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My mind frame at this point of the trip is largely the following: I’ve seen a lot of things. I’ve cycled around the perimeter of South America. I’ve gone through the desert, across the Andes, over bad roads and through salt flats. I’ve had horses migrating next to where I am sleeping in the middle of the night. I’ve seen South America in a pretty natural state and made it pretty far. So I wasn't so concerned about a tour thats runs out of Nazca multiple times every day to see the Lines (learn about the Lines here). That’s when you get in trouble. I don't think its a coincidence that the only two people to have been mugged in South America are our two leaders.
I wasn't really concerned about this flight and thought it would be no big deal. It was a small plane that fit 4 passengers. I sat in the back next to a girl from Japan. It turns out that it was the most unpleasant trip I have had. Every time a new line formation came, the pilot would flip the plane so we could take good pictures. The flight was in the middle of the day and was so hot, which made the whole thing nauseating. By the end, none of us were looking at the lines anymore and just wanted it to end. I was vomiting. In hindsight, I don't think it helped that we had a party the night before to celebrate the completion of the hardest stretch of the trip.
On a related note: Climate change has effects that range in severity. A lesser-known one might be the eventual disappearance of the lines which have been around since the Nazca culture.
“The Lines themselves are superficial, they are only 10 to 30 cm deep and could be washed away... Nazca has only ever received a small amount of rain. But now there are great changes to the weather all over the world. The Lines cannot resist heavy rain without being damaged.”
- From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines
In order to turn the hot water on for the shower in my room in Nazca, you have to turn on a switch on the wall before turning the knob in the shower. Once you do that, though, you get electrocuted. I was in the shower and I said to my roommate Alfonso, who is from Uruguay, “I was just electrocuted.” He goes, “oh yeah, I got electrocuted yesterday while showering. I complained about it to reception so I figured it would definitely have been fixed by now.” Things often don't happen that quickly here. I went down to reception to tell them that the electrocution problem was persisting. The receptionist listed a couple of the rooms in which they have had this problem, and he said that our room would be added to the list. I’m happy to have taken my last shower there. My suspicion is that it probably didn't get fixed and someone else is being electrocuted as this blog is being written. I think he will live.
Vomit and electrocution: a good rest day. Things always get better once you’re back on the road.