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Published: March 10th 2008
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Nearing the ocean again we stopped at Nazca to see the huge drawings in the desert. Before we came away we had been to Em’s Grandparents for dinner and they had told us of their trip to South America many years ago. We were fascinated when Noni told us of these Nazca lines and so were very excited to see them for ourselves. The Nazca Lines cover an area in the Nazca desert of about 500 square kilometers. These lines are to this day a great mystery to the world. They are thought to have been created by the Nazca people between 200 BC and 700 AC. The drawings range from simple lines to huge pitcures of hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, people and more. The pictures are so large that they can only be recognised as the individual figures from the air, which is why it is such a mystery as to how they were created back then. There are lines that run for hundreds of kilometers that are dead straight. The best way to see them is in a little plane, which we did. It was fantastic to be in a tiny plane but it was amazing to see these
ancient pictures for ourselves. The biggest pictures are nearly 270m long.
We hit the coast of Peru in Lima, which is covered by a coastal fog for the winter months. It is a nice place apart from the weather. After just one night there we went down to Punta Hermosa and stayed with a cool family in their hostel. The lady who ran it 'Marita' was like our mum helping us cook dinner and telling us we were naughty for not knowing enough Spanish. (She hit Ben on the head with a newspaper!!) The hostel had an excellent view of the ocean and it was good to be near the water again. It was a cool little town although a bit quiet. Many shops were shut and only open up for business during the warmer summer weather. Basically it was a little ghost town.
It was a bit cold and rainy, but there was some good swell the whole time we were there. There are a lot of waves in a small area, which is good when you are without a car. The little tuk tuks were buzzing around always asking if you needed a ride, which
Big crazy desert art
See the man on the left of the hill? was a cheap but very bumpy way to get around. One day we hired a car to explore down the coast a little further. After about an hours drive with our turnoff insight, we were confronted with a roadblock with burning tyres and people running around with signs. Protests are very common around these countries and sometimes roads have been blocked for days.
Ceviche is the local delicacy. It is a dish of seafood (sometimes only fish, sometimes a big mix) which is left to sit in a super sour lemon, onion mixture. Its not cooked at all, but the acid softens it all up ready to eat. We ate ceviche alot in Peru, its delicious!
Up to Lima again for a while we met up with Manuel one of Mike and Jords mates from their trip to this part of the world. He was really helpful in telling us some cool places to visit on our journey north.
We jumped on a 10-hour bus up to Pacasmayo, yet another fishing town. It had a huge wharf, which was busy with fishermen all day. A long way away in the distance was the point, which has really
good waves running down the point. Apparently sometimes the waves turn on and they break to the wharf which would make the wave really really long. A big surprise was when we saw Kim, a mate from home. We had no idea he was there, it was totally random. We hung out with him and another bloke called Dan along with some very funny Irish guys. There were many beers, ping-pong, pool and big nights, which didn’t help the surfing during the daytime! It was a cool place to hang out. We met heaps of people there who were traveling on similar trips. It was a place to just totally enjoy life and chill out.
We had a little mission up to Huaraz for some relaxing in the mountains while there were no waves. I was nursing a bung knee (since Macchu Pichu) which I thought would handle a little walk up to a cool lake up in the mountains. 6 hours later I came back limping but it was so worth it. Laguna Churup was like a mirror and a beautiful green colour in some parts. The place we stayed was a lodge in the mountains, about 15
The line up at Chicama
The longest left in the world. Not this day though... minutes drive from the town. It was chilled and had a rock climbing wall, volleyball net, mountain bikes, hammocks and some cheap good food. We pitched our tent in the backyard are were able to use all the facilities. It was a worthy place to check out. There are lots of hikes around this area but due to the knee there was no way I could do them.
While back in Pacasmayo a few of us sorted out a minibus to take us to Chicama, which is regarded as the longest left in the world. It needs a big swell to work, a bit bigger would´ve been good but you cant complain I guess. It’s an unbelievably long wave when its big, but it was breaking in a few different sections when we got there. Still there were some leg burners out there that went for ages. I would love to see the different points all line up on a big day.
Next stop Mancora. A crazy little town that was in full swing when we got there (they must have known we were coming!). It was the their biggest night of the year and the place was
crawling with people partying in the streets during the night. The beaches were warm and at last the cold humbolt current from down south wasn’t hitting the coast. There were heaps of nice places to eat on the beach under tents, which was packed almost all day. Mostly by people who had had a huge night and were getting ready to backup for the night coming. Mancora is where the weather and vegetation began to change into a more tropical scene.
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