South America Part 2

Day of the Dead. Ica Hotel Las Flores

We were picked up this morning after breakfast by Javier our driver and Edouardo (our new guide) who would take us to Ica for our day’s tours. As we drove out of Paracas, Edourado explained that on November 1st all families visited the graves of their departed families and ancestors to make them feel like they were still part of the family. We drove by many flower stands selling all kinds of beautiful flowers and balloons We drove by several police pullover points, but we were not pulled over. Finally, we were stopped, Javier showed the papers and we were off. Edouardo explained that it was simply the corrupt common practice of the police. They pull people over, find some minor fault and accept 10 Soles to ignore the “fault”. If you could prove that they were just on the take, it was a 4-year jail sentence for the police. For some reason, it never happens. He also made a joke out of horn honking, saying that in Peru it was considered a national sport and they hope they might someday make it an Olympic event!

Being a desert, water was very scarce. Not long ago they could drill wells 50 meters deep but now they have to go down 150 meters. Along the way we saw the beginning of the Andes Mountains. A popular crop along the highway was white onions and every 7 or so years they seem to have a bumper crop, too many to sell and they just leave piles of them out at the highway for people to take as they wish.

QUICK FACTS
-Prickly pear fruit have green or red seeds like grapes called Tuna and are served at breakfast.
-Mining in mountains, gold, silver and iron main industry.
-Voting is mandatory in Peru, the people have to remain in their house until someone comes around and collects their votes. There are heavy fines for those that do not vote.
-In Nazca area they produce 80% of national production of pecans- not used in pies but used for chocolate candies similar to Turtles.
- They have mostly flat roofs in Peru because only have 20 ml of rain per year.
-They never finish the houses, they leave rebar sticking up, because they don’t have to pay finished house taxes and allows future generations to add on another floor.

We drove to a 150 year old vineyard which produced several wines as well as Pisco, a fermented grape juice with which they make Pisco sours. They had 11 varieties of grapes which are harvested in July. They had 700 local people to bring in the harvest. We were not impressed with the wines. The first was very sweet called Dos Mondos (two types of grapes) and Don named it “Yuck”! The second was very dry Picasso Premium which Don called “Less Yuck”. The third tasting was Pisco Picasso 42% alcohol and burned the back of the throat.

Next we went to the Regional Museum of Ica to see ceramics, textiles and mummies that were preserved by the dry sand. We could not take pictures, but we saw many styles of weaving and painted ceramics. The Bio-anthropology room displayed human remains which illustrate amazing cultural practices such as cranial deformation, some diseases, including trepanation (some with advanced healing process), hair dressing styles.

Judy was feeling dizzy at the museum and sat out the last part of the tour with Lee. We got back into the car and Lee gave her a granola bar and she had a candy, but she was still not well. When we reached the airport at Ica for our Nazca flight, she was having trouble getting out of the car. Lee called to Mike and we helped her to step down, but she went totally limp and seemed to black out. The airport staff called the on-site nurse and brought a wheelchair and there were some very tense moments until we got her lying down. After a few minutes, the nurse took her pulse which was 100 over 60. Judy seemed to rally quite quickly after that and said she wanted to go on the plane, so we continued.

The plane was a Cessna Grand Caravan and we were each weighed in, and also our packs were put through security just like a regular airport. Mike and Judy were in the 2nd set of seats and Don and Lee in the 3rd set. We took off without a hitch and had a very smooth ride. We flew for about 15 minutes out over the desert and then the co-pilot came on and said that we were about to see the first of 12 figures making up just a few of the Nazca Lines. The first was the whale and because I didn’t know what to look for, I just took pictures of the ground not really seeing anything. The plane then circled around, and I passed the camera to Don and he was able to take some very good pictures. This procedure continued around all 12 areas so both sides of the plane could see the same designs. The second design was called the astronaut, because it looks like its head is covered by a space helmet. That one I was able to see clearly. As we continued, it got easier to see them knowing what to look for. While we could see the designs quite well, for some reason, they didn't show up very well on the camera. We have included a few of them just in case they turn out when the book is printed.

The Nazca Lines are a group of very large geoglyphs formed by depressions or shallow incisions made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were created between 500 BC and 500 AD. Most lines run straight across the landscape, but there are also figurative designs of animals and plants. The geoglyph designs measure between 0.4 and 1.1 km across. The combined length of all the lines is over 1,300 km (and the group of 12 designs that we saw, lay within an area of about 50 sq. km. The lines are typically 10 to 15 cm. deep. They were made by removing the top layer of reddish-brown iron oxide-coated pebbles to reveal a yellow-grey subsoil. The width of the lines varies considerably, but over half are slightly over one-third meter wide. In some places they may be only 30.5 cm wide, and in others reach 1.8 m wide.
Most of the Nazca lines form shapes that are best seen from the air, though some are visible from the surrounding foothills and other high places. The shapes are usually made from one continuous line. They are zoomorphic designs of animals such as a hummingbird, spider, fish, llama, jaguar, monkey, lizard, dog and a human. Other shapes include trees and flowers. Scholars differ in interpreting the purpose of the designs, but in general, they ascribe either religious significance to them or a calendar. They were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The largest ones are about 370 m long. Because of its isolation and the dry, windless, stable climate of the plateau, the lines have mostly been preserved naturally. Extremely rare changes in weather may temporarily alter the general designs. As of 2012, the lines are said to have been deteriorating somewhat due to an influx of squatters inhabiting the lands.

When we landed, we were all very excited about the whole experience and even Judy said she was glad she went although she was still pretty shaky. We went back to the hotel and Lee, Judy and Mike got off there. Don continued on with Edouardo to do the Dune buggy excursion in the Huacachina desert. Don was to take a short tour of a winery, but it was very busy with long line ups at the tasting bar, so Edourado just grabbed about 5 bottles and led me over to a private tasting area. I was only supposed to get 3 tastings, but he offered me 5. The Peruvian’s preference in wine is on the very sweet side and after 3 tastings I begged off.

The last part of today’s trip was a 2-hour sand dune buggy ride in the desert, but I was the only one to continue. David and Kate and Rob and Karen would have loved it as I had a maniac driver who tried his best to scare the crap out of me but was unsuccessful (well, he came close). What an adventure. At one point we went over a blind lip of a sand dune, took a scary amount of air and landed at the bottom nose first which sent a solid wave of sand into our faces. A very memorable adventure. Lee and Judy still not feeling well but we all ate dinner that night and then packed it in for the evening.Read more