Day 5 - Peru - Drive from Nazca to Arequipa

The hotel opened up their restaurant early, 5:45 am, so we could get an early start on the road. We had a lot of miles to cover - over 400 kilometres on the Pan-American highway. That doesn't sound like much, but the roads were by no means straight, or level.

We had several stops to relieve the monotony and stretch our legs. The first attraction was a viewpoint called the "Alto Grande Fault". It is a fissure in the earth that is over 2 kilometres in length.

Next, we stopped in a town called Yauca. They are known for growing olives, and there were quite a few stands all in a row with samples and products to buy. I bought a single wrapped hazelnut chocolate like they sold at the pisco distillery.

We followed along the Pacific Ocean for most of the day and populated areas were few and far between. I sat on the wrong side of the bus and tried to take photos from a standing position, but the twisting and turning of the roads made it dangerous.

A lovely viewpoint was the Ocona (pronounced Oconya) Viewpoint, a valley with many crops including rice paddies!

The ocean was crashing on the right hand side of the scene.

Another rest stop overlooked the ocean way below us and also had a tied up alpaca, which I felt sorry for.

Lunch was late - 2 pm, a long time since a 5:45 an breakfast! We ate at a tourist restaurant in San Clemente and it was buffet style so no waiting for service thankfully.

One bizarre incident happened during the drive. A man was standing on the road in our lane with a big rock in his hand. He appeared to be threatening to throw it at the bus windshield. Cars were not stopping for him on this busy highway and were speeding around him. Someone even passed our bus on the right hand side of the road and almost hit one of our drivers who was approaching the man. Both our drivers had gotten out, then one got back in to move the bus around the man while the other talked with him. He briefly talked with him, got him moved him to the side of the road, then gave him some money. We don't know if the man was crazy, had a death wish, or was trying to extort money.

Our drivers took turns at the wheel throughout the difficult day of driving and did a fantastic job. Traffic was busy and there were lots and lots of big trucks. Passing was scary as were the sharp curves, hairpin turns, and zero shoulders with steep slopes right beside the road. The drivers will be commended on my trip review to the company!

Because it had been an early day I napped frequently. I have no idea what I missed but I needed my sleep.

We got to Arequipa and checked into our hotel at around 7 pm.

Because it was so late and we were tired, we ate at the hotel. The food was ok but the service was so slow. Even paying our bills took an inordinate amount of time. 

Our room is small but satisfactory. We are at a higher elevation and I am feeling a bit dizzy. I hope I sleep ok.

Day 4 - Peru - Nazca Lines, Chauchilla Cemetery,and Pachamanca

Had a good sleep but 5:45 came too early. We left at 7 for the Nazca Airport but didn't fly out until just before 11. The sky conditions were hazy and we had to wait until they sent a plane ahead to check on the visibility. I wondered why they just didn't call us when they were ready but Peru doesn't work that way. It's hurry up and wait. As the hours ticked by, more and more people came and it was first come, first served.

The airport had a great National Geographic video on the Nazca phenomenon so that took some time. Also there were some outdoor shops and I purchased some Peruvian silver earrings, necklace, and later, a ring - so easy to pack

😉.

The sun began to shine and it was finally our turn! Six of us went up in the plane and everyone had a window seat.

The co-pilot explained what we were going to see then we took off. I was struck by the starkness of the landscape in contrast with the lush green irrigated parts. We arrived at some lines fairly soon. First the pilot show

ed them to one side of the plane and then the other.

The weren't always easy to spot but he did his best to explain where to look. I shot wide so as not to miss the shot and I also bracketed, just in case. I am going to have to edit and severely crop the pics, but I think I got most of them.

After the flight we went back to the hotel then met for lunch. I had the best meal yet - rice mixed with quinoa and raisins, shrimp, peaches, avocado and a delicious mildly spiced sauce. Yum!

There was so much free time before our next activity so we went for a walk but soon I was on my own.

I came upon a food market and enjoyed looking at and photographing the many fruits and vegetables, some of which I didn't recognize.

As I was walking along with my camera, I heard a little boy say,  "Photograph". I was oh so happy to oblige him!

He was thrilled to see his picture. Then his friend (or brother?) wanted in on the action and I was thrilled. A much smaller boy stood by watching and I took his photo so that he too, wouldn't feel left out!

At 3 pm we boarded the bus and drove for about 20 minutes on the highway, then onto gravel for another 15. We stopped to see some burrowing owls and I captured him nicely.

Our destination was Chauchilla Cemetary, an archeological site containing the remains of prehispanic mummified human remains. We had a new guide with us and she was knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

Our guide talked about the history of the peoples of that time (from 200 - 900 AD), their burial practices, the grave robbers (the Spanish) and how it was rediscovered in the 1920's.

The bodies and clothing are remarkably well-preserved due to the very dry climate as well as their burial practices. It was pretty creepy but fascinating all at the same time.

On the way back to our hotel we stopped at a family pottery business for a tour. They make pottery in much the same way as they did in ancient times.  They have used pieces of the ancient pottery as patterns and copied the painted designs as well.

The clay is rock-like until it is soaked in water, then it is combined with sand. He uses ancient tools, no potter's wheel and the paint is all natural as well. Finished pieces are fired up in the traditional way in a bed of hot coals. They use a paint brush made from baby hair. The work was very beautiful but there was nothing very compact so I passed on making a purchase.

We returned to town (Nazca) and had a bit of time before heading out for supper. Our evening meal was out of town down a long dark gravel road at a restaurant and hotel, and we were the only guests there.

We were treated to a traditional barbecue called a pachamanca. The food is placed in a pit then covered with hot stones for several hours. They did a ceremony before we ate, thanking Mother Earth for the food.

