Nazca, amazing mummies and one last stopover at the coast.

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I admit I did not go up in the light aircraft to view the Nazca lines from above, I only viewed them from a small raised platform so the views were rather limited. It was a decision made based on the risk mainly. Apparently there have been a few recent fatalities due to the aircraft crashing because of the wind conditions in the area. Instead I opted for lunch, saving my money for something that was more fun, that wouldn´t make me feel nauseous and that didn´t have such a serious life risk attached to it, (oh that probably includes drinking alcohol and trying to navigate your way around a strange city then!) Some people who took the flight loved it and others were a little dissapointed with the views and reported that they did feel quite green in places!

Far more interesting was the nearby Chauchilla cemetry, a small non commercialised old cemetry discovered fairly recently with few resources and finance to preserve the amazing mummies, many which dated approximately 2000 years old and were found on the surface of the dessert having been dug up by grave diggers in the recent past and left exposed to the sun and the air. The grave diggers were only interested in the gold silver and textiles often buried with the mummies along with ceramics. Our tour guide was fantastic and so passionate about his work, showing us an article from National Geographic which was a recent discovery he had been working on. We felt really blessed to view this uncommercial cemetry but it is a shame it can´t be preserved better as in 20 years the mummies will have decayed. The pictures show it all really.

After another long drive through yet some more peruvian desert coastline we stopped to camp at a really pretty coastal bay named Puerto Inca overlooked by a small ruins. noe further south along the Peruvian coast we really noticed the difference. The sea was rough with strong currents so not swimmable and the water cold. I took a beautiful walk uphill to the ruins looking across the bay and watching the sunset, and enjoying some time out by myself in the rugged landscape which had been home to the inca´s many years before. Again, the photo´s hopefully interpret some of the beauty of the place.