Quebrada Cruz del Chino

When I booked my trip I had just 4 excursions planned. Yesterday was my last excursion and one of the ones I was looking forward to the most. The Nazca lines. Aliens, ways to communicate with aliens, study of astrology, or maybe just the graffati of their time. Imagine some 15 year old punk kid out there in the dessert carving a picture of his family dog. His parents at home complaining to neighbors that he will never make his mark in the world. Mysterious and who knows. I am sure that was not the actual story but after a difficult flight I can not be sure.

The day before flying from Cuszco to Lima was definitely a bargain flight. The flight attendents smirked a little as they told us to make sure all seats were in the upward position. My seat as well as many others seemed to be fused into the position so the seat behind me could have done dental work. The flight was an hour late so as we were herded on I am not sure as everyone was in their seats as we were leaving the gate. The flight itself was a rough one as it felt as though the pilot hit every pot hole/ speed bump in the sky. Thank goodness it was only an hour flight.

Upon arriving in Lima I was happy to easily find my taxi driver to the hotel. Driving in Lima seemed to be a contact sport. 4 cars, 2 buses, and 3 motor bikes all sharing 3 lanes. I could have reached out and touched any of these vehicles at any time. While going 30 mph the driver was also dodging pedestrians as they crossed the street frogger style. No need to worry my driver made the most of our commute talking and texting from 2 different cell phones. I can not be sure he was talking about me but I kept hearing the term gringa chika. He was also picking his nose a few times. Impressively enough we arrived at the hotel with no new car bruises and with out safety intact.
As scary as it sounds it really wasn't. This is the main stay for driving in other countries. They all seem to share the roads kindly with minimal accidents and no road rage. There is some sort of code as to who is able to go and who is in the right in a cut off situation. My driver joked and asked me if I would ever drive here. Ummm no.
One of my tour guides explained the process of getting your drivers liscense. Apparently it is a 5 year process that typically includes failing the test multiple times. They definitely earn it though.
Onto the Nazca lines. I was picked up at a very early 7am for my 4.5 hour drive to the city where we would fly out of. I was the only one on the bus. That sounds good but a little lonely. As we arrived at the airport I dutifully took my Dramamine as I had heard the flight was a bit bumpy. A bit!
In reality the flight was a easy 45 minute flight out to the dessert with the lines followed by 30 minutes of spiraling circles with the g forces that pulled my face to the ground and my stomach to the skies. Add into this the small air vent above my head was not working. The temperature in that plane had to be over 90. I thought about reaching up and opening the pilots window as we were all that close. Just as I was able to steady myself and get my stomach back we would turn the other way so the other side of the plan could see it. I tried for pictures but decided not puking on the plane full of Chinese passengers seemed the best idea. With the turns and drops there is no way to know how many I could have hit. My other dilemma was that if I did throw up in the handy bag they provided then I would have to hold it on my lap for the 45 minute flight back. Queue more puking.
From where you come from you must go back. After the flight was my 4.5 hour drive back to Lima. We did pick up a few passengers but even back on the ground my stomach was upset with me. So the first half of the ride I spent listening to a book and not throwing up. By the second part I decided I was able to be social and spoke to a Canadian man behind me.

So now it is time to go home. What a quick trip it has been. Just 7 days with 2 of them spent traveling. Even with how fast it was I am so glad I came. The Peruvian people are among the kindest I have met in the world. This morning as I was leaving my hotel at 4am the front desk guy wanted to have a full conversation. 4am is not my chatty time. Machu Picchu was everything I could have hoped for and made a wonderful birthday. Thank you all for joining me again on this trip!Read more