Friday was an incredibly early start, leaving at 5am to try and avoid the awfully busy roads of Lima. We also had the chance to meet the 5 new people on the truck who had replaced the 7 who have left. They all seem like very nice people and are all staying to Rio. From Lima we are also parrelling with a second truck who we are doing some things with and some things without. We managed to leave Lima with ease and we were soon on clear tarmac roads which was nice.
First stop of the day was the Ballestas Islands which are a series of rock formations in the turbulent waters of the Pacific just off the coast of Paracas. Sometimes referred to as the "poor man's Galapagos", the islands have an abundance of wildlife, including Humboldt penguins, Blackish oystercatchers, cormorants and Peruvian boobies living alongside vast colonies of sealions, all noisily crowding the Ballestas coastline and jostling for space. It was here we went for a boat trip around the islands to see this wildlife and we weren't disappointed seeing an array of wildlife.
After the boat trip we went to this restaurant for lunch which was predominantly seafood. I had the cerviche which was effectively raw fish. The portion was massive though in terms of how much raw fish I could enjoy in one sitting. After lunch we continued our drive onto Huacachina, which is a sparkling oasis nestled in the deserts near Ica in northern Peru, an area that is more reminiscent of the Sahara than South America! This picturesque lagoon is surrounded by palm trees and towering sand dunes and creates a tranquil oasis in the dusty coastal desert. The small town here has become a popular destination for travellers due to its incredible sand boarding and dune buggying opportunities. We arrived here in good time for a afternoon and night of activities.
After loading an overnight bag on this jeep, we got into these dune buggies and drove out into the desert where we drove over these dunes at some speed. It was a great thrill. We eventually at the top of this massive dune to go sandboarding down it face first which was hilarious. We stopped at 4 different locations to do this and I did really well on 3 of them but lost control on the last one and ended up with a mouthful of sand. This included a lot of dune buggying action inbetween.
It eventually started getting late so we went to the top of another dune to watch the sunset which was spectacular. We then headed to our camp for the night, which was basically this crater. This was good as it kept us out the wind which carried a lot of sand in it. We relaxed here and had this amazing bbq and a bottomless glass of Pisco which was very drinkable. It was nice to bond with the new people here and after the bbq we had a campfire and stayed up late into the night. We eventually went to our bed which was basically the desert floor. The sand went everywhere though but it was lots of fun!
After an interesting nights sleep in the desert we left our crater at about 6.30am and dune buggyed back to Huacachina and the oasis for breakfast. It was very damp when we woke up though for some reason. We had breakfast in Huacachina which was eggs again before setting off on a short drive to Nazca to see the famous lines.
The Nazca lines are enormous geometric designs and petroglyphs inscribed on the ground of the desert on the arid high plateau between Nazca and Palpa - some of the figures are over 200m across in size. Many of the lines form stylised depictions of animals, such as monkeys, spiders and hummingbirds, as well as trees and other designs. We stopped en route at this viewpoint where we were able to view two of these designs. They were very faint but we could see them.
We arrived at our campsite in good time and after putting the tents up we had lunch. After lunch we had the option to do a flight to see the Nazca lines from above. I decided to stay and relax by the pool with the wifi as it was very expensive for what it was the flight. When everyone who did the flight came back they said they weren't blown away so I didn't miss much. Come evening we relaxed by the pool before dinner. Dinner was chicken pasta and after clearing up a lot of people had an early night.
Come morning we had an 8am departure to further explore the Nazca area. First stop of the day was this aqueduct system used by the Nazca people to control the water. It was very dry though as it hasn't rained in a long time. The nearby river was even completely dry. We then moved onto the Cahuachi Pyramid which was part of the remains of the old Nazca capital. Archaeologists have only uncovered a small area of this site and a lot of remains under the sand due to lack of funding. It was interesting walking round the old site and our guide was very informative.
The next stop was the Chauchilla Cemetery where we stopped for lunch. We then walked round the large site home to over 400 graves, 13 of which were restored. Due to the lack of rain and unrelentless wind which was very strong there are mummified remains in very good condition. The remains even had hair remaining. It was quite eerie in a way with random bones lieing everywhere and apparently the place is cursed.
After exploring the cemetery we left the Nazca area and drove to our campsite for the night in Puerto Ica, situated on the Peruvian Pacific Coast. Legend says the Incas used to transport fish from this old fishing port to Cuzco 360km away by foot in less than 24 hours. Prior to here we stopped at this olive plantation and got to try various different samples. We spent the evening relaxing, with an amazing sunset, and an equally good bbq including heart which I don't think I've tried before. We then had a big campfire with the other truck and celebrated one of our group members birthdays late into the night.
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