Oblivion ??? ….. Bolivia !!!!

Monday, the 30th started with another early wake-up call to get to the airport in time for my 8:00 am plane to Lima. The flight was only about an hour but the scenery out the window, over the snow-capped Andes, was magnificent. As we cleared the mountains and approached Lima, the sky became cloudy. It was the first day that hadn’t been sunny. I took a cab to my hotel and went to sleep once settled…. too many early wake up calls lately. I had previously decided that I wasn’t going to worry about seeing the sites of Lima. After nap time I went out to wander. My first impression was that this was a big, busy modern city, with lots of familiar landmarks - Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut. The crowded streets and sidewalks could have been anywhere. Even the large red and white Peruvian flags are just like ours, without the Maple Leaf. I looked in a lot of handicrafts and souvenir stores, in between Internet stops. I walked through Kennedy Park with its very unflattering statue of JFK, to another artisans’ market in the centre of the park. Had a burger & fries in a Peruvian restaurant - successfully resisting McDonald’s, and deciding to pass up on the Cuy. And another early night…

Happy Canada Day - July 1, and a 3:15 AM wake up call to be able to catch the 4:30 bus to Ica. zzzzz !!

I got dropped off at Las Dunas Hotel and Resort and was greeted by Ronny, my host and guide for the day. This was a 5 star place & I wondered what I was doing there ? Well, I was waiting for the clouds to lift so I could take my flight over the Nazca Plains to view the ancient line drawings. I got to sit in the hotel’s business centre, on the Internet, waiting for the sun. Ronny finally came and got me - time to go. It was mostly sunny with some clouds, but perfectly fine for flying. The landing strip was a 10 minute ride away and had a short wait until take-off. The plane was a six-seater and I got to sit in the co-pilot’s seat !! This was the smallest airplane I’d ever been on. After take off it was about a 20 minute trip to the Lines. The pilot tilted the wings as we flew over each design, first to one side and then the other so all of us could get a good view. The lines are not as distinct in person as they are in the enhanced photos of the postcards, guide books or the Indiana Jones movie. I had trouble locating some at first, but saw everything I supposed to - lots of trapezoids, parallel and converging lines; and, biomorphs of a spider, hummingbird, heron, condor, tree, parrot, monkey, hands, dog, and an astronaut. It was a very exciting flight that last about 90 minutes. That these are only identifiable from the air makes me like the “Chariots of the Gods” theory - ancient astronauts visited the Earth thousands of years ago.

Another thrill off my list !!

I returned to Las Dunas poolside for a luxurious buffet lunch and lounging by the pool waiting for my bus pick-up back to Lima. I got back around 9:00, went to Dunkin’ Donuts for a sandwich and went back to the hotel.

I took another easy-going day on that Wednesday, enjoying the “civilization” of Lima. Morning coffee (with diesel fumes) and the Herald Tribune at Starbucks’ sidewalk cafe, lunch at KFC, and dinner at Pizza Hut. In between all that fine dining I walked, getting lost and found, visiting a couple of Internet places, touring a couple of big supermercados and more artisan/souvenir centres. Went back for King Kong on TV, with Spanish sub-titles.

If I ever come back to South American, I’d certainly return to Peru. I’ve learned of many other interesting places to visit that I didn’t know of before. My new first-choice to find different teaching job is Cuzco.

Who knows ??