Barranco farewell

Back in Lima, our guide took us on a mini tour of Lima by night through the bohemian district of Barranco and its traditional Bridge of Sighs. We then had dinner and watched a show in “La Dama Juana” restaurant, which features Peruvian dances, music and folklore from the Coast, Andean and Amazon regions.

After a magnificent holiday, it was the long journey home via Sao Paolo in Brazil.  Coffee helped

a few of my Peruvian treasures - the Tari crema de aji is a fantastic hot sauce 

I'm totally in love with Peruvian table runners!  I should have bought a lot more of them 

This alpaca shawl is so gorgeous and will keep me warm in winter 

Alpaca wool for a little crocheted knee blanket 

 Hot sauce which is made in the Amazon jungle - yummy

and a few gifts for my nieces, family and friends

Our Peruvian adventure was awesome, amazing and incredible. I enjoy all my holidays, but this one...Peru is a very special place, forever in my heart.

 

Ballestas Islands

Our final excursion was a boat ride out to Ballestas Islands, situated off the coast of the Paracas Reserve, Peru's largest coastal wildlife sanctuary. These two beautiful islands are home to thousands of resident migratory sea birds. These include pelicans, boobies, cormorants and gulls who share their habitat with colonies of sea lions.

We also saw another geolith - the Paracas Candelabra.  Also called the Candelabra of the Andes, this is a well-known prehistoric geoglyph found on the northern face of the Paracas Peninsula at Pisco Bay in Peru. Pottery found nearby has been radio carbon dated to 200 BCE, the time of the Paracas culture. The design is cut two feet into the soil

Leonie and I loved loved LOVED this excursion!

Nazca Lines

Heading towards the end of our magnificent South American adventure, Condor Travel picked us up from our hotel in Lima and we drove down the coastal highway along the Pacific Coast to your hotel in Ica.  So far in Peru, we had experienced the jungle and the mountains, now we were in the desert.

The local airport was built as a regional hub, but is only used for the flights over Nazca and the occasional medical emergency flight.  It felt odd being in a huge, empty airport.

I suffer terribly from motion sickness, so I took the necessary tablets before the flight, prayed hard and was fine (thank you Lord!). 

 It's a gentle hour-long flight out to the Nazca lines, then the pilots do some scary twists and turns so that everyone gets a chance to see and photograph the ancient formations in the desert.    

The Nazca Lines are a series of large ancient geoglyphs in the Nazca Desert, in southern Peru. The largest figures are up to 370 m (1,200 ft) long. They were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The high, arid plateau stretches more than 80 km (50 mi) between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana, about 400 km south of Lima. Although some local geoglyphs resemble Paracas motifs, scholars believe the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca culture between 500 BC and 500 AD

Back on terra firma, we overnighted at the Hilton DoubleTree Resort