Long before the Incas conquered the southern desert of Peru, there were other ancient cultures digging in the sand. No one knew much about them until airplanes were invented and suddenly people saw giant figures of plants and animals drawn in the rocky sand. These figures were of such precise geometric measurement that to this day some people believe they must have been drawn by aliens. This is a tree (it's upside down).
So I took a bus from Lima to Nazca with Ruben and his father to see what the big deal was. The best way to see the lines is by airplane, but hiring a private plane was out of our price range so we were happy to use the lookout tower. 
Although they were mysterious and interesting to see, I'm not sure they were worth an 8-hour bus ride each way. On the way back we passed through the town of Ica, where there are giant sand dunes right in the middle of the city. I wanted to grab a board and slide down one, but we didn't have time to stop.
We stopped back in Lima just long enough to go to church, which happened to be right around the corner from our hotel.
Then we took a bus down the coast to the best beach near Lima. Peru isn't known for its beaches, so I was actually impressed by how nice it was - especially at sunset.
Then we went back to Lima so Ruben could have his interview with the U.S. embassy to try to get a visa to study at the BYU language center. He was happy to report that he passed his interview and will start studying in April - which means he will be in Utah even before I get there! Ruben wanted his father to experience a 3D movie at a nice movie theater in Lima, but since the only 3D movie playing was a horror film I decided to eat some non-Peruvian food at Chili's. Yay for green salads!
A couple of days after getting back to Cusco the day finally arrived that I had been waiting for. Clay and Trista arrived! I let them sleep a couple hours but then we were off to the clinic to get Yellow Fever shots (since we'll be going to the Amazon later on) and then we took a city tour.
It was fun seeing the sites even though I had seen them 4 years ago when I was here. However, as the evening wore on I could feel myself getting sick. That night I was the sickest I had ever been. I felt like a bad tour guide for Clay and Trista, but it was nice not being alone and having someone to go out and buy Gatorade for me. It must have been food poisoning of some kind because the next morning (after purging my body of everything) I felt well enough to do the tour to the Sacred Valley. It was beautiful and green and the flowers were out. This picture reminded me of "Giggling Ferns" with Trista in Olympic National Park. (see earlier post)
We saw the Inca fortress of Pisac high on the mountain. Notice the terraces for growing food. That's why they still call it the "Sacred Valley" because it was the source of a lot of the food for the empire.
At the end of the tour we stopped at a village known for their hand woven textiles. It was fun to see how they make the dye and how they weave the wool into beautiful blankets and clothing. 
I didn't buy anything but Clay and Trista bought some knit hats for their trek on the Inca Trail. 
On Tuesday I'll take the train up to Aguas Calientes and meet them early Wednesday morning to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu together. Then we're off to see more places in Peru!
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