Semana 3

Lima - Huacachina - Nazca

About a week and a half ago, we said good bye to the beach (until Brazil) and got a night bus down to Lima. Fortunately this one was much nicer than the last - plenty of space and practically empty, so we were actually able to get some sleep. In Lima we spent a couple of days wandering around the more upscale neighborhood of Miraflores as well as checking out the downtown with its many plazas and museums. The Museo Larco, which has a huge collection of Peruvian pottery, was James choice, probably due to the guidebook´s description: "the infamous collection of pre-Columbian erotic pots, illustrating with remarkable explicitness, the sexual practices of ancient Peruvian men, women, animals and skeletons in all combinations of the above". Needless to say, the museum did not disappoint and I´m sure James will be happy to show you the many photos he took while there.

Heading South from Lima, we took a bus to Ica. Two Dutch girls on the same bus were also heading to Huacachina, so all four of us, plus four huge backpacks, crammed into a tiny taxi. Looking at the backseat from the front you couldn´t tell any people were back there - only luggage! I think we were too heavy for on the drive over we had to go up a tiny hill and the poor car simply couldn´t make it. It stalled several times and barely made it to the top and we just coasted down the rest of the way from there.

Huacachina is a tiny (and I mean tiny) oasis town in the southern desert. In the entire town there are about 5 hostels, 5 restaurants and 5 people renting sandboards by the side of the road. Despite this lack of things to do, we spent several days reading and relaxing by the pool after climbing up the sand dunes and boarding down. We had intended to spend two nights there and then move on, for one full day was sufficient to soak up all of Huacachina. However, when we went down in the morning to check out, we were told that there was a nation wide general strike going on that day and that there would be no buses. We made plans to stay an extra night in Huacachina and during the day visit Ica and the surrounding wineries, but at breakfast our waiter warned us against going into Ica or any other large city to avoid protests and that it was probably safer to stay in Huacachina. We didn´t mind too much and so spent another day by the pool. James opted to do some more sandboarding, but I was too exhausted from the previous days trek up the dunes.

Fortunately, the following day the buses were running again, so we were able to catch one down the coast to Nazca. As soon as we had stepped off the bus we were harrassed by people offering hotels and tours. Despite our insistances that we already had a reservation else where (we didn´t), we were followed for several blocks and told about the wonderful ammenities at different hotels. Despite being a large tourist attraction, the town of Nazca is still pretty small and not too touristy.

Being in Nazca, we had to go up in a plane to see the famous Nazca lines ($85 - so Dad, I think James may be needing some extra money soon). The plan was to go first thing this morning, but it was foggy, so it was delayed. Then it turned out that our pilot´s daughter had been bitten by a dog and taken to Lima, so the man who we had booked our flight with had to do some rearranging. Long story short, we did get to go up, but not until 2 (6 hours of waiting at the airport). Still, it was pretty cool to see and definitely worth the time and money. (For those who haven´t heard of the Nazca lines, they´re these massive figures in the desert made by the Nazcas by moving away the darker rock and exposing the lighter rock underneath. You can only see them from the air and so they have puzzled people as to their purpose. Theories range from a lunar calender to alien landing strips.

Tonight we´re off to Cuzco on a night bus, where we´ll stay for several days until next Wednesday when we begin our trek to Machu Picchu.