After sickness and a few more Inca ruins around Cuzco, we headed to Nazca in the hope that we would get our appetites back. The altitude played havoc and we were ill every day in Cuzco pretty much. The overnight bus got us to Nazca at about 8am, where we headed straight for the airport to fly over the Nazca lines, ancient lines which were said to be made by pre-Incan people called the Nazcas. The lines are made by removing sun-darkened rock from the ground to reveal lighter rock, to leave symbols such as the astronaut, the spider, the monkey, the hummingbird, etc. As the lines are said to be around two thousand years old (discovered in 1911, same year as Machu Picchu, so we're suspicious and think maybe the Peru Tourist Board had something to do with it), the lines are a mystery. Some say astrological, some say they were made by aliens, we reckon the Tourist Board got a big stick and drew in the sand. After a hairy light aircraft flight circling the lines, we left Nazca a little disappointed and headed to Pisco, home of the Pisco Sour (and not much else). Pisco is a small port town, where every five minutes friendly taxi drivers or tour operators warn you not to take your passport, money or bag out with you for fear of getting robbed. Nice! It is however a good base for travelling to Huacachina, a small oasys in the Peruvian desert where we went sand boarding and sand buggying with a Peruvian Top Gun enthusiast (he had the aviators and everything). Sandboarding is great fun, and Allison was like a rocket on those dunes, though she probably should have worn a different top as she headed down those dunes head first! No pictures I'm afraid. Rich tried to board down the first one though failed miserably, so tried the head first technique for the rest. We were the only two to attempt the last dunes too....had to beat the French wimps who were in our group! Also from Pisco you can visit the Paracas National Reserve and take a boat ride out to Isla Ballestas, which is a small island off the coast of Peru famous for guana (bird poop), thousands of birds, penguins and sea lions. Its described as a poor man's Galapagos. On the way back in we also saw a group of dolphins. The afternoon of the tour was spent walking along a shabby coast line in the Paracas National Reserve, and trying to spot flamingos that were about a mile away (you're not allowed to go closer), so all in all a waste of time. We were grateful to leave Pisco on the overnight bus to Arequipa (Royal Class of course!).