.

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Viewing great achievements in stone and architecture by man gives me a sense of freedom. What great things we are capable of if we dare to dream, to plan, to achieve! From ancient times to modern, mankind has created amazing buildings, bridges, tunnels, works of art. Seeing these amazing things gives me a sense of freedom to embrace my own creativity, to dare to make something extraordinary out of my life.

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I feel gratitude that we have some measure of economic freedom, meaning we don’t struggle to provide food for our family. There are people who are born, grow up, and die living the same kind of life that their families have lived for generations. I feel freedom in having chosen my own kind of life, and that I have the economic freedom to travel and see many different places and cultures. Not everyone is that lucky.

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Education gives me a sense of freedom. I don’t mean only a formal education, but continuing to expand my knowledge and experience gives me the freedom to see the world through many different lenses. I hope that it builds my understanding and compassion of others. These two qualities allow people from different backgrounds to connect and build friendships. That is also freedom.

Thanks to “Where’s my backpack?” for providing this the Travel theme: Freedom. You can follow this link to the original blog post regarding Travel theme: Freedom.

http://wheresmybackpack.com/2014/12/12/travel-theme-freedom/

Happy travels everyone!