Sea Lion MANIA!

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We´re back from our two day jaunt! We had a busy time traveling to Paracas, Peru where the Ballestas Islands are nearby.

Our hotel was nice and had a cute terrace to look at the beach for our anniversary. The bus we rode on was really nice as well, and we were in the VIP seats apparently. Very comfy chairs.

The next morning we left for the boat tour to the islands, and got to see our very first glyph! The giant candelabra. There were several theories as to its existence, and apparently the wind is making it slowly disappear which is sad. However, it hardly ever rains in Lima so that has helped it sustain itself.

Glyph- http://www.worldtravelerjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/candelabra.jpg

At the islands, we saw a ton of animals! There were at least a hundred sealions hanging out in a cove and we got to watch them for a while. The giant bulls were amazing to see up close, and the babies were adorable.

Sea lions- http://members.cox.net/ancient-sites/inca/04Ballestas_sealions.JPG

We also got to see Humboldt penguins, which were very cute. Along with several other birds, including the Peruvian boobies.

Penguin- http://i.pbase.com/o6/32/439932/1/74803969.ArcF3b7R.IMG_1815_1_1.JPG

Booby bird- http://www.quantum-conservation.org/EEP/humboldtpeng.gif

It was a great wildlife excursion. We then took a tour of the Paracas National Reserve which was more exciting than we anticipated. The sand was beautiful albeit hot. We both got strange wind/sun burns at the end of the day. We had a lot of time to explore and found neat lizards, dead jellyfish, pretty shells, brightly colored crabs, birds, and a dead stingray. The bus trip home was equally comfy, and we got to play a puzzling game of Bingo in which no one knew what to do once you won.

Landscape- http://www.quantum-conservation.org/EEP/humboldtpeng.gif

Crab- http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/71246004_33d79a0bdd.jpg?v=0

Very much worth the time and effort, it was really neat to see a totally different climate and landscape.

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