This tiresome thing won't let me put the photos where I want them. So, the 2 on top belong to the paragraph about the convent at the bottom. The 2 pictures with mummies are with the paragraph about Chauchilla Cemetary.
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We have made it as far as Arequipa. That's the big city in the south of Peru. It was founded by the Spanish way back when, 1500 something. It is gorgeous and has 2 giant volcanoes looming over it, Unapato and El Misti. They're both near 20,000 feet. Arequipa is about 7700 feet above sea level which you really notice when you walk up hills, of which there are many.
So let's begin in Lima. We landed at about 12:15am and spent around 90 minutes on immigration and customs business. We got a $40 (that's US) taxi for the bus station around 1:45. During our ride we saw the Lima night life including its hopping casino scene. There are also more taxis than you would think the economy could support. Anyway, we pulled up at the bus station around 2:15 to find it extremely closed. The taxi driver got out, locked us in, and asked the security guard what time the place opened. The answer was 4am, which is when our bus was supposed to leave. He then said "You can't stay here, it's not a safe area. That seemed an understatement what with all the barred windows, graffiti and people just sitting around in the street at 2:30 in the morning. Fortunately he found us a gas station across the street with a table where we were able to sit for 90 minutes. So we drank Coke, ate Kinder eggs and played cards while the night shift workers and the security guard talked and restocked the snacks.
The bus station opened around 3:40 so we ran over and got on board. When we pulled out it was still very dark and there was a thick fog over the town. The sky lightened around 7 and we could see the depressingly foggy countryside - depressing, as we despaired of our Nazca Lines overflight. The bus drove south on the Pan American Highway through microscopic towns. There is a huge amount of construction going on everywhere. Farther south the fog lifted and the scenery improved. Peru is a beautiful country, but on this Southern coast it is the beauty of the desert. It's very sparse and rocky.
Then we got to Nazca. This is one of the driest places on Earth. They get about 5mL of rain annually. Half a centimeter of rain and you can really tell. It is extremely dusty so that it's kind of hard to breathe. Our guesthouse picked us up at the bus station and then arranged a flight over the lines for us. A flight over the Nazca Lines goes like this: First, you get into a very small airplane and put on your seat belt and headphones. Next you pray while the plane takes off because it sounds like the engine is working really hard. After a few minutes you are over the desert and the pilot banks steeply left and right over the figures while telling you about them. The tilt is so great that the images are being pointed to by the wing tip. It was all very cool. The lines are all wonderful to see but tough to photograph in a bouncy little plane. It was an amazing experience and we all enjoyed it tremendously.
The next day after breakfast we went to the Chauchilla cemetary. It's a collection of pre-Incan burials, about 1600 years old. Many of them were destroyed when grave robbers ransacked the place 60 years ago and scattered mummies and bones and cloth all over the desert. You can still see bones and scraps of cloth all over beside the path. Fortunately a few of the graves were not discovered by thieves and have been subsequently excavated. Some of the burials are reconstructions that archaeologists built using the remains scattered on the desert. If you look at the picture of the mummy with the receding hairline you'll notice several bundles with him. Those are other mummies buried with him. He's in the fetal position and facing east which is all symbolic of rebirth in the afterlife. The other picture shows a mummy with a big nasty dreadlock which is his actual hair. Apparently it shows that he was an important figure in the community. This was also an wonderful experience. The site is about 10/15 miles outside the city and the physical surroundings were spectacular. Gorgeous, delicately hued peaks ringed the sandy plateau. Later that night we went to the Maria Reiche planetarium for a presentation about her astromical theories about the lines and some star gazing. This was our second trip to the facility - it is housed in the luxe Nazca Lines hotel - we splurged on lunch earlier in the day and were vastly impressed with the brocade tablecloths with the Nazca Lines woven into the fabric!
So let's begin in Lima. We landed at about 12:15am and spent around 90 minutes on immigration and customs business. We got a $40 (that's US) taxi for the bus station around 1:45. During our ride we saw the Lima night life including its hopping casino scene. There are also more taxis than you would think the economy could support. Anyway, we pulled up at the bus station around 2:15 to find it extremely closed. The taxi driver got out, locked us in, and asked the security guard what time the place opened. The answer was 4am, which is when our bus was supposed to leave. He then said "You can't stay here, it's not a safe area. That seemed an understatement what with all the barred windows, graffiti and people just sitting around in the street at 2:30 in the morning. Fortunately he found us a gas station across the street with a table where we were able to sit for 90 minutes. So we drank Coke, ate Kinder eggs and played cards while the night shift workers and the security guard talked and restocked the snacks.
