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Before heading north
from Nasca, Karen says goodbye to her friend Pepito. The next large town
is Ica, which has arguably one of the best museums on the southern
coast, with a remarkable collection of textiles. It is also one of the
few museums that allows photography. Unfortunately though, the fragile
textiles are extremely sensitive to light, and flash is not allowed. This
is one area where digital photography still has some obstacles to overcome.
The entire area around the Paracas peninsula in fact is known for the textiles
that have been amazingly preserved in the dry desert's many burial sites.
These burials have also yielded evidence of links to both the distant Chavin
and Wari cultures.
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Also near Ica is the
small village of Huacachina. This town is home to a beautiful lagoon surrounded
by palm trees and towering sand dunes. The scene (below) has the feel of
a genuine oasis, and is depicted on Peru's 50 Sol note.
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The Paracas peninsula
itself has its own museum, but apparently most of its best pieces
have been stolen, and since you can not visit the Necropolis, there is
little there to see. Tourists that visit the Ballesta Islands to see the
sea-lion and bird colonies leave from playa El Chaco, which has several
good sea food places. We were entertained by this old fellow who graced
us with what we learned were his own compositions. When we offered a tip,
he presented us with a copy of his lyrics.
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Tambo Colorado (above)
is a few miles inland from Pisco. Although it is built from adobe rather
than stone, it still has the characteristic trapezoidal niches that typify
Inca architecture, and is perhaps the best preserved of all Inca coastal
sites. The red ocre paint that gives the place its name is still visible.
The following morning, as we head north from Pisco towards Lima we got
a real taste of the garuas fog (below).
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NEXT
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