My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
We spent the day today in Arequipa. Our hotel, Katari, is one of the nicest we have stayed at on this trip. It is located right on the main square. We ate breakfast on the roof overlooking the square and the volcanoes in the distance.
This afternoon we toured the basilica.
From the roof we had an excellent view of the square and the volcanoes above the town.
Afterwards we shared a beer overlooking the square.
We had a wonderful dinner at the restaurant Chi Cha.
We stayed in Nazca Monday night. Nazca is most well known for the Nazca Lines. These ancient figures etched into the desert floor were created by the Nazca people about 2000 years ago. Many people take tours to see the figures from small planes but we took a land tour this morning to see what we could from the ground.
We went back out of town the way we came in yesterday. We climbed a couple of towers and went to the Casa Museo Maria Reiche. Marie Reiche is the German women who helped publicize the lines and save them from destruction. It was amazing to me that at ground level or even from our bus yesterday you wouldn’t realize there was anything to see but from the tower you could clearly see that the giant figures were there.
We finished our tour around noon and then at 2:30 we caught the bus to Arequipa. This time we were in the first class seats on the bottom floor of the bus. It was quire comfortable. The first part of the trip was through an empty moonscape landscape.
We were supposed to get to Arequipa about midnight. Unfortunately with four hours to go our bus broke down. They brought out a replacement bus and we were back to cramped seats. We ended up getting to Arequipa about 4 am.
Breakfast at the Gran Palma Hotel in Paracas was served on the roof overlooking the bay. Since our bus didn’t leave until 10:40 we were able to enjoy a relaxing breakfast this morning.
The bus ride to Nazco was about four hours. It was mostly through empty desert but towards the end we did see some vineyards.
In Nazca we are staying at a wonderful hotel called Casa Hacienda Nazca Oasis. It really is an Oasis. We were picked up at the bus station by the brother of the owner. This afternoon we relaxed by the pool and then had dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Paracas is a small coastal town that is somewhat of a tourist hub for the nearby reserves. Both nights here we have eaten fish for dinner at a beach restaurant. We are staying at the Gran Palma Hotel.
This morning we took a boat tour to Islas Ballestas. The boat ride to the islands took about half an hour and we motored around the islands for about 45 minutes. We saw thousands of birds including Humboldt Penguins, Peruvian Boobies, Pelicans, and Inca Terns. There were also lots of Sea Lions. Sea Lions are Lobos Marinos in Spanish.
This afternoon we hired a taxi and took a tour of Paracas National Reserve. It is a huge coastal desert park. The sand dunes and beaches were beautiful. We stopped for ceviche and beer at one beach.
Tomorrow we will catch a bus to Nazca.
This morning we went out walking in the Mira Flores part of Lima where we were staying. Our hotel was only a few blocks from the ocean.
We took a one o’clock bus for Om Lima to Paracas. It was the first time we have used the Cruz Del Sur bus line. It was by far the best bus ride so far. For one thing they only has three seats across upstairs. We were in the very front seat.
Paracas is about four hours south of Lima. The route is all desert so we drove through sand the whole way.
We had fish for dinner on the beach.
This afternoon after we arrived we made reservations to take a boat trip to the Islas Ballestas tomorrow morning.
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