A fitful night, guests arriving late (1:00 am) and leaving early (4:00 am) and then at 5:30 am it was our turn. Quick shower and packing and of we went by taxi to the bus terminal. Unfortunately they could not find our reservation and so we got really lucky when they had 2 seats available. The ride to Nasca is 7 hours long and has not much of a view to offer. The land itself is pretty desolate, there are only very few green areas. On our way out of Lima we passed many poor areas, people basically living in shags on the hillside, with no running water or electricity. We finally arrived in Nasca, waited for our pick-up which did not show up, just to find out upon asking the bus agent, that the hotel was across the street from the bus station, checked into our room and arranged for a flight over the Nasca line in the early morning and a bus ride to Arequipa for 3:30 pm. We had an early dinner at a fairly touristy place called El Porton. The food was ok, but the service got lousy when our waiter had to perform as an indigenous dancer.
Nasca 8/15/2006
At 6:00 am our night was over for our scheduled flight over the Nasca lines. The breakfast was not very generous, no plates, but at least we got plenty of coffee (Nescafe by the way).
We packed quickly and checked out of the hotel, just to find out that our flight was delayed until 10:00 am. We strolled a little through the streets of Nasca. Actually I really liked all the small shops and street vendors …. We felt like strangers here, lots of local folks with the occasional Gringo mixed in between. The more I walked through the streets the more I liked it. It simply felt real and not touristy at all. Unfortunately when we got back to the hotel we found out that we most likely would not fly today …. Bummer! What should we do? With the help of the hotel tour operator we found a different agent who was extremely helpful and soon I found myself sitting at the airport, waiting form my plane.
I got all excited, we were called to move to the plane, sitting inside next to the pilot, safety belt on and then …… oh no …… Te pilot would not leave because there was a problem with the door….. more waiting …. The mechanics trying to fix the door. Hopefully they will be able to make it happen quickly. After waiting for another 30 minutes suddenly my tour agent arrived and picked me up to drop me at a different flight operator Aero Condor, the biggest such company in town. They have a large variety of different planes, large and small. I was lucky to get on a small plane and sat next to the pilot. At first I thought that would be great, but after a wile I figured out that I had limited view and ability to move to take pictures. The flight was quite bumpy, the plane was moving up and down, pulled by the strong winds and the plot made many tight turns to give us great views of the lines. Some figures I was able to see well, others went by too quickly form e to catch them and adjust my camera. Nevertheless it was an awesome experience! The mystery of the lines is still not resolved. Some researchers say it is a calendar carved in the desert soil, others claim it was done by extra terrestrial visitors (alien was ere). Just how did they achieve such precision? Were they using balloons to take measures and direct the carvers on the ground? How did the lines survive all these centuries without vanishing? Amazing!
Upon our arrival in the city we had a late lunch at Rico Pollo, a basic restaurant fort he local, primarily serving roasted chicken. Then we made our flight arrangements from Arequipa to Cusco and had an early dinner at a place called Los Ageles. The owner was fluent in English and very, very helpful and pleasant. The food was excellent too. She also organizes tours, good to know for the next visit. Finally at 10:30 pm we were off with the night bus to Arequipa. We were in the last row and I was not looking forward to the ride through the mountains, probably not getting too much sleep.
Nasca 8/15/2006
At 6:00 am our night was over for our scheduled flight over the Nasca lines. The breakfast was not very generous, no plates, but at least we got plenty of coffee (Nescafe by the way).
We packed quickly and checked out of the hotel, just to find out that our flight was delayed until 10:00 am. We strolled a little through the streets of Nasca. Actually I really liked all the small shops and street vendors …. We felt like strangers here, lots of local folks with the occasional Gringo mixed in between. The more I walked through the streets the more I liked it. It simply felt real and not touristy at all. Unfortunately when we got back to the hotel we found out that we most likely would not fly today …. Bummer! What should we do? With the help of the hotel tour operator we found a different agent who was extremely helpful and soon I found myself sitting at the airport, waiting form my plane.
I got all excited, we were called to move to the plane, sitting inside next to the pilot, safety belt on and then …… oh no …… Te pilot would not leave because there was a problem with the door….. more waiting …. The mechanics trying to fix the door. Hopefully they will be able to make it happen quickly. After waiting for another 30 minutes suddenly my tour agent arrived and picked me up to drop me at a different flight operator Aero Condor, the biggest such company in town. They have a large variety of different planes, large and small. I was lucky to get on a small plane and sat next to the pilot. At first I thought that would be great, but after a wile I figured out that I had limited view and ability to move to take pictures. The flight was quite bumpy, the plane was moving up and down, pulled by the strong winds and the plot made many tight turns to give us great views of the lines. Some figures I was able to see well, others went by too quickly form e to catch them and adjust my camera. Nevertheless it was an awesome experience! The mystery of the lines is still not resolved. Some researchers say it is a calendar carved in the desert soil, others claim it was done by extra terrestrial visitors (alien was ere). Just how did they achieve such precision? Were they using balloons to take measures and direct the carvers on the ground? How did the lines survive all these centuries without vanishing? Amazing!
Upon our arrival in the city we had a late lunch at Rico Pollo, a basic restaurant fort he local, primarily serving roasted chicken. Then we made our flight arrangements from Arequipa to Cusco and had an early dinner at a place called Los Ageles. The owner was fluent in English and very, very helpful and pleasant. The food was excellent too. She also organizes tours, good to know for the next visit. Finally at 10:30 pm we were off with the night bus to Arequipa. We were in the last row and I was not looking forward to the ride through the mountains, probably not getting too much sleep.
The plane in which I was supposed to take the flight. Later on I actually had to take a different plane.
One of the lines called Astronaut, I hope you can see it.
The line called Colibri.
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