Our meal was delicious and included 3 kinds of potatoes, corn, beef chicken, pork, some Peruvian cheese, sauce, spicy onions, chicken tamales, and beans.

Although the food was great, we were anxious to return to our hotel as we have another early morning tomorrow, in fact it's the earliest one yet!

Day 3 - Peru - Balletstas Islands, Pisco distillery, Huacachina Oasis

We had an early start, ready to go by 7:45am. The group walked back to the pier and we boarded an open-air speedboat. There were many fishing boats in the harbour. They didn't seem to have to go out very far to catch their fish for the day.

We made a few stops along the way and saw some birds as well as some lines on a hillside in the sand. It was a huge candelabra geoglyph, like the Nazca lines we are going to be seeing.

We continued much further then got to the main attraction- the Ballestas Islands.

As we approached we began to see many birds, sea lions and even penguins! They have the Humboldt penguin here and they are adorable, as any penguin is!

We then went further into the group of islands and I was astounded at the sheer numbers of birds. Peru has a type of boobie but they are not the blue-footed ones of the Galápagos Islands.

The rocks were covered in guana or dung, and it is gathered as fertilizer. I have never seen this amount of birds, even on my Galápagos trip. Not only were they on the rocks, but in the sky as well.

I switched to video to try and capture the movement of these thousands of birds! I put my hood up as I wondered if Murphy's Law might kick in, but I was lucky.

It took about 20 minutes at high speeds to return to shore. We walked back to the hotel, gathered our suitcases, and boarded the bus. We headed south for about an hour, passing lots of sand, but also fields of grapes, carrots and other crops.

Our next destination was a Pisco distillery, el Catador. Pisco is the national drink of Peru. We learned about how the liquor is made, then we had a tasting. I was surprised at how many different types we were given.

Peruvian wines are quite sweet, and we tried 2 different types, both of which were very good. We also sampled some Pisco sour mix as well as the pure alcohol, which runs about 45%. To make a Pisco sour, you combine lemon juice with the alcohol, then egg whites are added and shaken, however we didn't try it with the egg whites. We had a few other samples and were also given some chocolates with a pecan filling. I purchased a very small bottle of Pisco sour already mixed, as well as some delicious chocolates. Besides not wanting to lug a big glass bottle around, I worry about breakage in my suitcase.

We drove for about another half an hour to an oasis called the Huacachina Oasis. We had lunch there and I ordered asparagus soup as well as a salad. The service wasn't all that great, and my salad, while ok, wasn't as advertised.

The Huacachina Oasis is surrounded by sand, more specifically, sand dunes. They are huge and tall and beautiful. The sun was shining and the sky was blue, something we haven't seen much of since we got to Peru. People come to the dunes to ride buggies and sand board and I did both!

Only 2 others in our group joined me in the adventure. I was a bit apprehensive but wanted to be able to say 'I did it!'  We were securely buckled in and then we were off.

I tried to take photos at first but then realized I needed two hands for holding on and keeping my balance. Our driver seemed to enjoy my screaming as he crested to the top of a tall dune, pause to show us the immense drop, then gun it down the hill at top speed! I had my eyes closed for those moments, but when I realized he was a good driver and we weren't going to crash, I relaxed a bit and tried to keep my eyes open.

It was rough at first as we were going over the trails of many others before us but it got smoother. He stopped at a high point and we disembarked to take pictures of the remarkable view, mountains in the far distance.

A little later, he stopped and hauled out some sand boards - just like snow boards but made for sand. I thought, 'No Way!' but he showed how to lay down on our stomachs, put our hands in two of the straps, elbows in, and legs astride (to slow ourselves down).

I let Art go first and was satisfied that we weren't going to speed too fast so I went. You actually just follow the natural slope and it wasn't too fast at all. I was proud of myself and wished I could have taken photos. As it was, I lost both my lens cap and my iPhone!! But the driver found them! He did take posed pics of us with 'our boards' as a keepsake.

Just before we got back to the start, he stopped once more so we could get a good look at the oasis from up high. It is a natural oasis with a lovely pool? lake? in the center and green vegetation around it. The area is quite small. People were climbing the dunes on foot. I'm so glad I took the buggy!

We continued south for several hours passing through towns, desert, past crops and through an most interesting pass. The area is called Palpa and the sun created some magnificent shadows on the sand formations. They look like rocks. But I guess they are sand. The road was quite twisty like a mountain pass back home.

A bit further on, we stopped to see the first of the Nazca lines. They are several thousand years old and can only be seen from on high. In the middle of nowhere there was a tower to climb. It was almost dark but we were able to see the hand and the tree formation.

Experts do not know why these lines were made by the Nazca Indians, perhaps for religious reasons. They weren't discovered until someone flew over the area and noticed them from the air. Apparently due to climate change the desert has been getting more rain than normal. The lines have been around for thousands of years but are in danger of disappearing because of the rain. No one knows how they were made either as the lines are quite long and straight. We will see more tomorrow.

We have another nice hotel here in Nazca but the check in process takes so long when you have to supply your passport and immigration card. Why they need it, I'd love to know.

We didn't want to go for supper with the group and have a 2 and 1/2 hour supper again so we struck out on our own. Just 2 blocks away we noticed a large crowd gathered and there were fireworks going off. It was the town square and there were hundreds of people. We found out afterwards it is Guadalupe's festival.

We wandered around for a bit and checked out a few restaurants finally settling on a sit down sports bar. A Columbia-Peru match was on and it was loud. Oh well. The food was good and cheap and they served great pisco sours!

I had seen a vendor with cotton candy walk by earlier and was determined to find him and buy some. I couldn't find him, but I did find some cotton candy - for only 1 sol - 41 cents! We made our way back to the hotel. It's going to be difficult getting to sleep tonight if the intermittent fireworks don't stop making one heck of a racket!!