Leaving Lima

Viajes Pacifico picked me up from my hotel at 7 a.m. to drive to Paracas, a 3–hour drive, to fly over the Nazca Lines. It was the same company that I had some trouble connecting with at the Lima airport for the transfer to my hotel. However, this tour worked out fine. There were two other people on my tour, two men from Mexacali, Mexico, a bordertown with California. They drive up to Los Angeles often and we found we had enough in common to have good conversations. As they both spoke Spanish (one speaking English very well), the tour was conducted in both Spanish and English. We went in a small van with the three of us tour mates, our guide, our driver, and our driver’s assistant. A tour to the Nazca Lines from Lima is expensive and I booked through Viator. The prices for the tour kept changing, so if you want to take the tour, check back with them often for the lowest price. You are not guaranteed that you will go up in the plane to see the Nazca Lines as the flight is weather–related. We were lucky to have good weather for our flight. Some multiday escorted tours of Peru include the Nazca Lines, but whether you will go up to see them is still weather–related. Photo: Passing the upscale financial district of San Isidro in Lima on our way out of Lima.

Leaving Lima

Very soon we were passing Third World Peru on the Pan American Highway traveling south from Lima.

Brown Hills

We drove past miles upon miles of arid brown hills. Lima and this area get so little rainfall each year that you could say that it doesn’t rain at all ever. But there is a mist that comes in from the ocean in the morning which does wet the streets and which you actually could mistake for rain. But nothing to relieve the brownness of these hills and ground.

Resorts

About halfway to Paracas, in a town named, suprisingly, Asia, we were passing some upscale resorts by the ocean. The palm trees would have been watered by sprinklers. The sky was blue here, not like the never–ending overcast skies of Lima that they have during the winter, which was now.

Farms

After Asia, there was farmland and welcome greenery. The photo is of a farmhouse.

Piracas Airport

We made it to the modern Piracas Airport in about three hours.

Piracas Airport

The Piracas Airport was large and virtually empty except for people who would be going to the Nazca Lines. Last Sunday it wasn’t empty as this was where the planes coming into Lima were diverted to when the Lima airport was closed when a plane had to land at it on its belly. We had to go through a regular airport security screening here.

Tour Mates & Guide

My tour mates from Mexacali and my tour guide, in the middle. Good travel companions.

Our Cessna

I flew on a Cessna to and from Vieques Island in Puerto Rico and swore that I would never fly on a Cessna again, but here I was about to fly on another one. The flights in Puerto Rico were on a smaller Cessna and the flights were anything but smooth and were scary. It took me quite a while to decide to reserve this tour, but I did not think I would be in Peru again and the Nazca Lines are one of the country’s major sites. Surprisingly, the flight on this Cessna was very smooth going to and from the Nazca Lines.

In the Air

We flew over a desert of hills and canyons. It took about 1/2 hour of flight time to reach the Nazca Lines.

In the Air

We also flew over farmland in the desert canyons.

Nazca Lines

The Nazca Lines, which are ancient geoglyps, are on a plateau that stretches more than 50 miles (80 km). It is believed that the Lines were created by the Nazca culture between 500 BC and 500 AD. The first published account of them was in 1553 by Pedro Cieza de Leon. The first to report them were the Peruvian military and civilian pilots and the first scholar to study them was Paul Kosok in 1940–41. Most scholars believe them to have religious meanings.

Nazca Lines

This photo is of an aerial view of one of the geoglyps, that of a monkey. Although it is hard to see the monkey in the photo, I could see it from the air when taking the photo. The lines are very light. To show the Lines to people on the left side of the plane, me, the plane’s wing on my side would dip down to almost perpendicular to the ground and also very close to the ground. For people on the other side of the aisle to view the Lines, the wing on our side would be almost straight up. I had read about this in reviews of the tour and had taken a Dramamine, just in case, before the flight. I was fine but found it better to look up when the wing on the other side of the aisle was down rather than taking a look through the window opposite me. One of my Mexacali tour mates reported feeling dizzy during the flight. You can also view the Nazca Lines from one of the nearby hills.

Nazca Lines

A cropped photo of the monkey.

Nazca Lines

The spiral is the clearest of the geoglyphs from the air.

Nazca Lines

A view of the area where the Nazca Lines are located and the town right near them.

I have put my photos of our flight to see the Nazca Lines on a slideshow. Go to http://www.peggysphotos.com/nazca–lines/

(Slide Shows, South America, Peru, “Nazca Lines”).

Paracas Harbor

After our flight, we had lunch at the Paracas harbor. Photo: boats in the harbor.

Paracas Harbor

We ate a very nice lunch at the restaurant in this photo in front of the harbor. Here, it was in the 70s, sunny, and beautiful. It was dark by the time we arrived back in Lima.

I have put my photos of our drive from Lima to Paracas on a slideshow. Go to
http://www.peggysphotos.com/nazca–lines/

(Slide Shows, South America, Peru, “Lima to Paracas”).