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Published: January 26th 2010
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When we were volunteering at PSF, several people recommended a trip to the Islas Ballestas and the Paracas penninsula on the coast, which were less than an hour away from Pisco. The Islas Ballestas, or Ballestas Islands, are a series of islands where many species of seabirds, including the Humboldt penguin - the only penguin native to Peru, and sealions come to call home and bear their young. They along with the Paracas Reserve are often referred to as Peru´s Galapagos (or ¨Poor Man´s Galapagos¨) due to their rich wildlife and magnificent scenery, which is enough to convince me to take the trip. Penguins and sealions - sure, bring them on!
So George and I decided to take a day off from volunteering on Tuesday, November 24th, and catch a bus to El Chaco, the port town next to the Paracas village where the boats leave for the Islas Ballestas. We met a tout on the bus who showed us the way into town and who managed to get us a decent price for a tour of the islands as well as the nearby Paracas Reserve. (Decent for us, I´m still not sure if we had overpaid, but we didn´t
Candelabra
One of the early drawings in the sand created by the Paracas culture. push too hard.)
The motorboat fit about 30 passengers and after we were outfitted with lifejackets, we took off for the islands. We passed by a part of the Paracas penninsula where we had a good view of the gigantic 50 m drawing of the Candelabra on the hill overlooking the Bay of Paracas. I wasn´t not too sure if it looks more like a candelabra or a cactus, but it was believed to be the work of the ancient Paracas Culture and not the Nazca people, whose famous desert lines and drawings are located 130 miles away. As with many similar ancient drawings, its purpose and symbolism were still unknown and under debate.
The islands were a dream to anybody who loves birds! I was watching a line of pelicans flying towards the islands, but by the time we reached them, the air was thick with birds! We saw thousands of seabirds - possibly even a million or so - including Peruvian pelicans, Inca terns, Humbolt penguins, several species of cormorants, and Peruvian boobies! (The Peruvian boobies also had blue feet, but they´re a different species than the other blue-footed boobies found elsewhere.) I wished I had
a hundred eyes so I can see all of around me - and only two of them would need to be on the camera! I was definitely snapping away like crazy, so hopefully some of my pictures would be acceptable. But the photos just could not justify the experience of being so close to the islands to be able to see the baby booby nestlings that still covered in white down and are barely visible in their nests - up close and without binoculars!
The rock formations of the islands were also quite amazing. Carved only by the wind and the sea, the rocks of the islands were shaped into varying forms of bridges, arches, and caves. The islands are in fact named for their formations as ¨ballestas¨means ¨bow¨as in archery. The seabirds appear to cover the entire roostable surface area of the rocks, while the caves underneath provide areas for the sea lions to rest and raise their young. Around one corner, thousands of sea lions could be seen along the sandy shores underneath a large cave. We accidentally got a bit close and drove a hundred or so sea lions into the water. Often, they would be
curious and poke their heads out of the water near the boat and eye the passengers who are snapping away, me being one of them.
The Guanay cormorant, the black-and-white cormorants with the red eyes, were often referred to as the million-dollar bird for their production of nitrogen-rich guano. Apparently, their guano contains more nitrogen than those from other seabirds, hence making them the most important producer of guano. Of course, the abundance of Peruvian bobbies and pelicans have also contributed much to the guano industry. In the 19th century, tons of Peruvian guano were collected and exported to Europe and the United States to use as fertilizer and was Peru´s most imporant source of revenue for many decades. Today the old infrastructure of guano collection could still be seen on the islands. Guano collection is now regulated by the government to only once a year (or so) to preserve the seabirds and their environment (and hence the guano industry).
Apparently, the importance of guano as a fertilizer stretched all the way back to the Incas. The word "guano" actually originated from the Quechua language of the Incas meaning "the droppings of sea birds". Guano from Peru was
considered the best in the world as the lack of rain and plenty of sun on the islands preserves the nitrates within the droppings of the fish-eating birds, allowing them to maintain their effectiveness as a fertilizer.
We returned to El Chaco for the second part of our trip, a car ride through the Paracas National Reserve, a large desert area right on the coast. The Paracas Reserve is one of the driest areas on earth. Although more lifeless than even the desert we drove through on the way to Pisco, the sand was far more beautiful. We drove through dunes of bright yellow, white, and red sand. The yellow sands mostly consisted of salt, while the red sands contained iron oxide. The road into the park was entirely made of compressed salt, which was fine because it almost never rained there, thus the road wouldn´t dissolve.
Along the coast, there were caves and towers formed by the action of the waves. Some of these structures, formed through the millenia, were destroyed in an instant by the earthquake. Most famously the Cathedral, the signature rock formation
in the park, unfortunately lost its arch in the great quake of ´07.
During the ride, the driver would talk endlessly in Spanish about the minerals, shorebirds, and his favorite conversation piece - what he was doing on the day of the quake. He was leading another tour through the park talking about minerals and shorebirds, trying to distract his frightened tour group. Occasionally, we all got out of the car and Eva would search for the ultimate photo of sand, sea, and sky. The twenty-something Spanish couple on tour with us were more into glam shots. She would pose sexily against a scenic backdrop, and he would snap away. At one stop I really had to pee, and dissappeared over a dune. I couldn't help but wonder if I was giving this sand more liquid than it would normally see in two years. Should I be doing this? The moisture burned off in under a minute, but I may have left a ring of salt and minerals that would last a hundred years...
Near the end of the tour, we stop for an hour break at a tourist restaurant in a small fishing town. Until it happened,
The million-dollar birds
Guano from the cormorants were once harvested and exported to generate mucho $$$ for Peru. I didn't know anything about an obligatory restaurant stop and I was pretty angry. This was a setup! We were almost through the tour and had we just gone back to El Chaco, it was much larger with more choices. Eva decided she was hungry and calmed me down. We split an entree - fresh fish from the sea - and though it was a little expensive, the fish was actually worth it. The scenery was nice too. We had just one more stop to look at some pink flamingos before the tour ended.
We got back to Pisco in time for dinner with the PSF crowd. The next morning after breakfast, we said our good-byes to the wonderful people whom we had met and worked with for the past week, and left Pisco on the bus towards Nazca.
Guano references:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A765678
http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/guano.htm
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