Ica, Paracas, y Nasca

Last weekend my group took a trip down the Pan-American Highway to the cities of Ica, Paracas and Nasca.

Our first stop was Ica, a city situated in the desert coast of Peru, that suffered from a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in August 2007. While the town was still working on repairs, the area surrounding the Huacachina Oasis was definitely prepped for tourists. The natural oasis and giant sand dunes are pretty much the only tourist attractions in the area, but definitely a must hit spot for adventurers.

I had no idea how expansive the desert was until 8 of us climbed into a massive dune buggie driven by a large man named Carlos and let him drive us out into the middle of it. Oh, did I say drive? I meant, floor it up the sand mountains, spin us around the edges, and then plunge down the 100-200 foot straight drops (yes, the dunes get that high) - all ending with sand in uncomfortable places, a very raspy voice, and praising the man who invented the seatbelt harness contraption in the buggie seats. We watched the sunset from the middle of the desert and then Carlos handed us sandboards (way harder than it looks). Five days later, I was still finding sand in my ears and nose.

In Paracas we headed to Isla Ballestas - a set of 300 million-year-old islands famous for its abundant wildlife and only able to be viewed by boat. There are said to be over 200 types of marine species living on the island, including sea lions and Humboldt penguins. The sea lions were adorable (especially the baby ones! see the photo)! Hundreds of them covered the beaches, making tons of noise and running around in a way that reminded me of humans on the beach. It sort of made me wonder what we would look like to animals if they could take touristy boat rides around the outskirts of our beach destinations. There were also tons of birds, hence why my friend and I have our life jackets over our heads for protection...

Our last stop on this trip was Nasca (or Nazca). Famous for the Nazca lines - a set of geoglyphs thought to have been created by natives between 200 BC and 700 AD. There are hundreds of symbols - some as intricate as monkeys, whales, spiders, fish, llamas, and lizards - while others are just lines. Some believe that these figures are directly related to astrological observations, and some believe that aliens created them. Honestly, (and I know this may come off unappreciative) I didn't think they were that impressive. It looked like a little kid drew up designs and then all the grown ups went outside and drew them in the dirt. We took a tiny 6 person plane over the lines, where the pilot circled the plane around the drawings until everyone was nauseous and praying for the ride to be over. Ugh, just thinking about that now makes me dizzy.

Enjoy the photos!!