05 December 2010

I could not sleep last night because of the loud accordion music party coming from the club around the corner. But I finally got a little sleep and woke up just before 6:30 without the alarm going off. I got to the airport about 7:15 so I wouldn’t be late but the plane didn’t take off until 8:30. Finally seeing the Nazca lines after reading about them for so many years and contemplating their mysteries was nothing short of spectacular. The pilot rolled the plane left and right so we could all get good pictures.  There were only five of us tourists on the plane. I thought I was going to vomit.  Some of the lines were a bit hard to make out at first. I’m not sure how high up we were. 

When I got back to the hostel around 9:15 there was a note for me from Laurie saying she would be back at noon but that I could leave for Cusco if I needed to and I didn’t have to wait for her. I met her at the hostel last night and told her she could ride to Cusco with me. I waited until noon but she didn’t show up so I left a message with the hostels owner and left.

The road out of Nazca to Cusco is painfully steep, winding, and treacherously narrow for a long while until you are high in the mountains. Then it flattens out and is less dangerous. For 120 miles the road goes from winding and steep to flat stretches until you get to one final long dive to the bottom of a mountain and then the road snakes along a river between the mountains all the way to Abancay for about 150 miles. At the bottom of the mountains is a toll booth. The lady in the booth jumped out and took a picture of my license plate as I approached. Just after the toll I picked up a guy who needed a ride to Abancay. I was planning to stop halfway between Nazca and Cusco at Chalhuanca but I figured I should ride along with what Providence had thrown my way. When we got to Abancay he directed me to a cheap hotel.

Huge sand dune near Nazca

I picked up two other people before him. The first woman started to leap out of the car before I had even stopped. I had to pull her back inside. And just as she exited another old lady got in. She needed a ride to Puquío.

Higher up the in the mountains there were herds of llamas and free ranging burros. Every beast was tagged with a ribbon in each ear. It hailed for a little bit. I hope it does not rain in Machu Picchu.

Mountain llamas

While walking around the market in Nazca I came upon signs indicating today was an election day. People were lined up to vote. Across the country I have seen ads for politicians inscribed in the mountains and rocks and on billboards. Each candidate has his own symbol relating to the province and the add says to mark that symbol when you vote.