Trying not to be sick again... part deux

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Day 119 – 121

We get up have breakfast and then watch the footie (come on City!!)before stocking up some snacks for lunch and the bus journey. The journey is uneventful and we arrive at the hotel before 7pm. The town of Paracas doesn’t have much going for it... after dinner we hear the sounds of loud music and a group of us follow it expectantly, only to find it is a 5 star hotel, where a wedding is in full swing. It is so posh, and we all gaze longingly into the wedding room. We ask about drinks at the hotel bar but they say the bar is closed (I suspect because we look like a right bunch of scruffs! We find a bar next to our hotel and have a few drinks there. Have quite a good laugh and we stay out till 1am drinking for our new tour friends. Si and I have nicknamed ourselves the ‘inbetweenies’ as 80%!o(MISSING)f the group are early 20’s and the remaining 20%!a(MISSING)re retired.

The next morning I thank goodnes we didn’t book on the ballesteras island boat tour, as I feel pretty rough. There is literally nothing to do until 10am when the bus arrives to take us on our trip to Nazca. After an hour or so we arrive at a Pisco factory and have a small tour and explanation of how it is made before sampling a number of Piscos and other drinks. Then it is onto lunch, which is by the sand dunes.

Si wants to do sand boarding, but I’m unconvinced and heed the advice of Leah who has stated it is not for ladies. Instead I decide to go along on the dune buggy so I can take pics of Si eating sand. I am slightly surprised that the car looks like something out of mad max, and has fairground seat belts (I have imagined a sedate ride in the dunes), and I soon find out why. The driver floors it and we head up and down dunes, like a roller coaster. I am terrified and feel like crying... thinking we are going to die. We make several stops and I take photos of everyone going down on their stomachs and trying to stand up on the less steep slopes. It is pretty funny watching them all, but I am glad I didn’t do it. As expected Si really enjoys it and does a somersault (well high forward roll) and gets sand everywhere! After a hair raising ride back, we arrive in one piece and get into the freezing pool to cool off. Then it is back on the bus and onto Nazca. The hotel is in the middle of nowhere and we have no choice but to eat there, only positive is the baby foot table, and me and Si have a few very competitive games before heading to bed.

Up early to visit the cemetery in the desert. The ride almost breaks my spine, as the driver speeds over huge bumps in the road. He is about 1 hour late and is obviously trying to make up for it. The tour is ok, we get to see more dead people and learn a bit about the burial rituals of the people from the area. Then it is onto the airport. We end up waiting about 2 hours for the flight (we meet a guy from Bedford whilst waiting, it seems nowhere is safe) and as soon as we are in the air both Si and I feel sick. As the plane lurches I count the number of lines we have left to see and try to stop myself vomiting. The lines are slightly less impressive than we had imagined... and I feel it is unnecessary to show both sides of the plane the same lines, particularly as the bile is rising in my throat. Luckily Si takes a turn for the worst, and seeing him look literally green starts me on the giggles, which I can’t stop, and somehow stops me from feeling so sick.

On to another touristic restaurant, we have lunch and then have a walk round the town, before bowing out of the local parade we have been invited to take part in (spoilsports that we are), and heading back to the hotel to chill out. We head to the pool, and Si has me in stitches when he ‘slides’ down the concrete slide, before pausing on the edge of the pool, and falling into the cold water! Then it is soon time to head to the night bus. It is very uncomfortable, but luckily a combo of ear plugs and pillow mean that I get some sleep (Si reckons I am out cold for about 7 hours!).

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