La Ultima Dia en Ica

Our fifth day was our last day in Ica. We woke up and were ready to go by 6:30am to see the Nazca lines. The drive was about 2 hours by bus and I slept pretty much the entire ride there. We were told we were not going to take a plane over to see the figures but rather we would see about 2 figures from the looking tower. We got there and I was part of the first group to go up. We saw the figure of the hands and tree which consisted of 1 hand with 4 fingers and the other hand with 5 fingers. Also, I’m not sure what the other image was because it was hard to make out the figure from where we were standing. 

Apparently the Nazca lines have many different theories surrounding their purpose. Some would say the Incas created the lines as an irrigation system while others would argue that it was a lunar calendar or a landing for aliens. The mysteriousness of the figures, however, impressed me and some others so much that we were thinking of getting a tattoo back in Lima. I was particularly interested in the hummingbird figure which is supposed to symbolize fertility and a calling to a higher power to fertilize the ground. I bought a lot of cool souvenirs for friends and family which I’m excited to give since they're all very authentic looking, historical pieces. 

We left the Nazca lines and headed over to the mineria where we learned about the processes of making gold and minerals and clay sculptures. I was surprised to find that the workers slaved for 7-8 hours rolling the liquids into a substance that can be used to extract ore from. The miners who searched the mountains worked about 15 hours a day although their pay in one week is the equivalent of what one would typically make in a month. Still, the hard labor and the nasty dry climate makes for a labor intensive career. I ended up buying my mom some gold earrings for $20 US dollars that I am absolutely in love with. There were some other cool souvenirs to buy but I decided against buying too much at the mineria simply because a lot of the items were fragile because of the material it was made from and I didn’t want to risk breaking anything when my bags would be checked in at the airport.

 After the mineria we went to a desert looking area where we learned about the wells that were built. We got to sample the fresh water although I decided not to take a sip. As our tour guide was giving the speech, 2 very traditional looking cowboys seemed to ride by on horses which caught my attention. I thought that was pretty cool to see them riding into the desert, avoiding the cactuses for their sake and their horses. The down side of this stop was that everyone fell victim to the mosquitos and bugs. I wore leggings that covered up about 90% of my leg and still, the bugs fed on the 10% that was exposed. I believe I have 11 bug bites on each leg, more or less, and about 5 on each arm.

After we visited the wells we went to an architectural site of the Incas. It was quite a hike that no one was expecting to see the sophisticated craftsmanship of a village that was built to overlook the city. We learned that the Incans created this building as a hotel and many of the richer people stayed in the rooms of one side while the pooper inhabitants occupied the other side. The sun was beating down on us especially at such a high altitude but the architecture sure made it a site worth going to see. On the way back to Ica we stopped at a plaza and I was able to get an popsicle for 1 sole (about 33 cents) and some cold water since we had been roaming around in the hot sun all day.

When we got back to the hotel we all split up to find a spot to eat in before making the 4 hour trek back to Lima. We went back to one of our favorite restaurants in the plaza called D’lanzias or something similar and I ordered the infamous “hamburguesa de la Mexicana” which consisted of a burger patty, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and dorito chips. The majority of our table ordered that some pina colados simply because it was our last day in Ica. We ate and rushed back to the hotel where we awaited our 4 hour bus ride.

 On the ride back to Lima I was able to read further into our textbook so that I would be prepared to write our first writing assignment. I learned about the history and culture of some of the provinces we visited and also noticed they mentioned the importance of Huaca Pacllena, or the temples of Lima. I fell asleep after and awoke when we got back to the Youth Hostel. The majority of our group dropped our bags and went to the supermarket for some empanadas. Then some of us decided to go out to the discoteca for Andrew’s birthday celebration but the majority of us retreated back to the hostel since it was already midnight and went to bed. I stayed up with Karlayne and Rachel a little while longer to blog and then went to bed so I wouldn’t be too tired when I moved into my host family’s house. The bug bites did keep me up a little later than i wanted, though.