The bus station opened around 3:40 so we ran over and got on board. When we pulled out it was still very dark and there was a thick fog over the town. The sky lightened around 7 and we could see the depressingly foggy countryside - depressing, as we despaired of our Nazca Lines overflight. The bus drove south on the Pan American Highway through microscopic towns. There is a huge amount of construction going on everywhere. Farther south the fog lifted and the scenery improved. Peru is a beautiful country, but on this Southern coast it is the beauty of the desert. It's very sparse and rocky.
Then we got to Nazca. This is one of the driest places on Earth. They get about 5mL of rain annually. Half a centimeter of rain and you can really tell. It is extremely dusty so that it's kind of hard to breathe. Our guesthouse picked us up at the bus station and then arranged a flight over the lines for us. A flight over the Nazca Lines goes like this: First, you get into a very small airplane and put on your seat belt and headphones. Next you pray while the plane takes off because it sounds like the engine is working really hard. After a few minutes you are over the desert and the pilot banks steeply left and right over the figures while telling you about them. The tilt is so great that the images are being pointed to by the wing tip. It was all very cool. The lines are all wonderful to see but tough to photograph in a bouncy little plane. It was an amazing experience and we all enjoyed it tremendously.
The next day after breakfast we went to the Chauchilla cemetary. It's a collection of pre-Incan burials, about 1600 years old. Many of them were destroyed when grave robbers ransacked the place 60 years ago and scattered mummies and bones and cloth all over the desert. You can still see bones and scraps of cloth all over beside the path. Fortunately a few of the graves were not discovered by thieves and have been subsequently excavated. Some of the burials are reconstructions that archaeologists built using the remains scattered on the desert. If you look at the picture of the mummy with the receding hairline you'll notice several bundles with him. Those are other mummies buried with him. He's in the fetal position and facing east which is all symbolic of rebirth in the afterlife. The other picture shows a mummy with a big nasty dreadlock which is his actual hair. Apparently it shows that he was an important figure in the community. This was also an wonderful experience. The site is about 10/15 miles outside the city and the physical surroundings were spectacular. Gorgeous, delicately hued peaks ringed the sandy plateau. Later that night we went to the Maria Reiche planetarium for a presentation about her astromical theories about the lines and some star gazing. This was our second trip to the facility - it is housed in the luxe Nazca Lines hotel - we splurged on lunch earlier in the day and were vastly impressed with the brocade tablecloths with the Nazca Lines woven into the fabric!
We took the night bus here to Arequipa and arrived yesterday morning. We went to our hotel, La Casa de Tintin, which Zada insisted on. It does indeed have Tintin accents here and there. We ate breakfast and then walked to the city center. The Plaza de Armas is beautiful with the cathedral framed by volcanoes. We first went to the museo santuary where Juanita the ice mummy is kept. We had to wait about 30 minutes for our tour to start so we sat in the gift shop with everyone who worked there watching the Argentina/Germany soccer game. Don't know if we shared Zada's weird germany fetish with everyone yet, but about 6 months ago she became obsessed with learning German and all things Germanic. At a stop at the Academy she insisted on purchasing a German soccer shirt and has been almost painfully gung-ho about them winning. It was 1-0 Germany at that point but then they scored twice more. We were unable to cheer as the Peruvians were rooting for Argentina. But they're not here now so WOOOHOOO! GO GERMANY!
Juanita was truly fascinating and the guide (you aren't aloowed to roam on your own as the artefacts are beyond priceless) made it all very poignant and engaging. She is encased in a super thick glass freezer, kept at -20. The whole museum is very cold and dark to maintain the delicate textiles and ceramics found with the child sacrifice burials. Then we went to the Santa Catalina convent which was stunningly beautiful. It's like a small city with lots of nooks and crannies to explore. The walls are painted these wonderful shades of blue and orange. It's huge so we had to stop at their cafe for a snack about half way through. Real brewed coffee and a menu of desserts named for the seven deadly sins - rightfully so, as the chocolate cake was richer than anything at the Chocolate Bar. It's pretty luxurious as convents go. Apparently it's where the second daughters of wealthy colonial families went. They had servants and slaves and basically lived it up there in the convent unil Pope Pius IX sent a new mother superior to clean things up.
From here we go to Cuzco. we get there on the 6th and will have a day to get aclimatized to 12,000 feet before Machu Picchu on the 7th.
2 comments:
Greeting - So glad to read all the travel updates and from the looks of the pictures, the weather is cooperating.
Can't wait to read the next installment . . .
loads of love to all
Mom
Boo,
Mom & I read most of the new stuff in your Blog, but she quit when you got to the mummies. we did read all of zada's blog. It sounds like you all are having a wonderful trip. Zada mentioned Toronto what was that about?
Love Grandpa & Amma
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