I´m writing this post after spending 19 hours in bed with a raging fever, maybe too much street meat? I made it over the Andes and have descended down into the Atacama desert, the driest in the world. “It feels good to be out of the rain.”

From the town of Puquio it was just under 100 miles to Nazca, home of the famous Nazca lines dating as far back as 200 BCE carved into the desert floor depicting animals, shapes, and lines. There were some large climbs in between but ultimately I would be losing nearly 13,000ft along the way.

Once I ascended to 4330 meters of the Pampas de Galeras, and the thousands of Vacuñathat reside there, I had a nearly 60 mile downhill ride. The temperature soared as I went down and the scenery changed to pure austere desert. I had great views of the largest sand dune in the world, Cerro Blanco. It sits just outside the city of Nasca and is 3860 ft high and 6791 ft above sea level.

I spent Thanksgiving eating a pizza and having a beer in a touristy bar in Nasca. However, I have seen turkey´s in Peru on a few farms, they were quite large too, but I have never seen them prepared as food.

Once I am rested and shake this fever I will head out to the desert oasis of Huacachina, then follow the Pacific coast until I reach Lima. I´m looking forward to exploring some of the desert along the way and reaching the ocean, marking a true trans-continental ride. Until then I am fascinated by the severe emptiness of the desert landscape.