Tuesday 8th April 2025 Nazca to Ica
Lovely relaxing meal, in this tourist town, one of the major touring destinations on the Inca trail, nice to get some nice food and mingle with the tourists all good fun and good to relax a little, this body need it.

Missed the breakfast in digs, 07:00 too late for these athletes, so porridge and yoghurt in the room, then on the road around 06;30, heading for the majestically named city of Ica. Through the Nazca lines—subject of mystery for over 80 years, there are over 800 straight lines, 300 geometric figures and 70 animal and plant designs, also called biomorphs. Some of the straight lines run up to 30 miles, while the biomorphs range from 50 to 1200 feet in length, all very weird and interesting as we rode through the barren desert, my mind going in overdrive as I try to fathom the mystery out, then realise that there are a lot clever people out there than me, let them sort it out, I will carry on singing and pedalling, that’s what I am good at. probably not the singing, though I did have a classical background in St Peter’s church choir, picked mainly on my choir boy looks (self praise is no praise at all) not my voice Mr Fishwick told my Mum, sit him at the front and tell him to mime!

Well back to the riding, just grinding out the miles through the desert, not a lot to see, just loads of sand and sand, interspersed with piles of litter, not nice to see, one of my overriding memories so far is how much littler, there is, we really need to educate and force the major companies to act on this, they are quite willing to sell the plastic bottles, let make them recycled them!!! Sorry for the rant but it really disgusting, something need to be done, very quickly. Not much riding in that little rant, mainly because we made the school boy error of missing a few food stops, just so we could complete the last climb of the day and to be honest it was only a mole hill.

So done that then guess what we are all hungry, with only one bottle of water each, to get to the next town, in 30+ degrees, think we would get used to this, but sometimes pride takes over. Finally stumble into a little town, and have a nice meal and a few soft drinks, makes the world of difference, then canter into Ica, the last 20 miles with ease.

Ringo getting good at booking the digs now, goes upmarket and books a place with a swimming pool, spending his birthday money, good lad, relaxing afternoon by the pool few beers, rest and checking the menu out for tonight’s meal.