Day 2 – Lows And Highs – The Bennetts On Tour

Shades of a year ago (Cairo’s call to prayer sirens) our sleep was undone by the local populace celebrating May 1st Workers Day by exploding canon fireworks at 6:15 a.m. so it was up and at’m. A very pleasant breakfast outdoors by the pool of the Las Dunas resort fortified us for a crazy day to follow.

The “low” was our personal proximity to the sand dunes as we threw caution to the wind and set off in a dune buggy driven a man who had obviously been an aerobatic pilot in a previous life. His mission was, apparently, to scare the crap out of his passengers by racing up, over, across and down giant dunes hundreds of feet high. Mission nearly accomplished. We survived!

Then, if that wasn’t enough we slid down the dunes on special boards designed to ensure sand found its way into virtually every nook and cranny of our bodies. Mo especially, based on the screams, enjoyed herself.

Now most people would call it a day but nooooo, it was off to the local aerodrome to fly (the High) over the Nazca Lines. The origin of these ancient figures (circa 400 AD) in the desert has been debated for nearly a hundred years without a resolution. Our flight in a small 12 person Cessna took us south over the Ica valley.

Ica holds the distinction of having virtually no rainfall (~2mm/yr) yet boasts a thriving agricultural industry using a giant aquifer that is fed by the glacial melt occurring in the Andes mountains to the east. As with many other global areas, water consumption is exceeding replenishment but for now it’s a glaring example of man pushing back the desert to cultivate crops.

Seen from the air the Nazca lines form different figures and symbols. On the ground, however, they are not distinguishable given they are actually rocks removed from the surface, not rocks added. Sooooo, how were they created, especially since one depicts an astronaut? These are but a small sample.

In order to provide the best viewing and picture taking angles our pilot did a number of hard banks including one that touched 60 degrees. Just what our stomachs needed following our morning adventures. Then it was back to Ica with one last chance to marvel at Mother Natures ability to produce a stunning vista.