Blogs from Nazca Lines, Nazca, Ica, Peru, South America - page 14

So after Trujillo we went by nightbus to Lima, the capital of Peru. This time I hardly slept (which was due to a cappucino after dinner in a very nice Italian restaurant), so was a bit tired when we arrived... Lima has quite a bad reputation (being a dangerous, ugly place) but in reality we were pleasantly surprised. It has some very nice neighbourhoods, like Mileflores and Barranco and parts of the city make me think of Barcelona. Lima has 8 million inhabitants and is thus very big. 80% of the time a big cloudy fog hangs around the city since the El Nino current and the Humboldt current bang into each other around Lima. Fortunately this time of the year it is warm and sunny although winter is approaching. As soon as we arrived we ... read more

Word to the herd. Bus journey was rubbush, and was only made passable due to the three prescription sleeping tablets i knocked back. Win. Arrived in Nascar in remarkably bad mood not aided by Corina the moaning german moaning about everything. this was annoying. What wasnt annoying was it being my turn to have a double room in the hotel to myself, and therefore being able to get a few hours sleep before breakfast without falling out of the stupid midget sized peruvian beds. After breakfast headed to the aeroport to have a flight over the world (but not me) famous Nascar lines, which are very cool, and show giant pictures of monkeys, condors, people, spiders etc that are only properly visible from the sky. Flight was brilliant fun, in tiny little plane that only fitted ... read more

The main reason people flock to Nasca is to fly over the world-famous Nasca Lines and today we had our chance to get a bird's eye view of this ancient wonder. We booked with Alegria Tours and for US$40 each, we were picked up from our hotel bright and early at 7am and found ourselves at the small airport just 10 minutes later. The trip began with an excellent and informative video that explored the many theories surrounding why anyone would think to draw such incredibly big pictures, lines and shapes all over the desert plateau but ultimately, no-one really knows why. After about 20 minutes, we were ushered along to our waiting aircraft, a teeny tiny 4-seater single prop plane. Glynn and I sat in the back and a local tourist sat up front ... read more

Well, where to start. My stay at Nasca has been, well a trip really. I arrived in the evening after a 9 hour bus ride with one bathroom break, completely starving. So, like any normal being, I bought dinner. A chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mayo, and they even put these french fry-like veggies on the sandwhich. And I ate it like a champ. However, around 6 en la manaña, it worked on my stomach like a champ. But let me first set the scene for you... I check into a nice hotel in the evening that to my surprize has a beautiful courtyard with a pool. The air is warm with a gentle breeze, swaying the mango trees in the garden. I get to my dorm room and find that I will be the only ... read more

Post the New Years day big sleep, the tour took us to the site of the Nazca Lines and Chauchilla Cemetery. The only way to see the lines is from the air, 25 minute flight to circle around all the various symbols. A video later in the day explained various theories of the lines. The most popular belief is that around the 600 AD, a period of drought for several decades caused the Nazcan people to begin drawing huge symbols in the desert as offering to the Gods, preying for rain. The majority of the lines aligned with significant mountains ranges, or sources of water, the layouts trying to coax the Gods to deliver water. The second part of the day was at the Chauchilla Cemetary of the Nazca people. The ghastly sites showed the traditional ... read more