We head off this morning around 9 AM. We will first visit the Chauchilla Cemetery and then carry on south. The Chauchilla cemetery is a very bizarre and somewhat spooky place to visit. This is an old cemetery that has been exposed by erosion and grave robbers. At one time, there were mummies visibly sitting on the ground (the grave robbers would pull them out of the tombs and then just leave them behind when they removed all the valuables) - now the mummies have been returned to their tombs and are some what protected from the elements by straw roofs. There are still lots of bone fragments (we saw a tuft of hair sticking out of the ground - the guide said that if we pulled on it, most likely a skull would be pulled out of the ground), pieces of cloth and shards of pottery that litter the ground.
We took a tour of the cemetery and the numerous tombs that have been restored and the mummies returned to them. Due to the dry weather, they are remarkably well preserved (hair and skin still attached, bodies visible, etc). It is both an interesting and macabre experience (some readers may find the photo to the left a bit gruesome).
Back at the truck we had an early lunch and then headed south. We arrived at Puerta Inka at around 3:30 PM and set up camp. It is a great little spot on a bay. We set up our tent on the beach with a great view of the rocks and the sea. This used to be used as a port by the Incas. Freshly caught fish would be run up to Cusco. There are some Inca ruins still visible on one side of the bay.
We spend the afternoon hanging out and having a beer while swinging in the hammocks and watching the sunset.
That evening we have a barbeque dinner - it is excellent. After dinner we hang out by the fire for a while and then retire to our tent. Once again we want to watch the night sky - the half moon lights up the rocks around us. We fall asleep to the waves crashing against the shore.