Yesterday we had made arrangements with Edgar to pick us up at 9:00am to go visit the Cemetery of Chauchilla that is 30km outside the town (for half the price the other guide had quoted us). The cemetery contains the remains of the Nazca people from over 1000 years ago. The cemetery was badly looted centuries ago and all of the graves that contained valuable artifacts were stolen, but archaeologists have done a good job of recreating what the graves would have looked like originally, and there are around 12 open graves that are on display, complete with rotting mummies, skulls, bones, and offerings. The mummies were originally completely wrapped in cotton, which soaked up the moisture from the bodies, and then buried in the desert where they were remarkably well-preserved. All of the mummies were buried facing East, so they could see the sunrise which was the symbol of new life for the Nazca people. Some of the graves were family graves, and we could see the mother, father and baby mummies. Some of the graves were for more important people, signified by their longer hair. It was kind of creepy seeing all the dead bodies, but very interesting at the same time.
Edgar brought us into town so that we could buy bus tickets to Ica, and I also bought a phone card so I could call Kym for her birthday, and then brought us back to the hotel so we could relax for a few minutes by the pool before packing our bags. The hotel was nice enough to let us use the rooms as long as we wanted so we didn’t check out until 3:30pm, and which point they tried to charge Lincoln and I more for the room than we had been told at the beginning (because we were two people). In the end, we settled on a compromise of $30 instead of the $40 they were trying to charge orand the $25 we had been quoted originally. It’s too bad that we had so many financial problems at the hotel because we really enjoyed the hotel itself and recommend staying there. Just don’t trust the staff to sell you tours around the city!
There was a bit of rush to get to the bus station on time, but we made it for our 4:15 bus to Huacachina, a two-hour ride. It was sad to say goodbye to Edgar; he was 21 and very sweet – trying very hard to become a guide and we know he will do well. He was one of those people that you meet that really make your trip extra enjoyable. He was very honest, eager to show us his town and its history, and just an all around great person. If anyone reading this is ever in Nazca you should try to track him down. He will probably be the only taxi driver that is patiently waiting at the bus stop and not being pushy. (His cell phone number is 056-967-8666).