Pisco, Paracas and the Ballestas Islands

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Kate - After such a wonderful time in Lima with Treeve and his family we decided to head down the coast to Pisco. When we arrived it was quite sad to see how much damage the recent earthquake had caused with so many building falling down and big gaps in the street where building once existed- i didn´t even know there was an earthquake-doh!. We stayed in another really nice hostel and booked up some tours to do. We decided on a full days touring starting with a boat trip to the Isle de Ballenas and then off to the the near by National Park in Paracas.

I was a little apprehensive about both trips, 1 because of the choppy boat ride we had in Uvita in Costa Rica, and 2 because we had seen a lot of National Parks in Costa Rica and to be honest i was feeling a little National Parked out!! Luckily though, both trips did not disappoint. The boat journey was about a 2 hour round trip and took us out to the Isle that was full of birds, sea lions, and penguins to see, in fact Steve and i have never seen so many birds i one place in all our lives, it was incredible! I cant believe we didn´t get pooped on! Luckily the sea wasn´t too choppy, well not for long anyway, so it gave us a good opportunity to get some good picks and get a good look at the sea life hanging out on these enormous rocks in the middle of the sea.

The next stop after our boat journey was the Nation Park of Paracas and it couldn´t have been any different from the National Parks in Costa Rica. It was total desert and so beautiful-not sure if the photos really do it justice but they give you an idea . The sand dunes were absolutely enormous, like i have never seen before and seemed to stretch for miles. Our fairly rickity old bus took us around the park stopping at various spots for photo opportunities- it was great. There was a beach inclosed in the park which was so stunning, the water really blue and the sand full of tiny red rocks to make it look as if the sand was red, gutted you weren´t allowed to go for a dip!.There were absolutely huge pelicans hanging around near where we stopped for lunch and it was baking hot to we even had an opportunity to top up the tans- magic.

When we got back we bumped into some more backpackers who were recruiting ´gríngos´ to spare a day or two with them helping the locals to re-build the buildings damaged by the earthquake. The girl we talked to was a Kiwi who had come to Peru to help with the reconstruction of the town. Unfortunately we had our bus booked for the following day otherwise Steve and i both agreed it would have been something we would have really liked to do. Apparently the locals are so appreciative of the help and it looks to be a slow working progress so they need all the help they can get. If we had been there for a little longer we would have definately got stuck in, although not quite sure whether my building skills would have be helpful or just cause more destruction, hmmmm we will never know........

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Photos

Some of the destruction
The area was hit by an earthquake which measured 7.9 on the richter scale, just off the coast of Pisco. A year on there is still loads of rebuilding to be done

The Main church at Pisco
Not sure if this survived or had been rebuilt

Our hotel
It was destroyed but has been rebuilt

The Candelabro
This has been there for over 2000 years. Can´t tell you anything more about it as i could´t understand the guide

Penguins
They wre trying their best to run away from our boat

The black part is all nesting birds
There were millions covering the whole island and they stank!

Sea Lions lazing about on the rocks
What a life

The Observatory
Where the sceintists stay to study the wildlife n the island