After arriving back from Machu Picchu we spent two more nights in Cusco catching up on washing and internet time while also discovering that our car was suffering an injury yet again. The right rear wheel had begun making an awful screeching sound on the way up to the campground so Will took the offending wheel off and discovered that the park brake cable and spring had failed with bits of the spring grinding out our drum as the wheel rotated causing the noise. So we wouldn't have a park brake, its no bother most of the cars in South America don't either and the Dodge is an automatic so we still had the transmission park brake. Despite our car problems which included a fair few other things particularly the new tyres wearing badly on the front inside, we decided to push on and get what we could fixed later in Lima. We hadn't seen many Dodges in Cusco so didn't like our chances of finding parts there.
The next morning we woke up at 6am and said good bye to our friends of Landcrusing Adventure for the second time then hit the road for the mammoth 13 hour / 600km drive to Nazca. Most overlanders wouldn't dream of driving this far in one day but we really wanted to make some distance after 10 days in Cusco. Later that night and very tired we finally arrived in Nazca. As we drove around in circles looking for a place to stay our patience was wearing thin. Once we found the recommended overlanders spot, Hotel Mezon Suiss; we were told that it was $10us or 25 soles each just for camping. This was more than we had paid for nice hostel rooms with ensuites so we looked elsewhere and eventually found a nice but small room with parking and ensuite for 40 soles. Of course then we couldn't cook our dinner on the cooker so rather then spend more money on food we went to bed too exhausted to eat anyway.
In the morning the plan was to drive to the Nazca lines lookout tower, see the famous lines and then continue north. But as we approached the lines Will saw all of the small aircraft flying around overhead and decided he did want to do the plane ride after all. I was not impressed by this as we had driven quite far away from the airport and by returning we would have to pay an expensive road toll. An argument ensued as we drove to the airport but by the time we boarded the Cessna 210 turbo all was well. We sat behind the pilot and 18 year old co-pilot with a mother and daughter behind us in the six seater plane. Will had a interesting chat with the friendly pilots about the plane before take off as he has his private pilots licence in New Zealand. The preflight check was done while the plane was rolling and soon we were in the air cruising at 200knots towards the the first of the lines. The lines were a little hard to spot at first being smaller than I had imagined. Sadly they also had lots of vehicle tracks through them, but our pilots made sure we saw each one banking right then left around them individually. Overall the flight was great despite being a little expensive, each of us having paid $80us and a $10us airport tax and was not at all the stomach turner as the guide book had described. The turns were smooth and the pilots were (at least to Peruvian standards) very professional.
In the morning the plan was to drive to the Nazca lines lookout tower, see the famous lines and then continue north. But as we approached the lines Will saw all of the small aircraft flying around overhead and decided he did want to do the plane ride after all. I was not impressed by this as we had driven quite far away from the airport and by returning we would have to pay an expensive road toll. An argument ensued as we drove to the airport but by the time we boarded the Cessna 210 turbo all was well. We sat behind the pilot and 18 year old co-pilot with a mother and daughter behind us in the six seater plane. Will had a interesting chat with the friendly pilots about the plane before take off as he has his private pilots licence in New Zealand. The preflight check was done while the plane was rolling and soon we were in the air cruising at 200knots towards the the first of the lines. The lines were a little hard to spot at first being smaller than I had imagined. Sadly they also had lots of vehicle tracks through them, but our pilots made sure we saw each one banking right then left around them individually. Overall the flight was great despite being a little expensive, each of us having paid $80us and a $10us airport tax and was not at all the stomach turner as the guide book had described. The turns were smooth and the pilots were (at least to Peruvian standards) very professional.
After the flight we drove back past the look out towers and decided to have a closer look at the lines on the ground. We knew this wouldn't be quite kosher but it was easy to leave the road and drive over the defined gravel roads to the lines. We found the spider and being very careful not to disturb anything had a quick look. Given the meagre dip and change of stone colour that makes up the lines we were amazed that they are still around and have been since 500AD. They could so easily be destroyed why weren't they fenced off and protected we wondered. After returning to the Dodge we were approached by a man on a motorbike signalling trouble so without stopping we sped back onto the road while he took photos of our car. Oppps.
A little worried the police might be after us we high tailed it to the desert oasis town of Huacachina known for its crazy dune buggy rides and sand boarding. We checked into the Desert Nights Hostel then cooked our lunch/dinner at 3pm in the sandy car park which we shared with the street dogs. Among the dog poo and the rubbish; it wasn't that nice really but the dune buggies were awesome. We had nine people in ours (there were bigger ones) and for 35 soles we ripped around the dues flying up and down hills at crazy speeds and stopping every now and then for a spot of sandboarding or a photo opportunity. We often thought how smooth the ride was compared to the Dodge surely there is something wrong with our suspension we were thinking? That night after agreeing to share one meal we soon ordered two and whittled away the hours on the fast Internet announcing our six months on the road to the world of Facebook and finally discovering what was wrong with our shocks. I'll let Will explain in the next blog...
