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Published: January 9th 2008
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Pisco devastation
Where the church used to be - services are now held under the green tent... Catching local buses is easy! We were soon en route to Pisco and feeling quite pleased with our linguistic ability......and then we were dropped next to the Panamericana Highway and had to get a taxi into town! As expected the town was a bit of a wreck as it was at the epicentre of last August´s earthquake - our preferred hostel was not in one piece but we found a nice, friendly place (Hostal de las Incas) with swimming pool, table tennis, pool table and roof top terrace.
The town however was not so well equipped; the hospital was derelict and had been moved across the road into tents, the church was totally demolished (150 people had died there during the quake), the police station and the main hotel were also razed to the ground. Many people were still living in tents and temporary wooden huts with rubble and building works throughout the town. The general atmosphere though was one of getting on with things and people were relatively friendly.
The following day we took a boat trip from Paracas (10km to the South) to Las Islas Ballestas which are inhabited by a huge number of species of birds, sea
lions and other marine organisms (32 legged starfish!!). On the way we passed the ancient "candelabra" a giant shape etched into the sand cliffs on the peninsula. It has been preserved as it is on the leeward side of the cliffs and has a thin crust of marine salt keeping it intact. The islands themselves are incredibly important because of the guano (bird poo used for fertiliser) which is layered up to 50m thick! Some poor chap guards the poo for 3 months of the year with only birds for company.....and the passing boats of waving tourists. The thrill of getting a couple of metres away from fighting sea lions meant that we hardly noticed the awful stench.
In the afternoon we walked along the beach to the Reserva Nacional - a massive area of sand and rocky desert by the sea with a unique ecosystem. We took a tour and saw some bright red beaches (from iron oxide deposits) contrasting with the yellow cliffs. There was also a "cathedral" a rock formation from eroded cliffs but as we approached it, we were shown a beautiful photo of its former glory and informed that most of it had been
Candelabra
Located on the Paracus peninsula destroyed by the tremours! Indeed there were huge cracks running along most of the cliff edge.
That evening we went to a unique restaurant that served the following: "suck of fish", "steak to the poor thing", "chicken to the boy" and the very simple "prepared fish". We asked for the menu in Spanish as it was easier to understand!
The next morning we departed for Nazca via Ica with a quick detour to Huacachina for a late breakfast. Huacachina is the last remaining oasis in the area and surrounded by massive sand dunes. It used to be a getaway for the Peruvian elite but is now home to backpackers seeking the thrills of dune buggy rides and sandboarding!
Nazca is as mysterious a place as we have ever visited and the many unproven theories about its history are comparative to Stonehenge and the Pyramids. The town itself only developed after the discovery of the famous Nazca lines, which span over 700 sq km, when commercial pilots first flew over the desert in the late 1920´s and reported numerous strange lines in the sand (the lines were so big that even the highway was built across some of
Guano production
Location where guano is removed from the island. Guano buildup in the background. them without their discovery). The shapes include trapezoids, straight intersecting lines of extraordinary length and animals shapes such as the monkey, spider, humming bird, condor and whale. Following our visit to the planetarium, a number of popular theories were explained to us ranging from ancient astronomical maps, shamanic rituals, indicators for water and the slightly outlandish alien landing sites! What is known is that these lines were produced by the Paracas people over a period of 900 years starting around 400AD. They were created by moving the sun darkened surface rock to expose lighter rock beneath and are believed to have survived the centuries due to the lack of rain (average 20mm per year) and the action of the desert wind "cleaning" the exposed white sand. Maria Reiche, a German mathmatician, dedicated 40 years of her life to the discovery, preservation (on her own with a dustpan and brush!) and explanation of the lines.
We took a flight over the lines in a tiny 5 seater Cessna which was able to swoop low and bank severely for a close up look at the key figures. We were very glad we´d taken the Lonely Planet´s advice and not had breakfast
Ballestas island
Water erosion over the years. Notice a man´s face? beforehand! It was an unforgettable and thought-provoking experience.
Next stop Cusco by overnight bus!
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Martin, Alet & Marette
non-member comment
Very interesting
We love hearing from you and are enjoying your descriptive stories. Adios!