Blogs from Ica, Peru, South America - page 84

Sun came out again this morning so i knew it would be a good day... morning came early and we were off to the flight. before leaving for the airport to see the nasca lines, danny - el italiano and i had a little early morning breakfast... so, tony, do you have your name on you cloaths so people will know wo you are if the plane crashes, asked danny - after the fun and games, i took a picture of tony and danny and showed it to tony along with ´if your picture comes out, you will survive the day´ - sure enough, he was in the picture, his nerves calmed a little, and we heded off to the airport. as fortune would have it, Antonio was able to sit in the copilot seat int ... read more

it had not rained in Lima since 1972, that is until last night - i would not be so bold as to suggest i brought the rain, but, it was the last time i was there - living in arizona was not the desert - the desert is where there is no vegetation, at least that is what i think of when i think desert, brown, sand, hot - the road from lima to pisco was pure desert. we sat on the top of the tourist bus, tony got the window seat, and as we left lima, he would point out all of the new interesting items in his new world - the cows, goats, desert, sand and then the vineyards, new towns... it reminded me of my childhood christmas days - new and exciting. children ... read more

We figure we should get out and do one final tourist attraction (the wineries don't really count do they?) so we visit Ballestas Islands - referred to in our guide books as the 'cheap mans Gallapagos Island'. What they fail to mention is the fact that the pelicans we see are not a new breed of black birds, but are drenched in oil from the polluted sea! Once I got over this, the trip was enjoyable enough, as we viewed colonies of sea lions and thousands of birds from a speedboat. The birds droppings being a key export to many countries including Australia (?) The National Park is spectacular. The arid desert is a stark contrast to the lush Andes - these varying landscapes are what I love so much about Peru! We visit a museum ... read more

hey all, our last few moments in Cuzco was spent wondering if our shifty man about town who is known to get things from time to time, Adam, would prevail. i suppose he did, in his own special way involving a few surprises involving exchange rates, a free taxi ride for him and a near blank piece of paper susposed to be valid tender for our Nazca lines flight. in the end adam always came through despite keeping us convinced we just got ripped off. perhaps this was part of his charm. he loved to not turn up to arranged meeting times and instead call out to us across the busy streets when we least expect it. he really wanted a recommendation, i suppose to get his name in lonely planet or the like... well, unlucky. ... read more

Another early start for the 2+ hr drive to Nazca. We would be returning to Ica that afternoon, then passing through Nazca again on the overnight bus.. so a bit of backtracking was involved. Ica is the heart of an agricultural region, but once the irrigation is gone, the landscape is totally barren, the road runs dead straight for miles. It hasn't rained in centuries in this part of Peru, one of the reasons the Nazca lines haven't been worn away by erosion. We stopped at the Marie Reiche museum in Nazca, she was one of the first archaeologists to study the lines. There are several companies based at the Nazca airport that offer 45 minute overflights for about $45-$50 each, the morning is the best time to fly as the air is still and the ... read more