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Published: March 14th 2007
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Zarcillo Paradise
Most of the houses in Paracas have these semi-circular doors. Just like being back in Hobbiton! We've had such a wonderful day today, full of fun and adventure which is just how we like it. We booked a tour of the Paracas National Reserve but really had no idea what to expect. We were picked up at 10.30am from our hostel which is conveniently owned by the same people running the trip, Zarcillo Connections. Our guide for th day was Luis who has been taking care of us at the hostel since we arrived although it was only this morning that we forged an everlasting bond once again thanks to everyone's favourite bear. I had Jish poking out of my pocket in readiness for the tour and when Luis saw him, he ran off to a room and came back gleefully clutching a cute bunny that his girlfriend had given him. That moment made all the difference and from then on, Luis was our brand new friend!
Our first stop on the tour was to the Information Centre although we had to pay our 5 Soles National Park entrance fee before being allowed through the gates. Luis gave us a bit of a talk about all the flora and fauna to be found within the
Taxi!
Glynn finds it hard to flag down a taxi as there's just no-one around in this sleepy village! bounds of the reserve although it was sad to hear how seriously numbers of various species had dwindled in recent times and that creatures such as turtles and condors are no longer to be found here, scared away by humans and pollution no doubt. Back on our tincan of a minibus, we ventured along a salt-laden road and into the rust-cloured sand plains formed from iron oxide deposits on the surface. The landscape was incredible and truly desert-like with not a living thing in sight except for us tourists. In fact, we half expected to see Wiley Coyote and Roadrunner to race past us at any time because it looked just like in the cartoons!
The tour continued to The Cathedral, a spectacular rock formation eroded into the steep cliffs by the ocean and which wasn't visible from the makeshift road. The barren sandy plains gave way to dust-covered golden sedimentary rocks beneath our feet and the layering effect visible in the so-called Cathedral reminded us a lot of the Pancake rocks in Punakaiki, New Zealand.
Next, we were taken to a pretty beach with dark, gritty sand along the sweeping bay. Here, Luis introduced us all to
Stick 'Em Up
Glynn and the cactus surrender after their escape from jail doesn't go quite to plan. a creature none of us have ever heard of before - a muimui. He dug his hands into the wet sand and scooped up a small collection of muimui in the process. They look a bit like giant lice and Luis made sure the most easily spooked girlie in the group got one dropped in her hand first for the best effect! Glynn and I each took one and watched as it semi scuttled and semi hid in our outstretched palms. Two eyes gradually appeared on delicate little stalks just like you see on a snail and it was amusing to see the muimui take a good look around and try to figure out what the hell was going on. Apparently locals cook and eat these ugly bugs but at times like these, I thank my lucky stars that I'm a vegetarian!
Further along the bumpy desrt track, we pulled over again to check out a group of turkey vultures which were circling ominously above us. One of them came down to land and you could totally see where they get their name from as with their bright red wrinkly heads and black feathery bodies, they really do look
New Friends
Jish meets his very first bunny girl courtesy of Luis, our friendly tour guide. a lot like turkeys. Thankfully it wasn't us that they were eyeing up but a sealion carcass that had eashed up on a beach nearby. It seems odd to think of a desert being right next to a huge body of water - kind of a contradiction in terms - and the abundance of animals here is due to the coldwater Humboldt current that journeys all the way from the icy Antarctic and flows up along this arid coast in Peru rather than the milimeter or two of rain they get in Paracas each year.
We stopped for lunch on a tiny peninsular of sandy coloured rock jutting out of a deep blue bay but food and drink wasn't included in the tour price and of course the prices were high by local standards. We weren't particularly hungry so opted to clambour around the peninsular while everyone else chowed down. There was a small fishing dock with near enough 50 little wooden boats bobbing on the water surrounded by at least 50 great big pelicans. I had been hoping to get up close to one of these fascinating birds so was thrilled to see them ambling around without paying
Desert Horse
This clapped out minibus was actually our transport through the desert! How it made it back in one piece is anyone's guess!! much attention to the likes of us. In actual fact they were keeping one eye on the fishing boats as they pulled up to the dock with their fresh catches, with a view to blagging a free fish or two from the crew. We tried to entice them our way with some cream crackers we bought from a kiosk nearby without much success as the boobies (as in birds, not certain parts of birds!) got there first. Btw, did you know that the phrase booby trap comes from a crude rope trap designed by sailors to cath boobies?
At the kiosk, we chatted to a local lady called Maria who was chuffed to learn that Glynn's mum is called Mary and that I have an aunt called Maria in Germany (hi to both of you). We bought ourselves a bottle of Inka Kola each (tastes like bubble gum and not coke!) and some biscuits to munch on for just a few soles and wandered off to see what else was around, promising to bring our empty glass bottles back when we were finished with them. We climbed up a steep section of the peninsular and were treated to great
The Cathedral
Glynn checks out the Cathedral, a cool eroded cliff formation on the coast. views of the bays on both sides and towering cliff faces at the far ends of the beaches. On the rocks, we found a big bright orange and black sea spider clinging to the side of one rock - that's a crab to you and me - as well as a few shy grey coloured crabs that scurried away as we approached. We had fun on top of the rocks taking jumping photos again for our ever-expanding collection and also spotted a sealion ducking and diving in the choppy water no more than 50 metres away.
After our lunch break, Luis took us to the Playa Roja or red sand beach which was more browny coloured but looked pretty against the starkly contrasting golden sandstone cliffs all around. Atop one of these cliffs Luis introduced us to a man who was fishing using a basic fishing line and hook and guess what he was using as bait - only the muimui critters we had seen earlier. He had a whole bucketful of them and they seemed to be doing the trick as he also had a bagful of interesting looking fish that he had caught for dinner. Some of
Pelican Brief
Apparently it's not so hard to be a pelican. All you have to do is sit and squat! the tour group followed Luis along a narrow ledge and down onto the beach where we saw a pure white but alas dead seal pup on the shore. We headed in the other direction and examined some strange ball-shaped formations in the rocks which Luis unfortunately didn't know anything about. A mini version of the Moeraki Boulders perhaps?
Before we knew it, it was time to make our way back to base so we took one last chance to marvel at the gorgeous colours, giant sand dunes and barren beauty of this desolate place and congratulated ourselves on having picked such a fascinating tour to do with such a laid-back and friendly guide too. Excellent value for money at just US$10 each :-))
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