Heading for the Nazca lines

 

One can think that one day on the road will morph seamlessly into the next and one will inevitably lose the wonder of each and every day. Well that certainly hasn’t been the case so far.

 

We woke early to the sound of crashing waves along the beach at Las Cuevas, packed up and departed for Nazca. A turkey vulture oversaw our departure. I hope that it wasn't to be a bad omen. We only had black coffee so the incentive was to get on the road once more. Now totally conscious of fuel limitations we all filled our tanks. We are now so aware of the danger of running out that Nigel put 3 ltrs into his enormous tank just to make sure!

 

 

And that was the last we saw of Nigel until we were about to enter Nazca! Phone coverage was limited in this remote element of the Pan-American highway but we knew from the occassional updates on Find my Friend that he was ahead of us. Messages failed to get delivered either way until it was all too late.

Nigel’s Lagonda  roared ahead like a fast and agile reconnaissance unit whilst the more sedate Rolls and my Lagonda formed the vanguard, following the dramatic road, twisting and turning along the pacific coast. Dramatic cliffs and crashing waves were interspersed by small fishing communities, random industrial plants and long, deserted sandy beaches. We were on the look out for pelicans, sea lions and sea otters amongst the kelp but sadly saw none.

 

 

 

With no communication possible the vanguard stopped for coffee in a small town, where the exceptionally small “Municipal Traffic Officer” decided to come and talk to us and as usual to have her photograph taken. Coffee was a very unexceptional instant variety with a cheese sandwich which tasted of absolutely nothing, an almost impossible achievement! But both achieved their aim and we were once again back on the road, chasing up Nigel who was about 25km ahead of us.

 

We rose up a steep and twisting hill, the Rolls overtaking three large trucks crawling around sharp S bends and then “Bang!” Chris’ front offside tyre went. Having over-taken the slow trucks, we stood on the side of the road and watched them remorelessly crawl ahead and retake their place ahead of us on the road. If McClaren, Ferrari or Red Bull are having trouble with their formula one tyre changes then by all means do give us a call. The way the team slipped into their respective rolls for the tyre change was commendable! I jacked, David and Chris got the spare ready. Being a Rolls of course it’s not as simple as any other car and specific tools are required to remove the wheel but this didn’t slow the smooth operation. In about 10 minutes in the burning hot sun we were back on the road.

 

 Unfortunately Chris is still haveing trouble. with a wobbly steering box. Tightening the sole nut apparently holding it secure doesnt seem to be a permanant solution. It will have to do for now, until a more pemanant fix can be put in place.

Still no sign of Nigel so about 1:00pm we decided to stop for lunch. The choice was limited and we chose an establishment which was advertising fried chicken. We sat on beer crates and were joined by a somewhat simple villager who had clearly some problems with his personal hygiene!  My approach was to stop breathing through my nose, Barbara’s was to move and Chris’ was to start complaining to his Grandmother. Despite the language difficulties Granny knew exactly what Chris was saying and sorted the situation out. Eventualy the chicken appears and I think it had been cooked with a oxyacetylene torch! If our stomachs held out for the next hour then the chicken had been torched sufficiently and I am pleased to report that all is good.

 

 

On we moved and the sun burnt hotter than Hades! The wind picked up and the sand was blasted across the offside of the car. The passenger “taking one for the team” and protecting the driver as the sand whipped across the road. Numerous diggers and teams of workers keep the roads clear of the constant sand being blown across the road. One of the characteristics of the road working teams is that women do all the work whilst the men seem to control the traffic. Some would say, its the same all over the world!

 

About 15km from Nazca we come up behind Nigel who had been running about 20km ahead of us all day. Chris and Barbara had gone ahead to buy supper. We cruised into Nazca , found Bolognesi Avenue, ran to the end of it with engines getting hot, and crews even hotter and found the expected green gates. Inside was our little farm house, with resident dogs and horses and lots of midges! It is blisteringly hot but very comfortable and tomorrow we head for Lima!