Nazca
Trip Start
Jan 17, 2008
1
6
8
Trip End
Feb 01, 2008
Nazca,
Peru
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
3h30 that made me spend the USD 50 I have budgeted for an entire day... but... another thing of the ones you have to do once in your lifetime has been added to my memories :o)
I left Arequipa with the 21h45 bus of Flores, a company recommended by locals for its good quality and moderate prices... well... my ticket was 70 soles, comparted with other companies that were asking 90, 100, 130 soles... so I guess it was ok.
I was so tired from the other night in Chivay (part of the Colca Canyon 2 days tour), when I had only about 2 hours of sleep, that immediately as I entered on the bus (upper side, front seats, nice view... that I did not see ;p) I totally fell asleep. The only thing that I remember was the introduction that the "service boy" of the bus was making... and that they were starting to play the movie "Just like heaven"... that I like a lot... but... sleeping had just became my 1st priority at that hour...
And... I slept and slept... I had one of those things that you put on your eyes to protect you from the light... that worked just fine for mee... worked so fine that I was still sleeping when the bus got to Nazca, still sleeping when the sellers of coffee, mate and sweets entered the buss to sell their products... I was actually getting pissed off with the sound they were making, because they woke me up...
and Thank God they Woke me up!!! Because only with their help I actually woke up 5 minutes after, looked at the watch (it was 6:26 am and the bus wase supposed to get to Nazca around 5:30-6:00 am) so I jumped fast, confirmed with the "service boy" that the stop I had just passed was Nazca (Shit!!!( and got off the bus...
Both the driver and the service boy got down with me and hunted for a taxi for me :o).
I was worried, because the people from the company organizing the flight over the Nazca lines were supposed to wait for me at the bus station... but... as I found out later... they are 100% latin, and thus "relaxed" about this kind of responsibilities... so they were not there actually...
Well... after waiting about 5 minutes at the Flores bus terminal I took another taxi to the airport and got to the company...
There, they put a video about the Nazca civilisation (that it seems that it was almost entirely formed of preasts, that were believing in Gods in form of fishes, birds, etc.). The second part of themovie was about the Nazca lines, the enigma they still represent for us today...
the were made in perfect shapes of humming-bird (colibri), dog, tree, condor, astronaut, etc... shapes that could only be seen in their totality from above, by a civilization that supposedly could not fly... interesting, isn´t it??? :o)
One of the theories says that it was another type of "ofrendas" to the gods... other say that people were walking on the lines of these drawings in certain occasions (local celebrations), thus giving life to the drawings with the movement of their bodies...
Well, the flight was nice, full of adrenaline (it is a very small plane, where we entered 6 people - the pilot and 5 tourists).
I made friends with a nice Peruvian gy living now in the States (Jorge) and two Colombians - Monica and her father, from Medellin. (Hola a todos!! Mucho gusto en conecerlos y compartir con ustedes esta experiencia!!!).
The small plane, its trembling flight, and all the pressure it was puting on our stommacs when turning vertically to the right and left so that everybody could take pictures, made Monica and her fater throw up :o(...they had eaten a little bit for breakfast... guess it was not a good idea...
Well... we got safe and sound back to the ground... took a nice "survivors" picture with the little plane, gave the tip to the pilot (Hey... in front of every chair it was written in 5 languages "Tips are permited"... so... I just followed the "tradition")... and that was it.. oh... just for my friends that already know how much of a "consumista" and "earings maniac" I am... I did bought earings and t-shirts with the Images of Nazca... heheh
And now... on to Limaaaaaaa!!!
