After we successfully hiked the Inca Trail and with one week left before we could move into our apartment in Lima, we decided to use the time to explore the southern coast of Peru. I have mixed feelings about this part of the country. Arguably, some of the countries most famous sights are located on this small stretch of coast and the weather is generally warm and sunny. However, this area was hit hard by the 2007 earthquake and this can still be seen today - it can be quite a depressing place, so we kept moving to keep ourselves busy and preoccupied. Off we went then on our very last night bus from Cuzco and we arrived in Nazca on Sunday morning.
Nazca is very hot and kind of a sleepy place. I didn't like the city very much but, of course, we weren't there to see the city but to see the famous Nazca lines. We arrived at Nazca's airport on Monday morning and, while we had to wait to board our plane, a very interesting National Geographic documentary was shown about the Nazca people. They made the thousands of lines by removing dark rocks in such a way that it showed the lighter color of sand underneath. Why the Nazca people did this is unknown, but researchers think that it might have something to do with ancient rituals, human sacrifices and the constant search for water in the desert. Peru's southern coast is not a very pretty coast - like in northern Chile, there are no palm trees, just scorching desert. One can imagine that it must have been tough to survive in this harsh environment.
I didn't get to see the end of the documentary because it was time to depart. I was a little bit nervous because I was about to board the smallest plane that I had ever been on and it looked suspiciously like a coffin with wings. You may not know this about me, what with all of my traveling, but I'm a little bit afraid of flying (''rooted in deep-seated fears of control,'' if I am to believe the people on the TV show
Criminal Minds), and I am one of those annoying people who will ask what this or that sound means. The bigger the plane, the better, is what I'm thinking, because the bigger the plane, the less turbulence I generally feel. So you can understand my hesitation. Turns out that it wasn't scary at all. Considering how clear the Nazca lines are from the plane, it's incredibly tricky to get a good photo, but our picture of the hummingbird is a good example of what you can see from the air.
Nazca
Nazca
a hummingbird at the Nazca lines
On Monday afternoon we took a local bus to Ica, just 2 hours from Nazca, and then a short taxi ride to Huacachina. Only a few hundred people live in Huacachina and it's obvious why - besides a small lagoon and monstrous sand dunes, there is absolutely nothing in this tiny place. We hadn't planned to visit Huacachina but after a fellow traveler showed us a picture of the sand dunes we changed our minds. Huacachina was originally built as a resort for the Peruvian elite and now it is backpackers' central, and not in a good way. To be honest, the weather is very nice in Huacachina and the setting is gorgeous, but most people here waste their days drinking and listening to very bad music. Most people we met stayed for at least a week, something that sounds like hell to me, but to each his own.
We only stayed for 2 nights to go on a dune buggy ride. This dune buggy ride was so much fun! Around 4 PM the locals pick up the backpackers in these insane monster truck concoctions that only seem to have a steering wheel, a gas pedal and a break and they proceed to drive extremely fast over the huge sand dunes. It's like being in a rollercoaster - you're strapped in and the driver speeds like a maniac up these vertical walls of sand and then turns, drives over another sand dune, and suddenly there is no more ground and you fall down another vertical wall of sand. It was kind of scary at times and I'm sure we violated at least a dozen safety laws but BOY, that was fun! I kept thinking about my little brother, who would have loved this. Jochem also tried some sandboarding and I enjoyed the majesty of nature during sunset. Most of our time in Huacachina, though, was not spent on the sand dunes but at Casa de Bamboo, a quaint little family-run restaurant with good coffee, fresh food and kittens, away from our fellow backpackers.
Huacachina
Huacachina
Huacachina
Huacachina
Casa de Bamboo in Huacachina
Casa de Bamboo in Huacachina
On Wednesday afternoon we took another local bus to Pisco, just an hour from Ica, to visit the famous Islas Ballestas. I had wanted to come to Pisco, as opposed to planning a tour from Huacachina, because the Lonely Planet mentions that Pisco was hit the hardest during the 2007 earthquake and I wanted to support the local community instead of some random tour agency an hour away. But as soon as we arrived in Pisco I kind of wished that we had stayed in Huacachina instead, because Pisco is one the most depressing places that I have ever been.
First of all, the sun was suddenly nowhere to be found and we were surrounded by a Dutch grey sky for 2 days. After 5 years the town is still in ruins, which is just unbelievable to me. The people seem hard and we read that, due to poverty, Pisco is quite dangerous so we never went out after dark. But, despite our hosts' efforts, out hotel wasn't exactly a treat to stay at either, because things kept breaking down. Even the street dogs look worse in Pisco - nothing but miserable skin and bones aimlessly wandering the streets. When we booked a tour to the Islas Ballestas it was one of the worst tours that I have ever been on. We weren't treated with a lot of respect, which I did expect since tourism is pretty much the only thing holding Pisco together. There wasn't any communication between the tour guides and the tourists and at one point the captain started to chase these poor birds so that we could get a good picture, while it is my humble opinion that wild life should be left alone. In Paracas the local people even fed wild pelicans and then demanded money if tourists took pictures. The locals are just so desperate for money that they do anything to make a buck, thereby inadvertently destroying the wildlife that people come to Pisco to see. It makes me very sad.
Overall, the poverty in South America is starting to wear me down. I'm not sure if maybe I'm just tired of traveling in general, but I tend to think that it's South America because I've been to some pretty poor places in South East Asia, including a couple of destitute rural villages in Cambodia, and it's just so different there. Despite their circumstances people appear to have a much more positive view on life while in Pisco people resent the hand that they've been given. But who could blame them? How would you feel if 5 years after the date you are still living in the rumble of an earthquake? What would you do? I kept thinking about Kim Cattrall's line in SATC 2: ''I need to go somewhere RICH!'' I, too, want to go 'somewhere rich,' somewhere where I am not constantly reminded of poverty and street dogs and begging children and where I feel safe to walk the streets at night.
Anyway, the Islas Ballestas are sometimes called the Poor Man's Galapagos and although I, sadly, have never been to Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, I wouldn't go that far. It reminded me more of a skimpy version of the kind of wildlife that we saw in the Beagle Channel when we took a boat trip from Ushuaia in Argentina. But, still, I would say that the trip was a success because it was nice to get out of Pisco, out on the water and into the sun and it was the first time that I saw pelicans, which was pretty cool. After some searching we also found a woman selling chocotejas, which is a great treat of nuts covered in dulce de leche covered in chocolate and, yes, that is exactly as good as it sounds.
Islas Ballestas
Islas Ballestas
Candelabra at the Islas Ballestas
chocotejas, a specialty from Ica
On Friday morning, then, our quick tour of Peru's southern coast was over and we boarded a 3-hour bus to Lima, which is our final stop in South America. We rented an apartment. We have never done this before, but people we met in Bolivia did it in Buenos Aires and said that it was great. We wanted to try it because we're extremely tired from traveling and want a place of our own. Ever since I hiked the Inca Trail I've been walking around with this sense of 'mission accomplished' and I'm so ready to go home. Fellow travelers told me that this would happen and now I believe them because I really want to go home. Because of that, things that used to be normal, things like fellow backpackers, dorm rooms, shared communal spaces, long bus rides and cheap food, become unbearable inconveniences, so spending 10 days in our own apartment sounds like a treat. The apartment was a bit too pricey for our budget, but after having stayed there for a few days already, I can say with 100% certainty: money well spent.
If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!
