End of the road

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The end of the Inca Trail signalled the start of the last leg of this trip - from Cusco to Lima and then on to Cork via Madrid and Heathrow.

After a busy few days on the Inca Trail we spent a leisurely morning in Cusco wandering around a few shops/markets, sorting out our laundry and relaxing in an internet cafe. We then met Kenny for lunch in Jacks, another ´gringo´haunt that served the biggest chocolate cake we´ve ever seen. Afterwards we enjoyed an all to brief ´people watch´ in the Plaza de Armas before our peace was interrupted by the obligatory gaggle of ´tat´ sellers where yet again a cap saying ´no gracious´ would have come in useful. Having extracated ourselves from this group we said our goodbyes to Kenny and headed back to the hostel and on to the bus station.

From Cusco we headed for Nazca, a 14 hour bus journey along a tortuously windy road that took us down from 3300m above sea level to less than 600m. After a scheduled stop en route at Abancay the number of passengers exceeded the number of seats available. As those without booked seats prepared to sit in the aisles several of the (local) passengers objected to this (as like us they had paid a premium for this ´especial´ service). Eventually this was resolved - no one in the aisles but a number of people in with the luggage underneath the bus (not the first time we´d seen this method of transport on buses in South America)!

Our bus dropped us on the Panamerican Highway a few km outside Nazca. From where we accepted a lift from a tout to the airport from where we were to take a flight to see the Nazca Lines - a series of large shapes etched into the desert by the people of the ancient Nazca civilisation.

The bartering process for this flight was as painful as predicted by the Lonely Planet as the initially quoted price of $35 turned out to be for the ´big not so good plane´ . The ´smaller better plane´ option that addressed all these issues but obviously cost $10 more. It didn´t take a genius to work out that this was complete rubbish as there were no hangers and all the 10 or so planes on view were ´small planes´!Anyway after a protracted period of haggling we settled for $40 + $5 tax as this was at the right end of the scale that we´d heard people had paid and we were too tired to bother with the carry on any further.

The 30min flight took us over about a dozen figures (condor, hummingbird, monkey, whale, astronaut) that were up to 180m long but whose precise purpose remains a matter of much conjecture given that they are only visible from the air but have been dated back to a period around 0BC. We´d been warned that the flight made many people sick due to the plane being thrown from side to side to give both sides of the plane an equal view of each figure. Fortunately no-one had to use the sick bags provided but I was glad that I hadn´t had chance for breakfast at this stage!

It was only after getting off the plane and being asked for the airport tax of 10 sol (just under $3) that we really lost it with the woman from the flight company. This time they failed to fob us off with their lies (e.g. "the 10 sol price was only for locals", "we´d already got a good price anyway because the ´real´ price that everyonelse had paid was $55 + tax", etc). However it was only when we refused to get out of the vehicle they were using to shuttle tourists between town and the airport that they begrudgingly repaid us the difference. The never ending battle to secure a reasonable price for things here in South America is certainly not something we´ll miss! Despite all the above, I´m fairly sure that we could have got this flight for $5 less, albeit in a plane that had a wing bridge (and therefore a more restricted view, particularly for photos).

After an eventful morning we killed a little time wandering around the town (and seeing yet another ´Plaza del Armas´) before our trip to see the nearby Chaucilla (?) Cemetery where numerous tombs containing mummified remains had been found. Sadly these tombs have largely been desecrated by grave robbers but the sight of the graves and the remains from the mummies scattered over a wide area was still a chilling sight. In addition to the cemetery visit, our guide ´kindly´ added trips to a local pottery factory/shop and gold processing plant/shop to our trip itinerary. The former was an uninteresting waste of time however the chance to see miners working the rock they had mined to extract minute traces of gold using the most primitive techniques was a striking insight into the way many people here still toil to eke out an existence.

By the end of the tour it was mid afternoon and we were starting to flag - a combination of a lack of sleep on the bus the night before and the oppressive desert heat (it was the first time we´d been below 2200m for over 3 weeks and then in the cool climate of southern patagonia). What we needed was a bit of R&R - instead it was another 4hours on a bus 250km north to the coastal town of Pisco. Sadly this journey was notable only for the fact that the Korean (?) guy in the seat in front of us woke to find his small day sack missing together with his passport - he´d been on his way to Lima and his flight home...

On departing our bus on the Panamerican near Pisco, we took the short taxi ride into the town and checked into a hostal. We´d decided to treat ourselves with a nice place for our last couple of nights in South America - Hostal Hispada Espana fitted the bill nicely. Not for the first time, the first port of call was a much needed hot shower.

The following morning being picked up at 07.15 for the trip to Isla de Ballesteria (?) felt like a lie in after all the early mornings in Peru. These islands have been dubbed ´the poor man´s Galapagos´however having not met anyone who had been there, we didn´t know too much about them. It was therefore a massive surprise that this trip turned out to be one of the highlights of what has been an incredible 3months.

Our boat took us first to the Candelabra, a huge figure carved into the sea cliff before heading out to the group of islands a few km off the coast. Here we saw millions (not an exaggeration) of sea birds perched on every available but of land whilst thousands more filled the skies. Amongst others, these included Cormorants, Peruvian Boobies, Vultures and Humbolt Penguins. In addition to this, the beaches, seas and larger rocks were swarming with thousands of sea lions. Watching so many of these animals at such close quarters (sleeping, resting, smimming, leaping, etc) was simply amazing. We later met an English couple who said that what we´d just seen was at least as good as anything they´d recently seen in their 5 days on the Galapagos Islands!

As we returned to the mainland our boat curse struck again as the engine on our motor boat repeatedly cut out. Fortunately we were able to borrow something from a passing boat which was enough to allow us to limp back into port. Here we managed to get on the wrong bus (taking people back to Pisco) but fortunately we realised this before we´d gone to far and were able to dash back to the port to catch the second half of our day´s entertainment. Being back at sea level for the first time in ages, it was noticeable that this exercise didn´t leave us out of breath.

Our tour took us first to the Parcas museum where we learned about the environmental conditions that led to the proliferation of wildlife that we had just seen. From here it was a short drive though the desert landscape along a road we were assured was made from salt from the local salt mines (although it looked just like tarmac) to a sea cliff rock formation called ´the Cathedral´. The final stop on the tour was ?? beach where we shared lunch with Alec, Elaine and Guy who´d we´d got talking to on the bus. Here I sampled the local delicacy Cebiche - raw fish in citrus juice whilst Toni had another variation on the tried and tested ensalata mixta. As Alec/Elaine were heading for Buenos Aires and then Patagonia, we were more than happy to pass on a few tips but at the same time were just a little jealous (they also started their trip at the start of October but still have another 6mths to go).

Tomorrow we take the bus to Lima and then the long trip back to Ireland for Christmas...

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