Ilda was our tour guide for the spiral aqueducts and the Chauchilla cemetery outside of Nazca City. The aqueducts were off the side of a dirt road which in the modern day construction of the city seemed like the middle of nowhere, but Ilda led us there and gave us the gift of knowing its power. She told us of how she grew up coming to the aqueducts on her way to and from school, bathing in its water. She told us of its uses and precise construction, its indestructibility even in the face of nature. She told us of the symbolism of the spiral to the Nazca people and how she herself believes in the mystery of the eternity of its form. She led us to the water, where we felt the still warm crystalline life source that continues to be revered by people like her, modern day Peruvians dedicated to the knowledge and mystery of these places. She captured the group with her passion for the history of her people and her land. She talked with her hands as she looked at you with a piercing intensity. She was a real woman of the desert, fierce eyes and light footed.
From the aqueducts we moved to the grave site. As we were driving through the desert Ilda suddenly asked the driver to stop as she had seen a burrowing owl. She tried to direct every to its location. I looked and looked at what seemed like an abyss of gray sand and rocky earth with no mile markers. After much concentration everyone began to slowly catch sight of it, a tiny speck in the distance. The more I stared at it the more the amorphous shape began to take the form of an owl. It’s very subtle movements kept my attention focused for a few minutes until I lost sight of it completely. As we moved on she laughed and said, “I have eyes of an eagle”. Then everyone laughed, myself still in awe from the ease at which she spotted the owl. I felt like I was given a gift, to meet a woman who truly has the sight of an eagle, and to know what that means. Looking for life in the open desert was a profound experience. It brought me to think about how connected people like Ilda are to their environment. How environment holds such a powerful influence on the evolution of the human body, mind, and spirit.
The Aqueducts
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| Sacred Mountain of the Nazca people, view from the Aqueducts. |
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| Cactus farmer. |
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| Ilda showing us the dye that comes from the Cochilla bug. She gently rolled the bug in the palm of her hand until it turned into dye, then she turned to the group and apologized saying, "I'm sorry I'm not a killer." |
Chauchilla Cemetery
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| Ilda drawing the underground grave construction in the sand at Chauchilla. |
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