Hiya Babe!
Wow, another amazing day in Peru! Got up in the dark, but was ready in plenty of time to be met by my guide, Geiner, and a driver, and I was swept away in a very nice car to play chicken in the traffic of Lima. It wasn't too bad this early in the morning, and we were soon on the PanAmerican Highway zooming southward. Three hours later we arrived at the harbor where I grabbed an empanada and were soon being loaded onto the sightseeing boat, heading out past an armada of boats and naval ships, though we saw three seals right on a platform next to the dock! The whole trip took about two hours, and we saw thousands of different types of seabirds and a lot more seals. Apparently the big industry is bird guano, which is still going on. My guide was surprised to learn that we harvest bat guano in this country (at least we did in the caverns out west, don't know if they still do). It was very educational, and I enjoyed the boat ride, though the amount of wildlife was a tiny bit underwhelming. What can I say, Africa spoiled me! We actually caught an earlier boat ride than was planned, so we had a little time on our hands, so we walked through the market until I found a place with more finger food, just to tide me over for the rest of the afternoon. When it was time, we headed to the Cusco International Airport, which, considering the size of the small town and the emptiness of the buildings, was WAY overkill for their needs. I'm guessing another "jobs program" type development. There was barely enough air traffic to consider it a civil airport, much less an international one! Oh, well! After paying the appropriate airport taxes, I was loaded onto about a 12 seater, single engine plane with half a dozen other people. I lucked out, Geiner got me the first seat in the front directly behind the pilot, so I had lots of window space, and wasn't near the back of the place, for which I was grateful, particularly when the "moves" started. It was a pretty quiet flight for about 30 minutes, then the fun began! The way it worked was, we would arrive at the first giant hieroglyph of the famous Nazca lines, and the pilot would put the plane at an almost 90 degree so that one side of the plane could look practically straight down at the carvings. Then he would circle around and do the same for the other side of the plane. I'm talking serious aerobatics! A lot of skill involved, for sure! Once we finished with the first one, we then moved on to the next and the next, 16 hieroglyphs in all. I was glad I took my Bonine this morning! I made it through, but not before breaking into a sweat, then later having a quick chill. All the while, the co-pilot was counting down to each glyph so that we all knew exactly when it would appear. It was quite the experience! I'm happy to report the Bonine did it's job, I didn't get motion sickness, though I will admit I was a bit queasy, and happy when the last glyph was done and we were able to straighten out for the return to the airport. Well worth doing, though! Another bucket list item checked! Geiner way waiting for me back and the airport and we quickly loaded into the car and headed back northward. I was pretty tired by then, and ended up falling asleep in the car for a couple of hours on the way back. Arrived back at the hotel, ordered a salad and their famous local drink, a Pisco sour through room service, which was delivered promptly, did some packing, took my shower, and now I'm headed to bed! Not such an early morning tomorrow, but still going to be a long day as I adjust to the 11,300 foot altitude of Cusco. I felt you with me today, my darlin'! I trust you're enjoying my adventures as much as I am! Love you! Buenas noches!
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