Blogs from Nazca, Ica, Peru, South America - page 12

Once again, I must begin by apologising for my tardiness in updating this. I have recently been criticised by someone who shall remain anonymous, who says the standard of my scribblings has been going gradually downhill. This will inevitably lead to me trying too hard and producing sub-standard work, but you asked for it Peter (whoops). I must begin this here missive with a quick comment on my journey between Central and South America. Unfortunately the staff of my airline at San Jose couldnt find my ticket on their system, and despite me insisting they rang their head office or whoever to confirm I had one, they suggested I used a payphone, despite the fact I had no local currency. Customer service at its best there. So I ended up having to buy another ticket for ... read more

Day 593 (11.11.08) After a pretty sleepless and cold night on the bus we arrived in Nazca a little the worse for wear. Teaming up with a German girl called Kat we found our hostel, the WalkOn Inn and checked into our room. Unfortunately we couldn't get in until 12.30 so had a huge brekkie at the hostel and got chatting to a couple more of the guests staying who had a fascinating story of retiring and doing up a yacht before sailing it around to see the world. With our room available, Chrissie got scrubbed up whilst Mark went into town to see what there was on offer and to see what the competitive price was for flights over the Nazca lines, the reason for our visit. Nazca is a small town so it didn't ... read more

So i am now in Nazca, and hopefully will be able to upload some photos to accompany this blog. From Lima i travelled south down to Pisco to try the famous Pisco Sour, not the best town as it was destroyed by an earthquake last year and is still recovering. But just next to it is the Paraca coastline, which is stunning, and the Ballestas Islands which are home to all kinds of sea birds (penguins, pelicans, cormarants etc) and also sea lions and are famous for the large quantities of guano they produce! Had a speed boat ride out to the islands and apart from the smell it was great. We then went on to a Pisco factory to see how the drink is made (distilled grapes) and got to sample all the different varieties, ... read more

Today was a LONG day, filled with bus rides and lots and lots of waiting. Fortunately the ending was well worth the wait. We arrived at the Cruz del Sur bus station VERY early for our 7am trip and were able to board the bus shortly after arriving. The bus was SO nice! Definately more comfortable than any other bus, train, or airplane I've ever been on, which was especially nice since the trip was going to be almost 5 hours. The entertainment was a bit weak (old movies...Chasing Liberty and Bloodwork), but I spent most of the trip alternating between staring out at Arequipa and its neighboring towns and trying to nap (unsuccessfully), so it didn't matter. The bus stopped right in front of our hotel, the Las Dunas Resort in Ica, so we gathered ... read more

Vi har naa startet med speed-turisme, og ting var godt tilrettelagt da vi ankom Nazca. Vi ble plukket opp paa bussterminalen kl 0530 om morgenen, og tatt med direkte til flyplassen. Saa skulle vi ut aa fly over de beroemte Nazca-linjene. Nazca-linjene er en samling paa over 300 geoglyfer som ligger i Nazcaoerkenen i Peru. Linjene, som strekker seg ut over et stort omraadet utenfor Nazca, danner mange slags moenstre, blant annet kolibri, oegle, edderkopp og ape. Selve motivene er gjerne flere hundre meter store. Disse linjene ble laget ved aa fjerne det oeverste tynne laget av smaasten slik at den lyse sanden under kom til syne. Man maa ha brukt matematiske hjelpemidler for aa faa det til saa noeyaktig. Linjene har siden holdt seg i saa mange aar fordi det aldri regner eller blaaser i ... read more