Arequipa to Lima with stops between

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I only posted about M.P. a couple days ago but it has been over a week since I was there. That is my way of saying I am behind in keeping up with this blog. The great news is that I am about 98% healthy with only a runny nose. Feeling almost a hundred percent makes the trip so much more enjoyable and pleasurable.
Leave Cusco, we took a plane flight to Arequipa which was beyond turbulant. I would almost consider it a rollercoaster ride due to the amount of times I lost my stomach. Listening to the structure of the plane crackel was a bit unnerving, but I am living to write this so all ended well.
Arequipa , the second largest won in Peru, was mainstream and set toward tourism. The people were nice and all was good in the town. The hotel was about 10 blocks from the square which was a bit of a walk to see a radio shack and other sorts of stores. As a group we went out to this American style bar to drink and play pool. We all had a good time. I didn´t drink except for when I was about to leave bc the fellow gappers didn´t want me leaving without having a drink with them. Who am I to pass up a shot?
From Arequipa, we took a bus to the Colca Canyon or rather Chivay to spend the night. The next morning we made the drive to the canyon to witness the spiritual condors as they soar through the canyon majestic canyon walls. The guide said the canyon holds many answers to the Earth´s history we have yet to discover due to how deep the canyon is...so much more to discover about this world!! All one could do is sit in awww as they watched these condors soar in the early morning hours. They came so close to where we were sitting, I´d say within 20 feet of us. This was the first time I wish I had my SLR to capture these birds in flight. In Peruvian culture, these birds are deemed the messangers from the heavens to the earth. After watching them for a short time, I understand why bc of their massive size (3.5 meter wing span, over 10 ft for us Americans).
After that adventure, we went back to Arequipa for the day and then took a night bus to Nazca. Now I can say I have used pretty much all modes of transportation at all times. Night buses will make anyone appreciate their beds back home. Although, I find planes more uncomfortable.
In Nazca, our hotel was 10-15min down this dirt/gravel road, next to nothing but farms. We arrived at 6.30am and I took a nap til 10.00 to get up for a cab ride to the airport for the Nazca Lines. This was my first time in a small aircraft, a 6 seater. I got shotgun or co-pilot without the controls but I pretended I was flying it anyways in my mind as we dipped and tilted above earth. I saw the pilot opening his window when we were getting situated, and you know when monkey sees, monkey does. So I started fidgeting with my window to open it and his hand was quickly behind my back making sure I didn´t have the window ajar. From that point on, I am sure he didn´t want sitting next to him bc who knows what I would be touching next. Once in the air, we saw all these lines, some lines that go on for over 200 meters and others make figures in the desert. The figures weren´t discovered until the 1920´s when they were discovered by the air. There was a monkey, alcatraz, condor, astronaunt (eventhough I am not sure they had astronauts back in those days), hummingbird, and a while. Try and figure out which is which in the pictures. It can be a fun game for you!! The plane flight was so much fun, the sense of being a bird and not feeling in control as the plane wobbled about in the in like a titter tatter.
With the hotel being out in the middle of nowhere, 7 of us decided to make the most of it and by a bottle along with some beers to enjoy the night from our third story balcony. It was my first time really drinking in S.A. and it was a grand old time. The jokes, the stories, and the catch phrases we are still saying from the night as we pass each other in the hotel or as we sit on a silent bus and blurt something out.
From Nazca we took a bus to a Pisco vineyard and had a tour and learned how it was made. Kinda sorta interesting. When that was done we went to Huacachima Oasis (a real Oasis in the desert) for lunch and to chill poolside. At about 4.00 pm there was an optional Dune Buggy and sandboarding venture we could go on. I was all over that. Only down side is I feel asleep by the pool, so I got woken up to get in the buggy and didn´t have time to get my camera to capture any of its greatness. The dune buggy sat 10 but only 7 or 8 of us went and again I got shotgun. Out of the gate and into the sand the driver was ripping and the motor was roaring like a lion on the plains of Africia or in a catch in the SF zoo, you pick. And then, I began feeling this wet substance pelt my face. The driver stopped at our first boarding sight. At which point, I took of my flasses to find out it was oil that was spraying everywhere. Here in S.A. oil leaks get taken care of by tying a rag around the leak. It worked! On the board, I tried standing but it wasn´t a proper board, so it was difficult to carve. So at the rest of the spots I laid down face first and went balls to the wall down the hill hoping not to fall and get a mouthfull of sound. However, one time I did eat sand and got it in my eyes. I got up in a daze after I came to a rolling stop at the bottom of the hill. Out in the middle of the dunes away from everything, we got to watch the sunset. Beauty surrounded me being and the feeling of completeness overcame me. How simple it was to feel that, if only I could get that feeling more often. Now with the sunset and it almost being dark the driver flipped on the dune buggy lights and with white light present (where you can´t see bumps or dips in the sand) the driver took off and went faster then ever before. The buggy was catching air as we rumbled through the dunes bouncing around like kids in those inflatable bouncy houses. By far, this was one of the most fun experiences I have had in my life. Once back at the town we ate dinner and got in a bus for 1.5 hr drive to our hotel in Paracas.
I have reached the SEA!! The next morning I got up and took a boat ride around the Ballestas Islands. It was so peaceful on the ocean, and it was one of the calmest days I have ever seen it. This part of Peru gets .01mm of rain a year and its next to the ocean, kinda wierd. But the islands were covered with all sorts of birts by the hundreds maybe thousands- vultures, penguins, pelicans, and onces with wings I don´t know. And also sea lions. I got so close, probably within 15 feet of one lying on the rocks. It was so rad! There are so many birds out there because there are 128 different types of fish in the surrounding waters for them to snack on. The trip was about two hours. Once back on land I had to get on a bus headed for Lima, the capital of Peru. I slept most of the trip due to the previous days activites but at one point I sat starring off out the window appreciating this life I have been graced with. Tears form as I write this. As I looked out the window all I saw were homes and rolling brown sugar hills. If any of you have seen Slum Village, the homes mirrored the homes in that movie. Rotting wooden structures with rusted tin roofs not fully covering the houses. Tarps trying to pick up were the tine left off but the tarps were ripped and faded. The sights these eyes have witnessed.
Arriving in Lima, I now feel this trip is flying by, maybe bc I know June is almost here. Yesterday, I said good bye to my tour guide and I have yet to meet the new one. I´ll meet him tonight. Yesterday, we had a bbq, beers, and pisco sours at his house. It was a great time and a good way to say farewell. Except for getting sick at night and hugging the porcelin god in the weee hours of the morning. But I got through the night and was able to enjoy the day. Today in Lima, I went with Nathan to meet up with one of his friends he worked with in the states for lunch and she showed us some of the sights and sounds in Lima. Lima is the closest I´ve come to the states with starbucks, chilis, kfc, and those sorts of gadgets. Lima is big and has its various districts so it is hard to describe it in a nutshell.

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