Marian Johns' Journal of the Desert
Explorers trip to Peru in 2002
Images by John Page unless otherwise noted
Day 17, September
20, Friday
Nazca to Lima See Map
Sept. 20, Friday – The drive up to Lima was uneventful. I took some photos in Ica of the mausoleum-type cemetery, also took one of huge mounds of trash strewn along the streets – disgusting! Don’t remember seeing this on our way through Ica the first time.
Pachacamac, the Inca and pre-Inca archaeological site that we missed on our way from Lima to Pisco two weeks ago, was on our route back to Lima.
With a little extra time, we made a quick driving tour of the ruins, stopping briefly at some of the huacas, and then hurried on into the city. It was there at Pachacamac that we saw our first Peruvian hairless dogs – strange looking, almost repulsive, and they do feel extra warm, just as we had read.
Somehow, with Mary’s navigational help, we made it through Lima’s chaotic traffic and found our way to Victor’s hostal. We were all bushed, so the hotel ordered us another chicken dinner, just as they did when we first arrived in Peru. Lima has been overcast both times we’ve been here, and years ago, I remember it was the same. It has to be one of the ugliest cities I’ve ever been in. The central plaza area is nice enough, but much of the rest is dirty and dreary – a hodgepodge of residences and businesses. Many building do not appear to be finished. They are built side by side with no room in between. It seems 90% of the cars and vehicles are for public transportation – taxis mostly, which are commonly Toyota Corollas and tiny Daewoo vans. There are also larger passenger vans and finally big buses. It’s impossible to describe the way these people drive, yet there seem to be very few fender benders. Maybe it’s because every one has to be super alert, plus traffic isn’t overly fast.
Somebody screwed up again, and locked the keys in the one of the trucks. This took a while, in light rain, to remedy.
For the rest of the trip, I have decided to leave my big, heavy bag at the hotel and just take my smaller daypack. After telling everyone else to pack light, I have brought too much myself. The heaviest items are the satellite phone and all that radio stuff I haven’t even used. There is plenty of radio equipment for the three trucks without mine. The radios are indispensable communication aids, especially when we are trying to maneuver through strange towns. We would have a much more difficult time without them.
