Nasca Services

By Lorraine Caputo

The public tourism office is in the back of the municipalidad, or city hall (Monday-Friday 7:45 a.m.-1 p.m., 1:30-3:30 p.m. Tel.: 52-3150, URL: www.muninasca.com). SERENAZGO, a tourism police kiosk on the point of Plaza Bolognesi, also provides information, as well as 24-hour emergency assistance to tourists (Tel.: 52-4401). Another kiosk is in front of the Policia Nacional commissary on Avenida Los Incas, across from the Flores bus station.

To pick up on more soles, these facilities are available in Nasca:

• GlobalNet ATM (next to Casa Andina hotel, Bolognesi 367)—Accepts Visa, Plus, MasterCard, Cirrus, American Express and Diners Club cards.

• BCP (Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Lima 495)—Exchanges American Express travelers checks; ATM: Visa, Plus, MasterCard, Cirrus, American Express.

• Banco de la Nación (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Lima, between Grau and Fermín de Castillo)—Exchanges US dollars; MoneyGram agent; ATM: Visa, Plus.

• Banco Azteca (daily 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Lima 429)—Quick service on changing US dollars.

Money changers hang out around the banks. Many souvenir and other shops also change money. Most tour operators accept US cash in payment.

You won’t have much problem finding internet in Nasca. Check along Bolognesi and around the Plaza de Armas. Most are open 9 a.m.-10 p.m. and charge $0.35. Locutorios are also common. A handy one is Nazcatel with local and national service, along with international calls from $0.15 per minute (daily 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Bolognesi 472). Serpost’s main office is two blocks from the Plaza (Monday-Friday 9 a.m-5:30 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Fermín de Castilo 379). Sending postcards from the enigmatic lines must be popular, as many shops also have Serpost mailboxes.

Hospital de Apoyo de Nasca provides 24-hour attention (Callao s/n, and Morsesky, Tel.: 52-2010). Pharmacies are along Bolognesi and Lima, between Plaza Bolognesi and the Plaza de Armas.

Lavandería-Piñatería Alegría does same and next-day laundry service, charging $0.35 per piece. On your way out, you can also pick up on a piñata and other party favors (daily 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Lima 760, Tel.: 52-2959).

At Taller de Cerámica Emilia, Felicita Calle Benavides (daughter of the great master Andrés Calle) and her family continue with the tradition of making excellent replicas of Wari, Nasca and Tihuanaco pottery (Parque Artesanal Turístico de Vista Alegre, main entrance to the airport, Tel.: 52-1269 / 956-80-64444, E-mail: ceramica_emilia@hotmail.com). The women of Casa de Mujer Artesana Nasca work primarily in leather, and do ecological, rural and gastronomic tours (Jirón Italia 122, Tel.: 52-1386, E-mail: casamujerartesana@hotmail.com).