Lima and Nazca, Peru

Hi All,

We are just back in Arequipa from our 3 day trek into Colca Canyon, so it's about time we got this blog started with our first week's adventures.

Lima.
We arrived in Lima about 5pm on the sunday night.  The Hostel we were staying at sent a taxi so there was no problems there.  Driving into the city was an experience, even on a Sunday night it was very congested.  We drove through some pretty shady parts of the city, but the area we stayed at was very nice, Miraflores.  We checked into out Hostel (Hostel del Patio), which had a garden courtyard and rooms with balconies around the side.  There were a lot of restaurants in Miraflores and we headed to one close to the Hostel called Le Tejas for our first Peruvian pollo and cerveza.

Hostel Del Patio, Lima

Next day he got up and went for a walk around Miraflores.  It is definitely one of the better parts of the city and was by the coast, so we took a stroll down to the Pacific Ocean.  I can't say the beach was all that impressive - pretty dirty,  and we declined the surf lessons a guy was offering us.

After a coffee and empanada (like a bridie), we headed to the bus station to get out first long distance bus to Nazca.  I have to say the bus company Cruz Del Sur are amazing.  The most luxurious buses I have every been on.  There is a stewardess who serves a meal on the bus, Wifi and movies.  A bit of a step up from the mega bus !!!!

Gillian on the Cruz Del Sur bus.

Nazca.
We arrived in Nazca about 8pm at night and grabbed a Taxi to our accommodation in Nazca.  Our taxi driver Arturo turned out also to be a Sandboarder who offered to take us out for a trip to the Cerro Blanco a massive sand dune over 2000M, so after a bit of  negotiation we agreed for him to pick us up at 7am the next morning.  The Nazca House was again a very comfortable hostel and the owner Nancy was great and looked after us really well.

The next morning Arturo picked us up early doors and we drove up the the Cerro Blanco.  It was about 3 hours to hike to the summit.  Firstly through scrub and desert, then through sand dunes which was tough going, and as the morning wore on the it was getting pretty hot.  We then had a 1000M descent of the mountain which was great fun.  Gillian tried the sitting down technique and disappeared off at breakneck speed.  I tried the standing technique which wasn't as fast and after a few mouthfuls of sand made to the bottom.  It was fun, but I think I'll stick to snowboarding !!!!!

Gillian ready for action.

Dean and Arturo climbing Cerro Blanco.

Dean and the Cerro Blanco in the background.

After the sandboarding we got cleaned up, then headed out for a Pizza and a Cerveza, before getting the night bus to our next destination Arequipa.  We really enjoyed our day in Nazca, even though we didn't see the Lines for which the area is famous!