A little worried the police might be after us we high tailed it to the desert oasis town of Huacachina known for its crazy dune buggy rides and sand boarding. We checked into the Desert Nights Hostel then cooked our lunch/dinner at 3pm in the sandy car park which we shared with the street dogs. Among the dog poo and the rubbish; it wasn't that nice really but the dune buggies were awesome. We had nine people in ours (there were bigger ones) and for 35 soles we ripped around the dues flying up and down hills at crazy speeds and stopping every now and then for a spot of sandboarding or a photo opportunity. We often thought how smooth the ride was compared to the Dodge surely there is something wrong with our suspension we were thinking? That night after agreeing to share one meal we soon ordered two and whittled away the hours on the fast Internet announcing our six months on the road to the world of Facebook and finally discovering what was wrong with our shocks. I'll let Will explain in the next blog...
After breakfast with a bus load of school children looking at us we left Huacachina got fuel in Ica then followed a faithful google maps track into the sand dunes towards the coast. We soon came across another foreign plated vehicle leaving the dunes. The loan Swiss driver warned us of the dangers of Peru having had his truck broken into several times, but we are still to date incident free. Keen to test out the Dodge in the sand it had no problems until Will looking to get a good photo drove over a bank and crossed axled the wheels leaving the Dodge tittering on the edge by its belly. After an hour of sandy gravel digging we got it free and made it to the surprisingly nice town of Paracas. The drive around the coast and through the Paracas reserve to the Paracas township was awesome we would defiantly recommend it, the coast was wild with the dunes dropping straight into the sea. There were a few fishing villages along the way though so don't expect to be completely alone even in the reserve.
We had planed to spend the night in the larger town of Pisco but had heard that it wasn't the nicest so we found a hostel in the gem of a town that is Paracas. While signing the register at the hostel we were stoked to see that our friends Mark and Maddy were also here! We left a note on their door and took a late afternoon walk along the beach. It was a beautiful spot about as good as it gets in Peru with new white plastered buildings in between the typical empty rubble sites. We even walked through a eloquent American styled resort pretending like we were staying there. Back at the hostel we found Mark and Maddy grabbed a few beers then headed out for a $7nz two course meal of cebiche (raw fish cooked in lemon and lime juice) followed by fish cooked to our liking with rice and salad, it was fresh and delicious. In the morning we slept late then had Mark offer to cook us breakfast! Could it get any better? We didn't want to leave but knew we needed to, so after some movie and music swapping we made our way back to the Panamericana highway. Our thoughts lost in dreams of sunbathing pool side at the resort as Maddy planed to do.
Following a friends recommendation for Pisco and wine bodega's we turned off the highway at San Vicente de Cañete and meandered up the valley following the Rio Cañete. We weren't expecting much as there didn't seem to be any grapes growing in the fields like there was in northern Chile but we had come in the winter low season. The bodega's were hard to find but we spotted one, Vina Los Reyes and went inside. It was small, but us and another minibus of tasters received an explanation of the wines and Pisco then enjoyed free tastings of anything we wanted! We tried to buy two bottles of wine but they didn't have any change typical in all of South America so we could only buy one. Next stop was Santa Maria where we tasted more wine and Pisco in a dark cellar setting. They all thought it was hilarious that I had trouble finishing the glass of straight 40% Pisco, nice as it was I think I prefer it in the Pisco Sour cocktail thanks. After buying another bottle of wine we left in search of food for our empty stomachs.
We thought we had found the perfect place - a roadside eatery with camping for 5 soles each out the back. We parked up the Dodge, set up the bed and took a seat at one of the outdoor tables. After some confusion Will ordered shrimp and I ordered deep fried pork. Both meals were mediocre but Wills especially was a lot more expensive than we imagined at 30 soles! We paid up letting it go frustrated with ourselves for not checking the price before hand. We then climbed into our house aka the Dodge to watch a movie on the laptop as we sometimes do. In the morning we woke up and got ready to leave but Will discovered his jandles (flip flops) that he'd left outside were missing. Unfortunately we discovered them chewed to bits out the back with the owners dog. We complained to the owner who said it wasn't her dog though it clearly was, it had been around the whole time we had been there so eventually she refunded our camping which was less then half the cost of the jandles. Will would now be onto his forth pair for the trip. It was time to go so we rejoined the Panamericana paying a plethora of tolls along the way. Whilst trying to avoid one toll we came across a group of locals who had formed a ring in the middle of the road and were seriously engaged in a session of cock fighting. We asked to watch the action for a while but after seeing enough feathers go flying we made for the road again, in the end it was not a good idea trying to avoid the toll as they had all our possible escapes blocked off… damn it!
Rochelle & Will
Rochelle & Will