Day 3 (11-Dec-15) Lima - Paracas (Nazca Lines)

Fortunately, we’d already packed most of our belongings last night as Ralf had made a mistake in the pick-up time. Rather than a 06:30 pickup, we should have been on the road to the bus station for the 3.5hr luxury coach to Paracas at 06:00hrs. Alas, grey skies and coastal fog ruled most of the way and I was starting to have serious doubts about being able to spot and photograph the famous Nazca Lines that afternoon. Thankfully, the Gods not only left fingerprints, but obviously were with us once again today, as by the time we reached Paracas, the fog had completely cleared, revealing a vast desert landscape below cloudless blue skies. Game On!

 

After a brief stop at the Hotel we were then taken to a nearby airport for the much-anticipated flight over Nazca. The airport is brand new – indeed much of it is still wrapped in cellophane, as the official opening is scheduled for early 2016. Following brief check-in formalities we were escorted to our plane, a small Cessna Grandcaravan; a single engine shoulder-wing aircraft able to take 8 passengers. The small size of the plane completely ‘únhinged’ Simon, who seemingly has had near-death experiences in the past during his days flying in small aircraft to/from oil rigs. Suffice to say however we take off with minimal fuss and headed out over the vast desert landscape towards the mighty Andes. The scenery on route was stark – this region is an extension of the Atacama desert, which is the driest place on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of less than 30 minutes. Indeed, years can pass with no rain at all. Slicing through this red arid monotony are rivers carrying melt water down from glaciers in the high Andes to the coast, with land on both banks cultivated to grow water-hungry crops such as cotton. Other parts of the desert have also been made fertile by drilling boreholes into underlying aquifers, with asparagus, onions and maize grown using drip feed technology.

On arrival at the world famous Nazca plain the pilot descended to just over 2000ft and then initiated a series of dramatic aerobatic manoeuvres to ‘get up close and personal’ with the many Geoglyphs etched into the surface of the plain. This involved pitching the aircraft into tight turns, pulling 2G, in order to drop the wing at right angles to the ground, thereby affording Astrid an unencumbered view of the various geoglyphs that she could photograph with her Canon D5 MKII Bazooka. While Simon and I were distracted by visions of imminent death and severe nausea, Astrid managed to remain focused on the task at hand, capturing photos of all 13 major geoglyphs, and looking sublime throughout. 

 

Thankfully, the return journey back to Pisco airport was assisted by a strong tailwind, with feet once again on terra firma by 15:00hrs; though stomachs still lagged far behind somewhere over the Nazca plain. We then headed straight back to the Hotel for a belated lunch - simple fare, given our still fragile constitution. It was only then that we at last got the opportunity to glimpse Astrid’s photos, and realised very quickly that they were immeasurably superior to the ones that Simon and I had taken – Mission accomplished!

 

We then retreated to the pool for some well-deserved relaxation, but despite the overwhelming desire to snooze, I became suddenly transfixed by the sight of huge numbers and variety of sea birds on the shoreline and enormous flocks flying overhead. I thus spent the next hour before sundown walking up and down the beach taking photos and watching their antics, and being amazed in particular by the sight of hundreds of birds, flying in close formation, suddenly changing direction in mid-air. How the birds in these massive flocks avoid colliding with each other defies explanation. The large Turkey Vultures, with their bright red heads, soaring effortlessly, were perhaps the most impressive sight. 

 

With the sun disappearing over the Paracas Nature Reserve we then retired to our rooms for a quick shower and to spend time transferring photos and video from 5 cameras onto the Asus laptop computer. We then headed into town for a sumptuous feast and a nice bottle of white wine. Alas, we failed miserably to find either, but that did little to diminish our joy of today’s once-in-a-lifetime adventure, with Astrid fulfilling a life-long dream.