Huacachina to Nazca

Monday, September 23, 2019

Hotel Alegría, Ica, Peru

Yesterday was a travelling day. We said good-bye to Huacachina and made our way further south to Nazca.

We travelled through the desert, the driest desert on earth in fact. A dusty beige and wide open “country,” save for a dotting of sand-dunes here and there. At one point we drove through a low lying mountainous region; the mountains were free of vegetation and made of what appeared to be perfectly rounded rocks mixed between layers of limestone.

As our bus isn’t a tour bus, but a mode of transportation, there was no commentary along the way. So, when we passed through endless desert country with multiple pieces of land cordoned off with a single wicker dwelling on each property, we wondered who lived here and why. With little water, no discernible vegetation and no sign of life, we couldn’t even imagine what was happening here.

Not long after, we started through another mountainous region that seemed to rise up in juxtaposition to the desert around it. The same round rocks and limestone were precisely cut to fit the width of two transport trucks with a bit of wiggle room left over. If you put your fingers out the window you would most certainly have them knocked clear off your hand; it was that tight a fit.

To get to the top, we zigzagged along countless switchbacks until we finally reached the summit. From here, you could get a glimpse of a valley breathing with life; there were orchards a plenty and I realized just exactly how starved this region is for colour when I saw these beautifully bright, fruit bearing trees.

Pisco Sour Tour en route to Nazca

Down into the valley we went, switchbacking along the way. Once in the valley, we passed through a community aptly named Los Californos and you could sense a different kind of energy here.

Perhaps Los Californos was a wee bit more affluent due to a nearby open-pit copper mine owned by an overseas company.

Houses were simple but made of concrete and painted wistfully with an array of pastel colours. People were selling fruit along side the road; heaps and heaps of oranges in carts waiting to be sold, added more colour to the town.

Outside of the homes, were a single plant being nurtured by its owner, some with intense magenta petals. I regret that we did not stop here as my pictures were taken from a moving bus and do not do the town justice.

The thing that stood out the most perhaps was that there wasn’t a single piece of garbage anywhere. Not on the streets. Not in the ditches. Not along their highway. Nowhere. We were gobsmacked. It was remarkable. Our experience so far is that, bits of Peru, particularly rural, seem to have a bit of a plastic problem.

Pisco Sour Tour en route to Nazca

A few hours after Los Californos we found our way into the city of Nasca. It was 6:30 pm and already dark. We checked in to our hotel and went for a look about in the city centre.

Nasca city centre is rustic and beautifully so. In some ways it reminded me of Vietnam with crazy wiring on its street poles and its street vendors popping up after the lights go down. Fried chicken skewers and giblets being barbecued on tiny cast iron griddles heated by open charcoal. Little old ladies squat with bums almost touching the ground tending to these tiny makeshift, sidewalk food stalls.

One man, with bread already kneaded, rolled and shaped, placed tiny trays of dough in a little oven; offering the freshest of bread to his customers.

There were people sitting on impromptu bucket stools, selling Peruvian cheese with their blocks adorned with simple cheesecloth as the cool evening air acted as refrigeration!

There were fruit stalls with produce I had not seen before. There was something the same colour as a Granny Smith apple, soft like a ripe avocado but looked like it had been hacked away on its sides with a long knife, though the flesh wasn’t torn.

There was something else that felt like a firm tomato but was yellow, perfectly round and had uniform brown spots. I honestly couldn’t tell you if these were the best products on the market, seconds, fresh, bruised or rotten. In all instances, these stalls are not set up for tourists; they’re for locals and locals were buying from them aplenty.

Paul and I found a “local” place to eat and checked out some Peruvian favourites. Some grilled and skewered chicken gizzards for Paul (chicken is a HUGE deal in Nasca) and I opted for a beef noodle soup in spicy cow’smilk. With bellies full and a good day punched, we headed for our hotel and called it a night.