Ballestas Islands, Ica and Nazca

---

A couple of days ago I had an action-packed day that involved a trip on a boat, a bus, a dune buggy, a sandboard and a light aircraft!

We got up very early on Monday morning to catch a small speedboat from Paracas to the Ballestas Islands in the Paracas National Reserve. People are not allowed on these islands as they are protected due to the vast numbers of birds and other wildlife that they are home to. The boat got up close to the islands and we could see that the islands were completely covered in birds including Humboldt penguins, pelicans, cormorants, turkey vultures and more. We also saw plenty of sealions which gathered around the boat and performed for us, jumping around in the water. Large crabs clung to the rocks of the islands and huge numbers of birds filled the sky or hovered over the water looking for fish. The place is known as the Galapagos of Peru and it was great to be there after being unable to fit the Galapagos Islands into my travel schedule.

After returning to Paracas we set out on the bus to Ica, which is covered in vast sand dunes over a huge area. We got into a dune buggy and were driven at high speed up impossibly steep slopes and at full pelt down the other side. It was like a rollercoaster ride and the driver didn´t spare our stomachs. When we got to the top of a high dune he stopped the buggy, got out the sand boards and we each had a go at hurtling down the dunes on our bellies, head first. I´m still trying to get the sand out of my clothes but it was a great experience.

After having a look around the main part of Ica where there is a lake and a few restaurants set in front of the dunes we headed for Nazca, site of the Nazca Lines, strange lines and figures carved into the desert rock that can only be seen properly from the air. Nobody knows why they are there or who created them as they cannot be carbon dated. They include an ´astronaut´, a hummingbird, a monkey, a dog, trapezoids and strips that look like runways. We went up in a small plane and saw each of the figures as the pilot swerved and turned so that we each got a good view, although they were all quite hard to spot. I was about to reach for the sickbag by the time he took us back to the airport and was glad to land!

Currently in Peru´s second city, Arequipa, after spending a night at the resort of Puerto Inka on the coast in the middle of nothing else but desert and Inca ruins.

---

Comments

[Isabel]

Where is Paul?
Just one pic of you and we can't hardly see Paul in it. We want more pics of you!!!! Fantastic photos anyway. I am very jealous!