We teamed up with a lovely Irish/Scottish couple (Claire & Stephen) that we met in Huaca China for the next part of the trip, as they had the same plans as us; to visit the Nazca lines and then move onto Arequipa.
We booked our Nazca lines flight with an agency in Huaca China. All went smoothly in the morning, the taxi man picked us up on time from our respective hostels, took us to the bus station and the bus left on time.
The views from bus were incredible. Once out of the city (Ica) we were back in vast planes and hilly desert land. Closer to the city we saw tons of shacks made from wreaths. A few seemed to be lived in, though most were destroyed (by wind, I assume) and dilapidated. Then further into the desert, all that we could see was the road we drove on and other vehicles coming and going, for quite a few miles.
As we began approaching Nazca, the first of a few encounters took place. All of a sudden we came to a complete standstill on the road. After about 15 mins people started to get off the bus and walk to their destinations. I began to feel a little worried as we had a reservation or our Nazca flight at 12pm and it was already around 11:15 or so. I got off the bus to see what was going on. "An accident" the bus agent said. Well, how long would this take to clear, I thought. Luckily, as I began to explain our situation to the bus agent, the traffic began to move and we were at our destination in no time!
Encounter #2: our taxi driver, who was supposed to pick us up was not there! After calling a few numbers, we finally got through to the hostel that was organizing the ride, and the sent for a driver to pick us up. More time wasted, as it was already past 12pm!
Encounter #3: we get to the hostel and the guy we talk to about the flight reservation doesn't have a clue about what we r talking about. "wait wait, my friend is coming". More time goes by!
The right person eventually comes along and luckily, knows about our reservations. Phew! We were to leave almost immediately for the Nazca Lines airport.
Encounter #4: we each check in, get weighed and pay the airport taxes. Then we r told to wait in the lounge until we r called to board the plane.
During this time, Stephen over heard other tourists asking for their airport taxes back as the weather looked like it was spoiling. I went out to look and sure enough, the visibility was terrible and the winds had picked up. I called the man in charge at the hostel and asked if we could defer the flight until tomorrow. Luckily, we could! The man sent for another taxi to pick us up.
Encounter #5: As we're driving away from the airport, the taxi comes to a halt. I ask "que pasa?" the man at first doesn't answer me as he is on his cell phone. A couple minutes later he turns around and tells us he's "out of gas"! Of all places we are stranded right before a curve on the road with cars flying around the corner! Yikes! All four of us get out of the car and wait on the dusty road bank. A motorcycle comes along, takes an empty gas bottle away and then another driver comes to save us! We finally get back to the hostel, safe and sound.
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