Day 9 - Wauchachina - Araquipa

Day 9 - Wauchachina - Nazca - Araquipa

 After  eggs for breakfasts, we dropped our backpacks with the Tour Guide to be put on the bus leaving after lunch. We would meet them in Nazca.

 Along with 5 Eustonian, we took a local taxi to Ica (8s total) and then caught a local Soyuz bus (10s ea) the 120km to Nazca. It was very barren landscape with lots of overtaking of semis. Also a number of stops to check our tickets on route. The trip from took 2.5 hrs.

We then were transported to the local airport and paid US$74 ea + 25s airport tax. We shared the 8 seater Cessna with a friendly columbian family who were on a one week holiday.

The flight at approx 800ft (city is at 1700ft) and took in about 10 different figures (monkey, dog, man) and some of the hundreds lines built around 200-700AD. There was lots of steep turns so each side could see and it was quite warm.

 We had a late lunch in Cuzco at an nice upstairs open cafe, and took a tour (along with slow Estonias) to see the 1300 yr old mummies, about 30 km out of town. It was amazing to see such well preserved bodies, probably as it only rains for 8 hrs per year! The tombs were first found and pilfered 80yrs ago after being untouched for so long.

At 19:00 we were picked up by the PeruHop overnight bus to Arequipa. It was full and the road very twisty in places, even though it was along the coast. It took about 9 hrs to reach the  city and about 1hr to drop everyone at their hotel