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Published: January 30th 2007
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It's funny how coincidences work sometimes. After I got back from trekking around Huaraz, I got an email from a my friend of mine from college, Jake Berkowitz, who a couple days after me also left to go on a trek around Huaraz, of all places. Instead of continuing on, I decided to wait a couple extra days until he got back last Tuesday. I met up with him and a friend of his from home, Jed, and immediately planned what we would do next. That night we went to the Xtreme Bar (trust me, it was sooo extreme) and quickly chatted it up with the bar managers. They were both in their late 20's and one of them had had a subscription to the US version of Rolling Stone for years so he knew a lot of the same bands we did. It was great to hear a lot of music from home after being subjected to bad pop and elevator music blaring all over the country in the previous weeks.
The next night we took an 8 hour overnight bus to Lima, arrived at 6AM, took another bus to Ica, 6 hours south of Lima, then a third
bus for 2 hours to the town of Nazca. By the time we got to Nazca it was 3PM and we had been traveling for 15 hours. We were all exhausted. For long distances overnight buses make the most sense, but you pay for it the next day. On an 8 hour bus ride you're lucky to get 5 or 6 hours of sleep, if that. On the way to Nazca we met an eccentric guy, David, from Austin, Texas. The 4 of us decided to room together in a hostel, but he mostly did his own thing and was invisible to us. Nazca, in the heart of the desert, was unbearably hot. We relaxed for most of the day until we took a flight over the Nazca lines this past Friday morning.
Many people do not know much about the Nazca lines so Professor Herlyn here will give you a brief lesson in history. The lines were created by the ancient Nazca culture between 200BC and 700AD. There are hundreds of different shapes, and as you can see from the pictures, some rather complex ones such as dogs, monkeys, condors and lizards. Some of them are are hundreds
of meters long so it is only possible to appreciate them from the air. The lines were made by removing the pebbles found across the desert, and were certainly made using sophisticated measurements, all the more surprising considering it was over 2000 years ago. The Nazca desert is one of the driest places on earth, with little to no wind, which explains why the lines have remained intact for over 2000 years (it still puzzles me and boggles my mind). There are several theories as to why they are created, with two being that they were used as a guide to the constellations or as an indicator of water lines and aqueducts. These theories do not hold much weight though and the most promising one seems to be that they were used for ceremonial purposes.
On Friday morning Jed, Jake and I hopped in a 4 seater Cessna and took off for the 35 minute flight. I had had plenty of experience flying with my dad so as the plane jerked from left to right I didn't feel so queasy. After a few minutes we saw the first of the lines, and then 10 more after that. To actually
The condor
270m long. Just massive see the lines first-hand was pretty exhilarating. I took countless pictures, at the highest resolution, hoping that at least some of them would come out good. Some figures are more easily visible than others, and I would recommend expanding them to full size to really appreciate them. Keep in mind that the figures range anywhere from 40m to a whopping 270m.
After the flight the three of us took a tour of an old cementery, with numerous full skeletons still intact. They claim that even the hair is still original, but who knows. Definitely creepy. By Friday night everyone had had enough of Nazca and the unbearable heat and we were glad to continue our journey on an overnight bus to Arequipa, at 2300m. Before Nazca, I had been spoiled in Huaraz and even Lima by barely seeing any tourists. Nazca, with the lines, was a totally different story, as was Arequipa. Arequipa is an old colonial city and has plenty of interesting architecture, as can be seen by the view of the Plaza de Armas. We also visited the Monastery of Santa Catalina, a beautiful piece of architecture that covers an entire city block. On Saturday night I
The hummingbird
This one came out really clear had my first real taste of Peruvian nightlife. There we met some Peruvian women, and whenever you are with one, be it in a club or just walking around during the day, be prepared to get plenty of stares (my light skin and hair only adds to the effect). You get over it pretty quickly. After plenty of traveling throughout South America I'm used to the stares anyway so I just smile and take it in stride.
Arequipa itself doesn't have that much to do, but Jake and I did revel in our discovery of a Turkish restaurant with falafel and donner kebabs. While I do enjoy my Peruvian food, having some food that reminded us of the US was a nice change. And oh yea, the kebabs were good too, good enough that we've come back there a few times.
Tomorrow, Jake, Jed and I will be going on a 2 day trek of the nearby Colca Canyon, the second deepest canyon in the world (another canyon about 10 hours from here is the deepest canyon in the world, although only by about 200m). The Grand Canyon is highly impressive, so I'll let you know how this
one compares. When we get back we may stay one more night in Arequipa before we go our separate ways, Jed and Jake to Chile and I to Lake Titicaca and then Bolivia.
Time for another kebab...
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Mama
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Bernie, this is absolutely fantastic, the pictures of the lines are stunning and so old. Unbelievable. Your wriring is highly interseting. Thanks, Mama