Huacachina to Nasca, Peru, 100 miles
We woke up with the expectation to have breakfast and get on the road at a decent hour. We had laundry service done the day before, and it was supposed to be ready by 9AM. At 10, after inquiring, we were told our laundry would be ready in 5 minutes… 15 minutes later we were told it would be no more than 30 minutes… Well, to make a long story short, we didn’t get our laundry until noon. Mike just stayed in the lobby staring down the front desk clerk until the arrival of our clothes…this got him in a foul mood. But, you just have to expect that type of service on this trip; it’s a way of their own life. Somehow the owner got word of our laundry problems and covered the bill, a little saving grace.
We thought the ride into Nasca was only 50 miles, but ended up being a bit longer. More desert and a lot of the same scenery as soon as we left the oasis. As we neared, we both were looking all around us on the ground in hopes to spot some ‘lines’. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Nasca Lines, they are ancient figures, lines and shapes drawn on the desert floor only visible (as we found out) from the sky. There are something like 700 different figures, for example hands, dog, spaceman!? The only way to really see them is to take a small aircraft (expensive and dangerous we thought, so we passed).
As we were scanned the ground, if not for a shape, but a line, we spotted a rickety tower on the side of the road. We stopped, and for 30 cents took turns walking up the very shaky tower to the top, while weaving through hordes of Peruvian tourists. Mike went first and on his way back down didn’t look too excited. I still had to go up though, and took my turn. This tower allowed you to view a couple different figures, but they were quite faint and you could barely make them out. Still, at least we saw them!
Before I got to the bottom of the tower I look over at Mike and he’s getting his pictures taken by a Peruvian standing next to some old lady. After she had her turn, a little kid jumped in, smiled and his mom took his picture. From there it just became madness. Their old, clunky, noisy cameras couldn’t stop taking pictures of Mike by the bike with their grandma, mom, nephew, etc… You get the picture. Well, as soon as I made my appearance they wanted me in on the pictures too. I even had a kid tell me he ‘loves me’…which is something he learned moments earlier from Mike after he inquired “how do you say I love you in english”. The camera snapping, smiling, and joy that we brought them felt good, but became overwhelming. As soon as Mike let a kid jump on the back for a photo, I knew we better leave before grandma and everyone else got a second photo. We fled, literally, waving and smiling as we just experience our first and only bit of fame.
Nasca is a dump. We took a recommendation from the book on a splurge as we still have half the day left. We considered pressing on, but there really isn’t anywhere to go within 300 miles towards Cusco. Our hotel was a good choice, nice courtyard with pool and plenty of patio furniture to laze around on. We attempted to have a decent dinner, as we are dying for one, but yet again failed. We got pizza on a slice of bread and pesto that tasted like hay. Mike is starting to get grumpy, he said that if he has to eat another bad pizza, he might hurt someone.
As we were leaving our disappointing restaurant, we met a couple from England (well, she is from Spain) who has been on the road for 9-11 months (they couldn’t decide). We were staying at the same hotel 2 nights in a row coincidentally, so we headed back for more travel talking and whipped out our laptops to share stories and pictures (what nerds). They gave us some great advice on New Zealand and Australia as they had spent some time there…among almost every other country… It was great to talk with them as they seemed like really nice people. They told us to look them up if we end up in England as their trip is nearing the end.
We thought the ride into Nasca was only 50 miles, but ended up being a bit longer. More desert and a lot of the same scenery as soon as we left the oasis. As we neared, we both were looking all around us on the ground in hopes to spot some ‘lines’. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Nasca Lines, they are ancient figures, lines and shapes drawn on the desert floor only visible (as we found out) from the sky. There are something like 700 different figures, for example hands, dog, spaceman!? The only way to really see them is to take a small aircraft (expensive and dangerous we thought, so we passed).
As we were scanned the ground, if not for a shape, but a line, we spotted a rickety tower on the side of the road. We stopped, and for 30 cents took turns walking up the very shaky tower to the top, while weaving through hordes of Peruvian tourists. Mike went first and on his way back down didn’t look too excited. I still had to go up though, and took my turn. This tower allowed you to view a couple different figures, but they were quite faint and you could barely make them out. Still, at least we saw them!
Before I got to the bottom of the tower I look over at Mike and he’s getting his pictures taken by a Peruvian standing next to some old lady. After she had her turn, a little kid jumped in, smiled and his mom took his picture. From there it just became madness. Their old, clunky, noisy cameras couldn’t stop taking pictures of Mike by the bike with their grandma, mom, nephew, etc… You get the picture. Well, as soon as I made my appearance they wanted me in on the pictures too. I even had a kid tell me he ‘loves me’…which is something he learned moments earlier from Mike after he inquired “how do you say I love you in english”. The camera snapping, smiling, and joy that we brought them felt good, but became overwhelming. As soon as Mike let a kid jump on the back for a photo, I knew we better leave before grandma and everyone else got a second photo. We fled, literally, waving and smiling as we just experience our first and only bit of fame.
Nasca is a dump. We took a recommendation from the book on a splurge as we still have half the day left. We considered pressing on, but there really isn’t anywhere to go within 300 miles towards Cusco. Our hotel was a good choice, nice courtyard with pool and plenty of patio furniture to laze around on. We attempted to have a decent dinner, as we are dying for one, but yet again failed. We got pizza on a slice of bread and pesto that tasted like hay. Mike is starting to get grumpy, he said that if he has to eat another bad pizza, he might hurt someone.
As we were leaving our disappointing restaurant, we met a couple from England (well, she is from Spain) who has been on the road for 9-11 months (they couldn’t decide). We were staying at the same hotel 2 nights in a row coincidentally, so we headed back for more travel talking and whipped out our laptops to share stories and pictures (what nerds). They gave us some great advice on New Zealand and Australia as they had spent some time there…among almost every other country… It was great to talk with them as they seemed like really nice people. They told us to look them up if we end up in England as their trip is nearing the end.
The lines of Nasca...we knew we had made it
We tried hard to spot a glimps of a line...but no such luck from the ground
30 cents to climb the tower
The view from the tower, a bit dissapointing, but at least we saw them!!!
El nino
Mike's moment of fame
The 'moments' kept coming...they couldn't get enough
Let's get a closer look at that one! Hola Senorita!
posted by Pedro and Maria at 4:09 PM
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