In the morning we drove into the desert to visit the Necropolis de Chauchilla, a site that has well preserved mummies from the pre-Incan Nazcas still in their graves. On the way we passed modern cemeteries and fields of opuntia cactus being grown to cultivate cochineal for dying cloth.
Back near the airport we visited a potter who worked with the traditional methods and styles of the Incas.
We then all took a 40 minute flight over the Nazca Lines. These are enormous geometric and animal shapes cut into the desert plateau by the Nazca about 2000 years ago, and can only really be seen from the air. The flight was worthwhile as much for the fascinating desert, mountains and braided rivers as for the ancient lines. In order to show the shapes to passengers on both sides, the pilot was constantly banking very steeply in each direction, resulting in a very wiggly flight-path... and very unsettled stomachs.
That night we drove into the country to an inn where they prepared pachamanca, a traditional Peruvian meal cooked underground on hot coals. Before the food was dug up we blessed it in the traditional way, by pouring on chicha morada, a sweet drink made from corn and tasting somewhat like grape juice.
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