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Published: October 14th 2007
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Because of the earthquake near Pisco a couple of months ago, our itinerary was changed to have an extra day in Nazca. When we discovered that our hotel in Nazca was not in town (a taxi into town costs 4-5 soles), we were pretty angry, especially since we could have easily spent an extra night in the big towns of Arequipa (where we were coming from) or Lima (where we were going to). It didn't make sense for us to have an extra day in a backwater village, and we concluded that GAP Adventures made that decision without consulting us because it was the cheapest option for them. Later, we were glad about how things turned out, because the Danish couple and I were able to have the most fantastic trip to San Fernando Bay, a beautiful, unspoilt and little-known place on the coast near Nazca, where we were the only tourists.
We arrived in Nazca at 6am after spending the night in a bus. That was an experience in itself because we departed from the
terrapuerto, where, as in an airport, there were check-in counters where you left your luggage, and there was a departure area. The bus was
equipped with tray tables and we were served a tray of food (meat on rice, wonton and cake, as well as Inca Kola) as in an aeroplane. The comfy seats could be reclined, and before playing a movie on the TV screen, they had a game of bingo, where the prize was a return bus ride from Arequipa to Nazca.
While the tour leader and some others went to sleep (we didn't have to meet until 11am for a tour), four of us got more and more annoyed about being forced to pay for an expensive breakfast at a hotel we were stranded at. The receptionist was rude to us and provided us with no information about the town or what we could do. For laundry, the place wanted to charge 2 soles per item (at other laundries, it is a price per kilo). We decided to share a taxi in to town and have a proper breakfast.
At 8am, most shops were still shut, but we could get breakfast at a place where the owner told us about the sites nearby which we should see. At 9am, tour agencies started opening and we were able to pick
up brochures and ask about prices. We decided to fly over the famous Nazca Lines with an operator in town rather than the one offered by GAP, because it was cheaper.
We were supposed to fly in the afternoon with GAP, but had found out that the wind and light conditions would be better in the mornings. It was ironic, then, that it was those of us who made the effort to do some research who ended up flying in the afternoon---the others changed their flights to the morning, but we could not because the San Fernando Bay tour we wanted to do would take the whole day, and we would be leaving Nazca early in the morning on the third day, since the entire GAP group decided to take a private bus rather than public transportation, in order to be able to make a stop at Huacachina for some sandboarding fun.
The 11am tour the first morning involved visiting the cemetary at Cauchilla, which had tombs of the Nazca and Wari peoples. Unfortunately, grave robbers had already stolen many valuable ceramics and textiles from the tombs before the government realised. Many of the mummies were cut open
before being tossed aside. Presumably the robbers stole golden earrings or similar, but no one really knows. The open tombs are shown to the tourists, while the closed ones have to stay closed. Many of the exposed mummies are only bones now, though you can still see flesh in the eye sockets of some. As the bodies are just lying in the open, no doubt they will continue to rot away, and Cauchilla may cease to be a tourist attraction.
In the afternoon, the Danish couple and I, who signed up for the San Fernando Bay tour the next day, went on a flight over the Nazca Lines. It's amazing how those people managed to make such large drawings, or such straight lines. We watched a video about the Lines afterwards, but it was hard to stay awake because we were very tired, and also a little nauseous from the zigzagging flight.
In the afternoon, we went to the planetarium at the Nazca Lines Hotel, where there was another presentation about the Lines, explaining the theory that Maria Reiche, a German who spent 40 years studying the lines, had, relating the shapes to the constellations. Again, the dark
and cozy room was very conducive to sleep.
The highlight of our entire trip was our experience the next day, the San Fernando Bay tour. A dune buggy collected us at 8am, and we drove first the the aquaducts at Ocongalla, then to the ancient centre of the Nazca culture at Cahuasi, where we saw pyramids amidst the sand dunes. Our guide, who was also an archeologist, told us they found trophy heads there, and the theory is that it is a religious centre, so nobody lived there except the priests. Next stop was another ceremonial site, but this time of the Wari culture. The scenery through the sand dunes was amazing, and we stopped to have a short sand boarding session, after our driver took us for a roller coaster ride up and down the dunes. Next, we went to see a whale fossil and shark's teeth in the sand (apparently the layers in the rock showed this place used to be under the sea), and our driver told us to put on our jackets because of the sea breeze. Shortly after, we were at the coast, it was indeed cold, and the view was beautiful, no doubt
made more so because there were no other tourists. We felt like explorers in a strange new land.
We saw sea birds, crabs, giant starfish, sea lions, penguins, condors and vultures. It was the perfect replacement for the Ballestas Islands near Pisco, which we could no longer visit. The only people we saw were a couple of fishermen in wetsuits, who had a catch of octopi and shellfish called
lapa.
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Ben
non-member comment
What are the "Lines" you mentioned?
I couldn't quite work it out from your description. Could you explain? Something that relates to constellations I guess?