Dodging Bird Poop at Ballestas Islands

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This morning we had the absolute WORST hotel breakfast EVER at the Las Dunas Resort in Ica. I think it's the first time I've ever opted for tea over coffee because the coffee was just THAT bad. Blech.

Our pickup was at 6:45am and at 7:15am we were still sitting on the bus waiting for two people who never showed because they had overslept. Ah, the joys of traveling in a big group! Fortunately we still made it in time for our 8am boat departure to Ballestas Islands. Our guide warned us that the boats are not covered and that the large amount of birds hovering usually leads to people getting "luck" dropped on them from the sky. Thank goodness I was not lucky this day, and neither was anyone else on our boat!

We stopped along the way to see the Candelabra, a huge geolyph similar to those at the Nazca Lines. The purpose of the candelabra remains a mystery, although some think it was used for maritime navigation.

About 15 minutes later we arrived at Ballestas Islands. Aside from the strong smell of guano in the air, I was overwhelmed by the amount of sea lions, pelicans, Humboldt penguins, boobies, cormorants, and other various birds coexisting on the rock formations. They all seem to be used to the boats coming and going through their living quarters, as life seems to go on as usual whether we humans are there gaping at them or not.

After riding around and looking at the different parts of the islands, we returned to the dock at Paracas. On the way back we encountered a group of bottlenose dolphins trying to gather fish leftovers being dumped from a local fisherman's boat.

When we returned to the mainland, a guide was waiting to take us on a tour of Paracas National Reserve. The reserve, established in 1975, is made up of sandy desert against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean and is home to various plant, animal, and bird species. The only birds we really saw while we were there were a group of flamingos WAY off in the distance, but the overall scenery of the place is breathtaking. Unfortunately the grounds encountered some damage from last year's earthquake in Peru (including damage to the museum, which is now closed, as well as the rock formation "La Catedral" which broke into two pieces), but the place as a whole seems to be well maintained and preserved.

Our guide then dropped us off in the main town so that we could get some lunch. We ate at a place called Brisa Marina, and although we were in the center of a sea village, I really wasn't craving seafood and opted for rice and vegetables instead. There were an incredilbe amount of wild dogs roaming the area begging for food. I wished I could have smuggled something from the kitchen to give to them as it was quite sad seeing their faces everywhere.

After lunch and some souvenir shopping we caught the 2:30pm bus back to Lima. We arrived in Lima shortly after 6pm and were happy to see Martin from Condor Travel waiting for us to give us a ride back to the Sol del Oro hotel in Lima. Since lunch was rather filling, we decided to go out for dessert instead of a full dinner and ended up at Chef's Cafe on Ave. Larco. I had a piece of cake made with sauco berries (my favorite fruit discovery in Peru!) and some chicha morada.

We then returned to the hotel for our free pisco sours, although I opted for a Cristal beer instead. I am quite tired of pisco!

Tomorrow we have MANY hours to kill in Lima before our 11:30pm flight back to Los Angeles (via Houston)!!

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Photos

Paracas National Reserve
Black and white sand beach

Giant Chess Game
At the Las Dunas Resort in Ica

Candelabra
On the way to Ballestas Islands

Ballestas Islands
Mother and baby sea lions

Comments

[Linda Aubery]

Great pictures!
Jennifer, your Mom gave me the address to read about your latest adventure. I do so enjoy reading and seeing the experience through your eyes. Heard your Dad isn't feeling very well. I hope you all had a great vacation and will continue to be my tour guide via the net.