After descending about 4000m in about 2 hours at the end of the bus journey from Cusco we got into Nazca early on Monday morning with ears popping!!

We found our hostel and booked onto a trip to a pre Inca cemetery called Chauchilla to occupy us for the afternoon. This was pretty interesting but very touristy, the graves and bones are genuine but have been moved about quite a lot and the best examples have been moved to the front. We then got taken to a pottery workshop where 2000 year old ceramics were passed around, thankfully none got dropped!! Finally we saw the gold extraction process, the bloke showing us this was absolutely hilarious but I don't think he was trying to be!! The whole tour was a bit of a disaster, cost us more than we wanted and we had wanted to go and see some old aqueducts that were apparently on the tour although we never got there!!

We got up early the next morning to go on a flight over the Nazca lines. Unfortunately when we got there we were told that there were only 3 - seater planes and since we were in a group of 4 this was a problem. I offered to go first and be co-pilot with some other tourists. The flight was great fun, banking steeply both directions you could feel the blood rushing to your head!! The lines were pretty amazing, it is still unknown exactly when and how they were made but it is guessed at approximately 2500 years ago! The shapes are absolutely huge, the smallest one, the whale, is 65m long. The trapezoids are the biggest about 3km long!!

The flight was only about 40 minutes and as my plane landed Sarah?s took off, she was co-pilot too and managed to get some great photos, (you have to look closely!) Yes the lines really are that faint!! Most postcards enhance the whiteness of the lines!

We were quite happy to leave Nazca, it is not the most picturesque of places!! We left in a 1968 Chevrolet Bel-Air, heading to Huacachina, an oasis in the middle of the desert 4km from Ica. This is close to where the earthquake was, but apparently Huacachina was ok and fine to go and visit according to the most helpful restaurant owner in the whole of South America which was so good we ate there 3 times!! Will let you know how bad the damage is if we get to Huacachina!!

Love A&S xxx