The poor man´s galapagos

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3rd July- 4th July

after a restless night sleeping in a room filled with little scattering cockroaches we woke up at 5am to board yet another bus!

Ballestas Islands (part of Paracas national reserve), nicely nick-named ¨the poor man´s galapagos¨, offered a short 2 hour tour through the nearby islands off the shores of Pisco. islands, filled with birds, and covered in white (alot of birds, alot of shit!!), containing a maze of caves and home to a multitude of cute Sea lions. there are 5 females to every male sea lion- the men are twice the size of the females, and i get told that due to their jealousy and aggresive nature, they often attack other males for supremacy or keeing thir concubine; even attack their new born males due to an eventual possibility of threat. so often, the females will hide elsewhere soon after birth of their male offspring.

Made it back to shore by midday to eat Seviche, a local delicacy where you eat raw fish left to naturally marinate/cook in lime juice and lemon- very tasty!!!! and soft white chunks of white fish.

Then on another bus directly to Lima, the capital of Peru. the city itself is overcrowded and polluted, but once you get out into the outskirts and near the beaches, you get a different picture. We found a cool hostel called ¨Point Lodge¨, made for backpackers, it was close to the beaches, close to Miraflores (swanky beachside area made for yuppies and a definite tourist trap). The hostel was chilled back, hammocks included, pool table and a bar! didnt really need to leave the place. Lima was just a stop over before next stop...as i will be coming back.
Having arrived for a monday night, celebrations in the city were at a minimum. made it to a cool jazz bar with some awesome sounds and feel. But going out to the bar afterwards...everything was deserted!!
Definitely be coming back here in 2 months to party it up!

It was also a sad point in my travels, as i had to say farewell to the strands of traveller´s left whose freindship i had enjoyed over the previous 2 months. And so i boarded my bus, fresh faced, alone....but ready for new adventures...

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Photos

boat trip
with Lacy, Claudio, Helen