Nazca gets a bum reputaion as far as we are concerned. Everyone we`ve met says `get out of there quickly, there`s nothing to do`and the like, and that might be true but it`s a small, compact, tidy town with a handful of good restaurants, one fantastic internet cafe, and friendly and helpful people. After an utterly fantastic meal at one of said restaurants last night we took our penicillin we`d bought from a local pharmacy earlier in an attempt to start killing off the bugs we`re carrying. Jen`s had a cough and splutter for about 2 weeks now and I am just developing a mean sore throat. Thanks to the complete lack of curtains in our room we woke at about 4am and dozed until about 4.05, before the cockerels started making cockerel noises. This is an example of one of the reasons being in Peru is really like being back in Asia. The infrastructure is poor, the traffic is manic, the people have genuine smiles on their faces, and people work HARD for a living, seriously hard in some cases. And they`re the lucky ones, unemployment is currently running at 22%.

This morning (after the cocks) we headed to the cemetery in the middle of the desert at Chauchilla. This is an area of tombs some 2,000 years old which were discovered, and subsequently looted, in 1901. A German chap, Max Ulle was responsible for their discovery and some would say he was the first looter, many objects are now on display in German museums. It is a really earie place, with only 12 of the 1,400 tombs open, surrounded completely by desert. Our excellent guide talked us through the mummying process, people were placed in the foetal position, and put in wicker baskets, to help them be reborn. Food and drink were placed in the tomb with them, and their innards were removed, their skin embalmed. At the head of most tombs lay a baby, and many tombs of the more important people also contained hair grown by a nominated virgin (!) which was in some cases 3 metres long.

It was a really interesting morning, and was followed up by a trip to a local pottery maker, where he showed us the process he goes through to make the fantastic replicas of pre-Inca earthware. It was really good and, although we obviously had to visit his shop, there was no pressure to buy, although we did...

The final stop this morning was at a gold making area, where we saw the process they used to earn 100 USD a week, which is a good wage here. It involved mercury and none of them wore gloves/protective clothing. Many die very young or lose fingers etc...nice.

This afternoon was the trip out to the Nazca lines. These are huge shapes in the ground, only visible in their full glory from the air. The lines were first discovered after passenger flights started in Peru in 1920s. Most depict animals; a whale, a monkey, a dog, a hummingbord, amongst others. There is also a mysterious pair of hands, and one that looks like an astronaught. As above, the best (and only) way to see the lines is from the air. That means a light aircraft, a very light aircraft. The pilot strapped the two of us, a couple of locals, and a Canadian in, and immediately said it would be bumpy...oh and boy was it!!?? Jen is still green and it`s over an hour since we touched down. The flight itself was OK, I prefered it to airline flights, you could see all the instruments, what the pilot was doing etc...but in order for both sides of the aircraft to see each figure the pilot had to bank sharply (at 45 degrees) every cuople of minutes. It was fantastic though, they are pretty unique (although I believe there are some more, not as impressive ones just up the road), and it was well worth the 35 USD.

We`re booked on a night bus tonight, as per previous post, leaving at midnight, and arriving in Arequipa at 9am tomorrow. So we`ll miss the England match, come on England, a France Vs Aus final is like choosing between death by hanging or death by firing squad...