Blogs from Nazca, Ica, Peru, South America
February 3rd 2012
Moved on from Huacachina after yet another wander around the lake. Hung around for those that sand buggied to return and have breakfast and showers and left around 9.30 am. Drove to a local market in Ica. The route was a little circuitous due to the recent earthquake which had broken a few sewers. Wasn´t us that blocked the toilets this time!! Shopped in groups of 4/5 to buy food for two to three meals over the next couple of days. Ed and I were in separate groups. It is really hard to calculate the precise quantities when cooking for 20 with a certain amount to spend (which came from the communal kitty). My knowledge of Spanish vocabulary is improving daily but Ed can still only say his name...... which is not particularly useful at the ... read more
January 29th 2012
They may be just lines in the sand, but lines that are believed to be 1,500 Years old and completely mystifying. The Nazca Lines are more than drawings that you need to fly over at 2,500ft to make them out. They are enigmatic art using the desert floor as a canvas creating one of the largest art gallery in the world high on the Nazca Plateau. They end up leaving you with more questions than answers. After leaving Cusco, it was the mad dash to the finish of my travels. I took a 14hr overnight bus ride from Cusco, Peru to Nazca Peru to see the mysterious Nazca Lines. I have to say this overnight bus ride was luxury compared to my other experiences. It had Wi-Fi and I actually slept. Although the fact that I ... read more
January 12th 2012
After a surprisingly sound nights sleep on the coach from Cusco, I woke up minutes before we arrived in Nasca. I had got a fright last night when I was told that we would be arriving at 4am rather than 8am as planned. Thankfully the crew-member was wrong and we arrived a little ahead of schedule at 7.30am. According to my instructions from Green Toad Buses I was to be met on arrival in Nasca and whisked straight to the airport for my flight across the world famous Nasca Lines. In fact, no sooner had I stepped off the coach to collect my bags I could hear my name being called from a far. I was greeted at the gate of the Cruz del Sur terminal by Manuel, who escorted me a hundred metres up the ... read more
Nazca, and the famous lines....
Published: December 27th 2011South America » Peru » Ica » Nazca » Nazca Lines
December 27th 2011
Next stop on the map was Nazca in the middle of the Peruvian Desert. We were here ultimately to see the famous Nazca lines, but there were a few other things to potentially do here, and therefore we felt it was a worthy stop. We arrived in Nazca via the Cruz Del Sur bus which has to be by far the best bus we have travelled on yet. The seats were huge and comfy, and the DVD’s that were played had to be listened to by headphones, meaning we didn’t have to listen to poor action movies dubbed in Spanish at ridiculously high volumes! Once in the bus station of Nazca, we made the mistake of pulling out our Lonely Planet in full view of the locals which basically says to everyone ‘We have no reservations ... read more
October 24th 2011
Tue 25 We arrived to Nasca after a sleepless night on the bus. I had been given the very important duty of looking after the piece of paper that had the hostel name and adress on it...but low and behold i had managed to lose it! Wouldlosehisheadifitwasn'tscrewedonLAD. Hayley thought she remembered the name of the street it was on and we headed up there looking for any hostel names that we could remember. We finally (luckily) arrived at the hostel we had booked, checked in and had a nap. We awoke around 1pm and got a bus out to see the Nasca lines. We knew before hand that we couldn't afford a flight over the Nasca lines so we had decided to climb up the lookout tower instead. The lookout tower let us see two of ... read more
Getting ripped off, stop talking to me i dont speak spanish and Nazca
Published: September 2nd 2011South America » Peru » Ica » Nazca » Nazca
September 1st 2011
Peru must be the easiest place in the world to get around, i stepped outside my hotel in huacacina this morning and within 1 minute was in a taxi on the way to the bus station, this time i had the fare i was going to pay him in my hand so there could be no confusion. Yay I´d finally managed not to be ripped off by a taxi driver! I then get out the taxi and walk in to the bus terminal join the que for Nazca and purchase my ticket... bloody perfect untill on the bus i realise they have short changed me 10 soles which is about 2 quid, bastards. Then to make matters worse on the bus a local asked to look at my ticket then he showed me his, i think ... read more
Huacachina, Sandbording und Nazca Lines
Published: July 23rd 2011South America » Peru » Ica » Nazca » Nazca
July 23rd 2011
Am Mittwoch besuchten wir ein wahnsinnig gutes mexikanisches Lokal, wo ich Tacos und Daphni ein Tenderloin assen, dazu gabs Margeritas. Anschliessend verabschiedeten wir uns von Lima und machten uns per Bus auf den Weg nach Pisco, was uns nicht ganz gelungen ist, da wir den Ausstieg verschliefen. Also verbrachten wir die Nacht in einem Hostel ueber der Busstation von Ica, der naechsten Stadt ungefaehr 70 Kilometer von unserem eigentlichen Ziel entfernt. Den darauffolgenden Tag verbrachten wir in Huacachina, einer Oase in der Wueste nahe Ica. Dort probierten wir uns im Sandboarden auf einer der umliegenden Sandduenen, was sich als sehr schwierig erwies. Die Boards bestanden aus einem Holzbrett mit zwei Schlaufen, in denen man nur locker befestigt war, was das Lenken des Bretts unmoeglich machte. Dementsprechend fuhren wir den Hang so gut es ging Schuss hinunter, ... read more
The south coast of Peru (Nazca and Huacachina)
Published: July 18th 2011South America » Peru » Ica » Nazca » Nazca
July 16th 2011
Now bus bound, i took the 13 hour night bus to Nazca from Cusco arriving at around 5:30am the following day. I reassembled my bike and headed to the hostel to try and get a room. Luckily it wasn't too bad getting the bike on the bus, just had to take the front wheel off and turn the handlebars round and pay an extra 30 soles. At the hostel i booked a flight over the Nazca lines for that morning. It's not cheap at 100USD for a 30 min flight but something i definitely wanted to do while in Peru! The flight was in a 5 seater plane with two pilots who take you on a route around all the markings and point out each of them on the way. Luckily we had a really clear ... read more
July 11th 2011
I have only just managed to successfully catch up sleep after an especially overzealous evening in Lima, when my evening with Emi and some of his wonderfully eccentric Peruvian friends was cut short, Cinderella-style, when I noticed around 4am that I had to be up at 5 to get onto a bus at 6. I staggered back, woke up my roommate, who appeared only marginally dismayed at my late return, and started packing, still drunk, for the bus ride to Huacachina. My state first became apparent to everyone, I think, when I attempted to pick my back up off the ground in reception and toppled over backwards. The hangover had yet to come, so having had zero sleep, I drained three quarters of a 2l bottle of water, and hoped for the best as I curled ... read more
from Nasca to the white city
Published: June 20th 2011South America » Peru » Ica » Nazca » Nazca Lines
June 17th 2011
Ola again, We spent two days in Nasca. The Nasca were a very advanced civilisation who settled in the Nasca dessert about 40 km inland from the Pacific ocean. As you come in to Nasca by bus you feel as if you could be arriving in Syria or Egypt as I imagine them to be with mountainous hills of shifting sands surrounding you and little vegetation except where they have accessed the ground water by aqueducts built be the Nasca between 100 and 700 AD. On day one in Nasca we explored an ancient burial sight of traditional Nasca. They buried their dead in large pits after removing their stomachs and placing them in foetal position bound with cloths of woven cotton and placed them in graves with articles they will need for journey into next ... read more
