Day 1,003
Nazca Lines
Tom and I were both feeling a bit rough when we left Ica. The rather horrid ride out of town certainly didn't help. We are both still feeling ill after getting food poisoning and Tom’s got a very painful shoulder so we needed something to cheer us up.The ride was pretty stunning - desert, sand dunes, even a shortcut through a tunnel. It was hot though, much hotter than usual for this time of year. By now it should be much cooler with a lot of sea mist. We were quite happy not to have mist but oh my, we definitely would have liked it cooler. Definitely low 40s and no shade.
As we approached the town of Palpa we spotted our first drawing in the cliffs. We were close to Nasca, and I'm sure most will have heard of the Nasca Lines. These are a series of geoglyphs made in the sand in the desert. Thousands of drawings cover an area of over 19 sq miles. They were made by removing the top layer of dirt and pebbles exposing a different coloured dirt below. There were two phases, the Paracas period, around 400 to 200 BC, followed by the Nasca period, 200 BC to 500 AD. So these lines in the dirt are pretty old, they have survived due to the unique weather conditions in this area, basically no rain or wind. They are a combination of simple lines running across the landscape, and figures. The figures vary, human-like forms, animals and plants. Modern technology is revealing more and more drawings, which is no bad thing, as they have a lot to contend with. Before the area had been fully investigated the highways department laid the main road straight through a massive drawing of a lizard, then the Nasca Rally took out a few and even Greenpeace managed to leave footprints all over this sacred site when they laid out a banner to send a message to the UN about climate change. For years the popular press liked to big-up the question of why these drawings were created when they are only visible from the air. Many can actually be seen from the surrounding hills but the belief is they were created for just the gods to see. Finally, what were they for? Ideas have changed over the years, but the general view is they were a message to the gods, asking for water and good crops. Often the lines would converge at a hill, often a source of water, and then locals walked the lines, then would hold ceremonies on the hill tops. Nasca being one of the driest places on earth they needed all the help they could get.
After just over 55 miles of very hot cycling we stopped at the small town of Palpa for the night. We were both feeling dehydrated so popped out for a jugo or two. As we relaxed we spotted @Fedefarrell, a fellow touring cyclist. We had actually seen but not spoken to him twice recently so we both called out. We explained we were like him, touring cyclists and that was it, we were friends. He joined us in the restaurant and we made plans to cycle to Nasca tomorrow.
So our happy band of 3 set off. Fede is from Argentina which caused a few raised eyebrows when we were asked the usual questions of where we were from etc. Tom and I were very happy to have his company, we could expand our knowledge of Spanish whilst having someone new to cycle with.
You've got to love Peru, we stopped for breakfast at a small restaurant a few miles into the desert. After a typical Peruvian breakfast of chicken stew with rice and lentils the owner checked if we were staying a while, she needed to take the kids to school, their first day back after the long summer holidays. We paid up, and off she went, leaving us with a fully open restaurant and shop. Fede was shocked when we explained that just wouldn't really happen in the UK. Trust complete strangers? No way. What an awesome country.
Not many miles later we came to our first of two viewing platforms. We ignored how the structure wobbled and headed up high. We were rewarded with fantastic views at both sites of the Lines. Strange figures, creatures, birds, plants and lines. And we cycled here! It was quite a feeling, nothing for it but to celebrate. We arrived in Nasca, popped into a small shop for yet more cooling drinks and discovered we could book rooms there. Result, so all we had to do was celebrate, yet another good pizza! Our mate, @mattpepperdine couldn't find a decent pizza in Peru, Matt, you should have waited for us!
And a blast from the past - some drone shots from Fede. Thanks.
