This was the longest leg of our trip -- 650 km from Ica to Arequipa with a stopover in Nazca. It may not sound like a whole lot, but it’s 650 km of driving on a two-lane mountain road of endless serpentines.
We left at 8:30 in the morning and after two hours we got to the Nazca tower. It’s a metal tower in the desert from which you can see two of the many famous Nazca lines --- the hand and the monkey. We could see these two quite clearly, but in order to see the other ones, you have to fly over them. Ania and I also bought T-shirts from a Polish-speaking Peruvian vendor. We tried to bargain, but vendors there wouldn’t budge.
After a good lunch in the town of Nazca, we set off for Arequipa. We had two drivers so they alternated. Large part of the drive was a mountainous desert and at times, the road was almost totally covered with sand. We even saw a sand plough. When it got dark, Andrew took out his guitar and got us into group singing, probably to distract us from all the “curvas peligrosas” .
We got to Arequipa at 11 pm, checked into a hotel in the heart of town and went out for a walk. It’s a beautiful city --- massive colonial buildings made of white stone. The central plaza (In every city in Peru it is called Plaza de Armas) was beautifully lit. More Arequipa tomorrow…
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