I rolled into this city after an 11 hour bus ride from the desert and it's freezing cold here. The city is pretty dead and the government has taken to charging tourists $30 to go watch birds fly and walk down into a canyon. No thanks. I don't know how they can get away with this.
It was free to hike in Colombia and in Ecuador. I don't know. Maybe I'm just jaded with this place.
There are two beautiful snow-peaked volcanoes (dormant) around the town as well. It's a good place to walk around, watch the people, grab a drink and just enjoy the sunshine. The volcanoes in the background almost look fake.
Tomorrow I'm heading to Cusco. Machu Pichu in a few days!!!
On the road again...something something...on the road again!
I'm on the move again. That means buses, buses, and more buses. But in Nazca, it means a flight as well!
The Spaceman
I got to Nazca this afternoon after leaving Ica at 10am. Nazca is the home of the Nazca Lines. No one knows who made these lines or why they are there. They are massive (100-300m) figures that can only be appreciated from the sky. They are between 1400 and 2200 years old, before airplanes. Some people think aliens helped build them! They are images in the desert made from removing the top layers of darker rock to leave the lighter layer of earth underneath.
The best way to see them is by plane. This ain't your average 747. It is a single prop plane that swoops, banks and dives so that everyone in the plane can see the figures from two different angles. 3 of the 5 people got sick. The lady at the counter was offering me $75 for the flight. I wanted $60, and then she turns around and sells it for $100 to another two people and came back to me telling me $75 was the best she could do. So I had to take it, it probably was the best. They also accepted my driver's license instead of my passport, lol. Gotta love that security.
Tree and Hands (at the top)
Enough of my talk. Check out the videos below. It was hard since the sun was so bright and the plane was banking soooo hard.
A bunch of restaurants and hotels surround a man-made lagoon in Huacachina surrounded on all sides by massive sand dunes. It's about 4 hours south of Lima. I'm inching ever-closer to Machu Pichu. The main attraction here in Peru. I wonder if I'll see Jeffrey here (hint hint).
It's eerie sitting on the bus and watching the landscape change from rocky desert wasteland to sandy desert wasteland. There are farms out on the highway in the middle of nowhere. I don't know how they survive.
You can go sandboarding (which is just snowboarding on sand) and ride on dune buggies. The drivers are crazy. As I was climbing the dunes, I heard the rumbling of the diesel engines and three or four dune buggies full of people just fly over the top and then down the steep sides. The passengers scream and laugh the whole way down. I want to do it!
taking a rest climbing the dunes
desert landscape
moonrise
moon risen
I can't ever get tired of the sunsets down here. I didn't appreciate them as much back home.
It's been a while since I've updated frequently. I know this. And I know, you, my adoring public, have been missing my amazing commentary and pictures and videos (although hardly anyone watches them, lol). I've been in Lima for two weeks waiting for my friend to fly in. He came and I finally went to the historic centre. It was amazing. I wish I'd have gone there earlier, I would have changed hostels. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20. This is a better shot of the mall in the cliff. And the Pacific sunset.
Here we go...
I started in the Plaza San Marin, which is a huge square with gigantic buildings surrounding it. The architecture is amazing. When I got there, there was a gathering or a demonstration or something happening. The email I got from the Canadian government told me to avoid large crowds in Peru (I really don't know why) so I ended up leaving there after I took these pics.
The Plaza San Marin is connected to the Plaza Mayor (or Plaza de Armas) by the Avenida Junin. This is a really nice old colonial street that is pedestrian only where there's shops, restos, and other things for people to buy stuff they don't need.
Cool carvings
Amazing balconies
Then you get to the Plaza de Armas where there's the President's palace, the Lima Cathedral and Archbishop's palace. I love this square. I felt so happy to be there. The architecture was amazing, they've taken great care with the upkeep. Lima's downtown is also a UNESCO site.
Archbishop's palace
President's Palace
Colourful street
The street above leads to the church below. And below this church is are the catacombs of Lima. This is where they placed all the dead people from when the city was founded in 1535 for 300 years. There's supposed to be about 75,000 bodies down there. We weren't allowed to take pictures or videos on the tour, but being the guy that I am, I managed to take one or two. Those are real bodies and real bones. There's also an amazing library with hand-printed books over 400 years old. This was one of the best parts of Peru for me so far. Kind of dark...ah well.
So I've been in Lima for a while recharging my batteries and waiting for a friend to join me. He flies in tomorrow evening. Travelling all the time can get tiring. So picking a spot to just relax, enjoy the sunshine and the beach is fine by me.
I've been staying in a district of Lima called Miraflores. It's the main tourist centre and it seems to be where all the rich people live. I can sit in a chinese, middle eastern or japanese restaurant while watching the people using the Scotiabank ATM with their Starbucks in hand across the street. Feels like it could be Toronto at times.
There's a mall here called Larco Mar...because it's at the end of Larco Ave. and at the sea (la mar). Very creative people here. It's built right into the side of a cliff. So as you are shopping, or enjoying a fine meal, you can look out at the ocean. Check out what I'm talking about below.
View from Larco Mar
In the day
At night
To the right of Larco Mar
If you walk down a bit from this super modern shopping centre a few hundred metres is the lovers park. There's a huge statue of a couple in a pretty risque position right in the centre. There's lots of lawns and flowers. There are vendors selling roses to all the guys. And if you go around sunset, the place is jam packed with couples.
Best chocolate cake ever
I have also been to the "Casa del Chocolate" aka the Museo de Choco. This is a restaurant/chocolate factory/museum dedicated to all things cocoa and chocolate related. The owner is a French guy who has opened up these spots all over Central and South America.
One of the highlights of my Lima visit so far has been the Parque Reserva. This park has the Circuito del Aguas Magicas. There are so many fancy fountains here and visiting this park in the day or night is fun. I was lucky enough to get there an hour before the sunset so I got to enjoy the best of both worlds. However, at night, they light up each fountain and it just looks amazing. Check out the pics and videos below.
Rainbow fountain
Walk through the fountain tunnel
Below is the same fountain with five different colour schemes. So nice.
There was also a light and music show to accompany the fountain. It was really cool. Bellagio's got nothing on this place!
