Nazca Lines
We set out early on Saturday morning with a hired driver and made the trip down to Nazca. This was one thing that I definitely knew I wanted to do while I was here in Peru: see the Nazca lines. I think my interest is higher than it might have been a few years ago, because my friend/boss Jim Denevan is a land artist and also makes marks and huge designs in the sand (on the beach and in the desert). Check out his website if you haven't already.
The trip to Nazca was long but comfortable. The van we had was a ten passenger, but there were only four of us: Gean Carlo, myself, Emily and Aude. Our driver Juan was quiet but engaging if you spoke with him. At about 3 pm we arrived in Nazca and went straight to the airport. It was no use hunting around for bargains, because apparently all of the airlines are charging the same amount right now: $65. Seems a little steep for a 25 minute ride in a [perhaps trecherous?] little plane, but once you're up there, it really doesn't matter.
A little bit about the Nazca Lines (copied and pasted from Wikipedia, of course):
The Nazca lines are a series of geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau that stretches more than 80 km (50 miles) between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana in Peru. Although some local geoglyphs resemble Paracas motifs, these are largely believed to have been created by the Nazca culture between 200 BC and AD 700. There are hundreds of individual figures, ranging in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks or orcas, llamas, and lizards.
The lines are shallow designs in the ground where the reddish pebbles that cover the surrounding landscape have been removed, revealing the whitish earth underneath. Hundreds are simple lines or geometric shapes, and more than seventy are natural or human figures. The largest are over 200m across. Scholars differ in interpreting what the lines were for but generally ascribe religious significance to them. "The geometric ones could indicate the flow of water or be connected to rituals to summon water. The spiders, birds, and plants could be fertility symbols. Other possible explanations include: irrigation schemes, giant astronomical calendars, or landing for spaceships."
The dry, windless, stable climate of the plateau has preserved the lines to this day.
It turns out we had pretty bad luck in terms of pictures of the Nazca Lines: my camera battery died about 1/4 of the way through the flight, and the pictures and video that Gean Carlo took mysteriously disappeared off of his camera the next day. His daughter Emily didn't stomach the plane ride too well and Gean Carlo was taking pictures of her- we have a theory that she had attempted to erase some of those photos from his camera and accidentally went too far. Either way, we did get a few good ones and really, it was more about just seeing it all with your own eyes.
In the plane - going up!
El Colibrí - The Hummingbird
La Ballena - The Whale
El Perro - The Dog
Definitely the smallest plane I've ever been in - it's a six seater, including the driver.That was pretty much enough excitement for the day, so we had a quick bite to eat in Nazca and then started the drive back north to land in Ica for the night. It was a really warm night and there was some sort of party across the street from the hotel (playing all of my favourite latino tunes) so I didn't get to sleep to quickly. But really, why start sleeping now?
Huacachina
The next morning I woke up at about quarter to eight, looked out the window, and our driver Juan was already down at the van. We had all agreed to get on the road by 8:30, but he's a keener. I got ready and was over to Emily and Gean Carlo's room about 8:15. Of course they were both still in bed, watching the news. I had some yogurt, bananas and juice while they got ready and we were still down at the van in pretty good time.
Our first stop of the day was to Huacachina, a desert oasis just outside of Ica. This is the most dead dry desert I've ever seen. Just sand for miles and miles and miles. And then, out of nowhere is this oasis lake with a little "resort" built around it. We checked out the laguna and walked around a bit. Emily and I read this poem, which is the legend of the laguna. Of course it sounds beautiful in Spanish.
QUE NO HAY A QUIEN NO HAGA LLORAR SU CANCION
CONOCENLA TODOS POR LA HUACCA CHINA
(LE HAN PUESTO POR NOMBRE
CIERTA VEZ EL HUECO QUE HA ABIERTO EN
ANTE
Y EN ELLAS SUMERGE SU BLANCA Y SERENA DESNUDES SALE DE SU BAÑO PALPITANTE Y FRIA, SE ENVUELVE EN Y AL VERSE EN SU ESPEJO, DESCUBRE UN ESPIA, SE ESCAPO EL ESPEJO ... ¡FUE UNA CONMOCION!
QUE PIDE FIRMA DE ESCULTOR
RESALTAN LAS CURVAS DE SU GALLARDIA,
YA QUE A ESPALDAS DE ELLA SURGE UN CAZADOR
EN UN AGIL BRINCO POR SOBRE UN ZARZAL
Y MIENTRAS CORRIA SIN FIJARSE EN NADA
EL ZARZAL CRUZOLA .... DAR QUIZO ELLA UN SALTO
TROPEZO .... DEL PUÑO, YA DE FUERZAS FALTO
Y EL ESPEJO ROTO SE VOLVIO LAGUNA,
Y AL FIN
SIRENA. QUE HOY SALE LAS NOCHES DE LUNA,
A CANTAR A VECES SU ANTIGUA CANCION.
Gean Carlo disappeared for a while and then came back to tell us we were going in a dune buggy! I happily hopped in the front seat of the fairly decrepid looking machine and we buckled up and took off. It was kind of like a rollercoaster- the first few dips and turns were sort of terrifying, but after that you were kind of used to it and pretty sure you weren't going to topple over, so it was just good fun after that. Again, photo troubles, but we managed to get a couple of good ones. For some reason the picture of the dune buggy is visible on the camera but can't be opened on the computer, which is a little frustrating.
Aude, Gean Carlo and I in front of the laguna - see the sand dunes in the distance
The dune buggy driver took us to another oasis off in the dunes. Apparently someone lived here until just about 5 years ago, when the laguna dried up. There is still water under the ground that supports the green growth, but it is slowly disappearing.
Huacachina LagunaParacas
Paracas is another coastal town with an ancient indian culture of its own. One amazing feature is the nearby Islas Ballestas, which are probably Peru's equivalent to the Galapagos Islands. We took the boat ride out to the islands and somehow passed two hours admiring the millions of birds (there really must have been millions) and sea lions. On the way out, we also stopped to see a Naza line-like geoglyph on a sand cliff. This Candelebra (see below) is thought to have been created by the Paracas people, or maybe pirates (!!)
Boat ride out to the Islas
The Candelebra
Penguins on the Islas Ballestas
Pelicans
Birds
and even more birds!
Sea Lions sleeping on the beach
Apparently they keep their heads up to keep them dry, while the waves sometimes wash up over their bodies, depending on where they're sitting on the rocks. These "macho" sea lions can weigh over 300 kg!
A feast before leaving Paracas! Gean Carlo usually orderstoo much foodand then him and I are stuck with finishing it...
After a late lunch, we headed into the Reserva Nacional de Paracas to browse through the nature museum and then go to the beach. We were hoping for something sandy, but the beach was actually covered in shells and hard, dried algae= not so comfortable to sit on. It was probably for the best though, and after a quick swim we were able to pile back into the van and make our way home to Lima.
White girl at the beachAnother action-packed few days! I definitely earned my quiet, relaxing days here in Huanchaco. Tomorrow is my last day here and am going on a tour of the Chan Chan ruins in the morning. My bus travels through the night back to Lima, so I'll probably just spend tomorrow afternoon/evening bumming around the beach.
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