Lines in the Sand

The Nazca Lines have been part of this desert for 1600 years. While their history is a mystery, these works of art, visible from the sky, remain in tribute ingenuity and creativity. 

The Alien

The Dog

The Condor

The Whale

This trapezoid is 3 kilometres long.

The Monkey

The Hummingbird

The Spider

The Parrot

The Tree (left) and Hands (right)

Your guess is as good as mine.

Boobies

That is Blue-footed boobies...

Humbolt Penguins

With  cormorant...see how they look similar

Native Life

With a little time this morning, we left our group for a two hour tour to see the sea birds and other aquatic creatures in this area.

Peruvian yellow-headed pelicans

Nesting cormorants

Sea spiders

Sea lions

Ballestas Islands

Millions of birds....really millions!

With all of these birds taking flight, we are lucky we did not get...well you know!

Choose your Ride and your Speed

This highway sign says it all.  There are different speed limits depending on your ride.

The reality is that these signs are of little consequence. Drivers go at whatever speed they like - sounds like home, eh?

Ocean meets Sand

The coastline of southern Peru is mostly desert. Ocean meets sand and the sand simply continues as far as the eye could see.

Murmuration

While birds have long held my fascination, murmuration was a phenomenon that had eluded me until today. 

Following our troublesome morning, this gift from nature was spellbinding.

Birds flocked in a large group forming patterns that shifted and flowed across the sky.

Potatoes Anyone?

Peru grows thousands of varieties of potatoes. Our visit to the grocery store in Lima afforded us the chance to see aisles of varieties of this tuber. 

Footnote

Peru has declared a state of emergency, and the heart of the trouble is in the area of Puno, especially in Juliaca!

Seen from the airplane, the streets of Juliaca are deserted. 

Happily, we arrived safely in Lima and can now laugh at this morning's ordeal.

Von traps to the Walking Dead

The sun had just reached the horizon over Lake Titicaca as we began our escape from Puno.

The Peruvian government has made a deal with a mining company.  The citizens, unhappy with the situation are protesting. Later this morning school children and teachers will be joining the protest. To avoid this extra onslaught of protestors we left our hotel at the crack of dawn, fleeing Puno, like the famed Von Trapp family.

Everywhere, police lined the streets.

Garbage, rocks and glass were strewn over the roads to deter traffic.  Fires were burning on the roads.

At times we felt that we were in a war zone.

In Juliaca, on our way to the airport, the streets were almost deserted, reminding of our scenes from the walking dead.

Instead of a bus, we were shuttled to the airport in two vans and our luggage came in another vehicle. To avoid protests we were taken on an impromptu tour of the backstreets of Juliaco.

We arrived at the Juliaco airport, almost five hours before our flight, feeling like refuges having escaped impending disaster. The airport has few services, little seating, had no heat and is crowded with other escapees.

Sillustani Tombs

The pre-Incan people in this ares, the Collas, believed strongly in an afterlife. To help those who have moved from this world, they build tombs, called chullpas and prepared bodies for the afterlife.

The tomb at the top of the hill was built for nobility, while the one in the foreground was for the average person. Slaves were buried in shallow graves and exhumed to be relocated for burial with their master.

The lizard image was used to signify regrowth in the afterlife. The tombs of the nobility were made of finely hewn stone, created with groves to fit together.

Bodies were prepared for burial by removing the organs and replacing these with llama droppings to preserve the body. Herbs were added to deter animals. The bodies were then placed in the fetal position, because this is how they came into the world. Covered in a fine cloth, the body was then placed in a bag of animal fibres and laid in the tomb.

Stones were put in the bottom of the tomb, then bodies fit into specially prepared grooves and more stones were added to fill the space.

Stone ramps were used to build and complete the tombs ramps.

Uros

Imagine living on a pile of dried reeds, floating in the highest altitude lake in the world.

The people of the Uros Islands live this experience everyday. In the 1500's, fearing the approaching Incas, the Uro people hid among the reeds on these islands. After the Incas left, the Spaniards again threatened the Uros. From that time island living became the way of life. 

Islands are created by cutting out the roots and soil upon which the reeds grow. These are tied together and reeds are piled on top.

The people then build houses, boats and what ever they need to live on the island.

While most people cook on special clay stoves, others enjoy the luxury of harnessed solar power to run devices.

Crafts are created and then sold to help sustain the family.

While others use their creative skills to bring character to their island.

Reed boats were traditionally used for transporting. Now, motorized boats can be seen everywhere.

We were treated to a tour of the islands, learning that there is a nursery school, primary school and hospital available.

8 Hours Later

After a day of travel we were relieved to catch our first glimpses of Puno

 and Lake Titicaca, the highest elevation lake in the world.

No Bull About It

The bull was adopted by Peruvians as a symbol of luck.

Ceramic bulls are often perched on the roof of a house to bring good luck.