Chauchilla Cemetery

The Chauchilla Cemetery is a Nazca burial ground now offered as entertainment. The arid climate in the area mummified the remains of the dead. As the Nazca buried their dead with objects such as ceramics and textiles, many sites were visited by grave robbers acting on behalf of European and North American collectors. Peru has cracked down on this gruesome trade and some treasures have been returned including one item from this grave that at one point was owned by William Shatner.

Hmmm...check.

Nazca Lines

The Nazca culture disappeared about twelve hundred years ago but their handiwork in the Nazca Plain remains. The drawings cannot be seen from the ground. This is the excuse that will be given if you ask why the Pan America highway bisects one of them. You can take a forty minute flight that gives you a look at a dozen major figures and a second look at your lunch.
* Here is the monkey.
* The hummingbird can be seen in this shot.
* Look closely at this picture and you will see a liger.

Huacachina

Huacachina is a tiny oasis village near Ica. The population numbers 116, less one if you don´t share the local belief that a mermaid lives in the lake. Everyone is town (mermaid excluded) runs a dune buggy tour of the surrounding dunes. These tours offer the opportunity to do some sandboarding, which I discover to be just like snowboarding but without the turning.

Postcard

Dear Marty,

Wish you were here.

Steve

Paracas

The Paracas National Reserve lies near the city of Pisco.

The highlight of the reserve is the Isla Ballesta, but not the one that Madonna sang about. This one is covered in bird droppings, hundreds of feet deep in some places.

Those places? Probably where you parked your car.

Exporting these droppings for use as fertilizer was an important part of Peru´s economy for many years. Remnants of this industry can still be seen on the island though the sea lions and penguins are the real drawing card.

The trip to the island passes the Candelabra, a six-hundred foot long figure etched into the hillside by the bay. The Candelabra could be seen from a distance of twelve miles if anyone was interested.

Lima

I arrive in Lima at night. Maike is there to meet me. Our hostel is stuffed with cheap art and oddly-placed objects, but it is well-located -- immediately next to the Convento de San Francisco. The catacombs of the convert contain the remains of some twenty-five thousand souls, quite possibly patrons of the on-site cafeteria. I observe the ban on photography but not all are so compliant. Here´s a look at what a creative crypt-keeper can achieve with a bit of free time.

It would seem that I am not a winner in the Coca-Cola World Cup Finals contest. Bummer.

Who are you voting for?

Peru

Catching Up Now...

Julia shares the same unlikely itinerary - one that starts in Prestwick, a town that only Ryanair could consider near Glasgow, and ends in the shadow of an ultimately-elusive hostel. We are late but Barcelona waits for us.

Lucy and Andy take me everywhere in Barcelona that you can drink, and one place that you can´t drink if you are wearing shorts.

The Sagrada Familia is a disappointment. I´ll wait until it is finished before I make another visit.

Unsolicited, Europe grants me a first-class send off.

In recognition of Victoria Beckham, midwifes refer to someone who selects a caesarean section as "too posh to push".