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Published: March 25th 2010
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We had to see Isla del Ballestas before we left Paracus, I had never seen a penguin in the wild before and was excited at the prospect so we booked our tour at 40 soles each and eagerly arrived at the marina early next morning, We waited as the boats lined up waiting for us to board, we paid a habour fee (2 soles each) and boarded our open speed boat put on our very sexy life jackets and off we sped.
Just a little bit out of the harbor a half submerged submarine sat sporting a peruvian flag, I didn't know Peru had a navy never mind a submarine, then across the bay several large war ships sat docked, don't mess with these guys eh?
20 minutes later el Candelabro came into view, this is a geoglyph dug into the sand in the shape of a candelabra though it is more than likely a depiction of a cactus, it is approximately 128m long and 74 metros wide, mystery surrounds it origin, some saw pirates created it, others aliens but it is most likely the work of the Paracus people from hundreds of years ago and probably linked to the
Nazca lines, It is still a mystery as to how it has survived the desert winds and sands but the most like explanation is the unforgiving arid climate as rain in this area is less than 1 inch every 10 years, either way its impressive.
20 minutes more of high speed across the bay and we got to the Islands, the first thing you notice as you near the Island is the noise and the strong odor of bird and sealion waste, its overpowering at times. There are thousands of birds here Pelicans, cormorants, Peruvian boobies and much to my excitement penguins, 150 species in all have been recorded. This Island is essentially a series of large rocks and has critical importance to the species that for periods of the year call it home, migrating birds return annually and the conservation of these Islands is paramount to their survival, the sealions are in their thousands also making it one of the most important places in the world for their continuing survival.
I saw my penguins, little chaps standing about 1 foot tall, awkward on the land and graceful in the water, they are native of here and Northern
Chile and are in trouble as their numbers are in decline, here on Ballestas they are safe, protected from human pollution and disturbance, lets hope their numbers rise as they really are special creatures.
Years of ocean corrosion has created arches through the rocks and rocky beach have been claimed by thousands of sealions, their mournful wails and roars assault the ears, on one beach the squealing was disturbing, hundreds of tiny bodies squirmed on the rocks as ever watchful mother sat nearby, it was known as the maternity beach, A sealions day consists of sunbathing for a while then jump in the sea, eat a few fish, jump out sunbath, nice life. The surrounding waters are abundant in fish and plankton, The humbolt current runs through here making the water warm and full of nutrients making it irresistible to many species of fish. Male sea lions are huge, they dwarf their females who make up their harlem, they protect their ladies with ferocity, scars cover their bodies, the result of duels with would be contenters for their harlem. The sleek heads of playful pups appear near the boat much to our delight as we cruised slowly around the
island.
The Islands are white due to the waste the birds and sea lions produce, it is known as guano and is a rare and precious fertilizer, every 7 years a band of brave souls come to the island to collect the guano which is deep and dry and is a lucrative industry with the majority of it being exported to Europe. It was a lovely morning and Isla Ballestas is a very special place, you get the impression that the town and the Peruvian government realize its importance and I hope they continue to protect it while letting people see it without disturbing its inhabitants.
We headed back to Paracus and tried to figure a way back to Ica, We eventually got a car with 2 dutch girls, we where near Ica when we stopped in what appeared to be a restaurant but turned out to be a small Pisco vineyard, we did not realize we have booked a vineyard tour and pisco tasting……ok bring it on, it turned out to be interesting, the vineyard is small and the pisco made in a very traditional way not changing its distilling process in 150 years right down to
crushing the grapes with your feet an activity I indulged in with gusto, I stomped like mad thing for Ireland. The tasting was great as I thought I hated Pisco but when you try the good stuff I realized its quite nice.
If your in this area don't miss Paracus, while the town is nothing to write home about, the reserve and Islands are memorable, so off we went, all I wanted was to get back to Huacachina and jump into the pool, great couple of days.
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