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Published: October 9th 2005
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We arrived at Lima airport at 11pm and after a wait and a wander through a crowd of people and taxi drivers holding boards with peoples names on we found our pre-arranged lift to our Hotel in Miraflores on the outskirt of Lima.
In the dark the sights of Lima didn´t look too inviting and the smell of air pollution was heavy. The next day we decided to head straight out of Lima and start our journey south. So we headed down to Pisco a town a 4 to 5 hour bus journey south of Lima.
The sights on the Journey were interesting, many houses look half built and we are not sure whether that is half built or half demolished. The streets leaving Lima seemed to be filled with hundreds of car repair places and shops selling car parts, this then gave way to sprawling shanty town suburbs which were clinging on to the dusty desert landscape. Instantly Peru seemed generally a poorer country than Venezuela although the majority of cars looked more road worthy!
The bus journey took us through sandy mountainous desert edged by the coast and beaches. There were long tent like structures all
Sea Lions
Some sea lions playing around the boat over and on nearing Pisco we eventually realised these were masses of battery hen units. There must be millions of chickens judging by the amount of tents.
We found a basic hotel on the Plaza De Armas and tried a Pisco Sour which is the drink the town and Peru is famous for. It was pretty strong!
The next day we went on a boat tour of the Ballestas Islands where we saw colonies of Sea Lions and millions of seabirds and Penguins it was noisy and smelly but the sealions were great, some were following the boat and watching us. We were also taken to see the Candelabra which is something similar to the Nasca lines and is the shape of a cactus etched in the desert. We then went to the Paracas Reserve where at the museum we saw skulls of mumies found in the area with elongated skulls and drilled skulls, was really interesting. Apparently the nobility of the paracas people used to bind the heads of babies and children to shape their heads.
That afternoon we left Pisco for Ica town just 70km south of Pisco where we stayed at an Oasis resort
Cormarents
And a couple of confused penguins amongst them called Huacachina 5km form Ica. We came to this place as it is a little resort in the middle of towering sand dunes which is famous for sandboarding. We went on a dune buggy ride which was a little dissapointing as the mean machine was being repaired and we ended up in a tame one! It was still fun though and we both had a go at sandboarding. It is harder than it looks and when you fall at speed it hurts! Andy looked like a pro until he had a rather impressive fall ended up winded and having just applied some factor 50 suncream looked very much like the sandman! Unfortunatley we didn´t have the digital camera then so you´ll have to wait to see that one. He was ok after recovering for a few minutes although the total removal of sand from all orifices took rather longer!
It is a shame that the dunes are littered with plastic bags and rubbish. We are finding so far since we have been in South America that people take little care with their litter and there is rubbish everywhere!
That evening we headed down to Nasca with two Austraian
Sign Warning
Already I was being to sense the Pervians lack of adventure guys who we met at the bus station in Ica and went on the sand dune tour with.
Nasca is a strange place it is a town in the desert and is famous for the lines etched out in the desert. Again the inhabitants take no care on the disposal of their rubbish. The Nasca river contains no water and it basically and open air rubbish tip, just walking over the bridge and looking down I saw five big fat rats, nice!
The eveing of arrival in Nasca we went to the Maria Reiche Planetarium at the Nasca Lines Hotel. Where we were given a talk on the Nasca lines and the theories of Dr Maria Reiche a German woman who devoted 40 years of her life to investigating the lines. The lines are thought to have been etched into the desert between 900 BC and 600 AD by the Paracas and Nasca People. There have been theories that they were astronomical calendars, alien landing grounds and also areas where rituals and spiritual activities were carried out.
The explanation and mystety is more interesting than actually seeing the lines. The flight over was extremely bumpy and with
The Cathedral
At Paracas reserve, apparently at high tide the waves in the cave sound like bells ringing in a cathedral! lots of turns and banking of the plane, I was rather impressed that I wasnt sick unlike a few others in the plane. Must be a record for me! I was a little dissapointed with the lines. The animals were clear but all of the other geometiric shapes and paralell lines got confused at some points with footpaths and car tracks and the Pan American Highway runs through the middle of all the lines!
We also visited Chauchilla cemetary. This place about 30km outside of Nasca is one of about 100 cemetaries around Nasca where loads of tombs have been found. The ground around the area is littered with bone shards and bits of cloth where grave robbers over the years have ransacked tombs and stolen jewelery and pottery from the tombs. The mummies are really interesting, when a person died their internal organs were removed and the ligaments for the arms and legs were cut. The bodies were then put in the foetal position for rebirth into their afterlife. They were then put in funeral bundles of cotton and cloth with food and materials they would need in their afterlife.
It is a shame as it seems
Mummies
Some of the mummies we visited in Nasca. Well preseved do to the dry humidity in the desert although tomb raiders have emptied them of all goods for thier future lifes. tombs are still being robbed. We were told that there were only guards there in the day, which were there to protect the tourists and not the tombs and that there was not enough money to excavate the tombs.
We were not enchanted with Nasca and therefore chose to catch the night bus and move on to Arequipa. There are about 10 night buses with different companies going to Arequia from Nasca and the only 2 seats left which were in Economica class. We decided to opt for it rather than having to wait until 11pm the next night. It was an interesting journey with numerous bags in the aisles, a rattling window catch next to Andys ear and the arm rest from the seat in front sticking out onto our side. We still managed to sleep though!
We arrived in Arequia yesterday the 7th October and we have decided to chill out here for a couple of days. The constant travelling has tored us out. The last time we spent 2 nights in the same bed was in Santa Ellena on the 20th of September!
Arequipa is a nice colonial city with some fantastic buildings and
Baby Mummy
Just put this one hear for shock value! a nice friendly atmosphere with a high visability of tourist police and it feels pretty safe.
We have spent today visiting the museum where Juanita the Ice Princess is kept frozen. She is a fantastically preserved mummy that was found at the peak of a nearby mountain. It is believed that she was a sacrifie to the Gods. Two other mummies were also found further down the same mountian and due to the ice in the glaciers they were well preserved. The museum was really interesting and the offerings and clothing of the mumies were in fantastic condition.
We also visited Santa Catalina Monestary which is actually a convent. The convent lies in the centre of Arequipa and is hidden behind massive thick stone walls. The convent was founded in 1579 and was shut off from the rest of the city until 1970 when the convent opened its doors to the public. The convent once housed 450 nuns who lived in total seclusion except for their women servants. It now houses only a few nuns which live in a closed off part of the convent. It is a city in itself with cobbles streets and nuns quarters each
Nasca Lines, the humming bird
But you have to look very carefully! Honest it´s there. with their own sleeping area and kitchen and then laundrys and communal aread. There are also courtyards and cloisters and beautiful buildings and paintings. It was a beautiful peaceful place and until reading about the barbed wire underwear I could understand why women went into secluison there!
We have booked a tour to the Colcan Canyon for which we leave tommorrow morning bright and early.
Keep sending us your news it is nice to hear from people and we will catch up with you all when we arrive in Cusco.
Sue & Andy XX
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Sally
non-member comment
Knacked
Hiya Not suprised you needed to chill for a couple of days, I'm knacked just reading about your travels! Glad you are enjoying it Love Sally