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Published: September 8th 2008
Church
This church was destroyed in the earthquakeWe jumped on a bus with our new found friends, Chris and Marina. The bus ride from Lima to Pisco was a little eye opening. Shanty-towns lined the hillsides facing the ocean. The people would get off the bus and have to hike up a half mile long stair case to get to their houses, which were made of sheet metal or interlaced bamboo.
The town of Pisco is small, roughly 50,000 people. At first glance it appears the town is falling apart; piles of bricks line the streets which cars drive around as if it were normal. It turns out Pisco was near the epicenter of a major earthquake last year and many of the buildings had collapsed. Only a few hostals and only one tour company had survived. From my geology class I learned that brick is the worst material to use to withstand earthquakes, but I think this is also the cheapest. However, people continue to live their normal lives and vendors continue to sell their wares. We feel safe walking around, but wouldn't stray from the main road and wouldn't walk around at night.
LAS ISLAS BALLESTAS
The only reason we came to this
Isla De Ballestas
A Sh$t Load of Birds town was to see the Ballestas Islands, also known as “The Poor Man's Galapagos.” Tours to the Galapagos run about $1,000 per person. Tours to the Ballestas Islands run about $30. 'Hmmm. Let me think.' The tour bus picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the peer. Street vendors tried to sell us hats for 10 Soles (3 dollars) because apparently “it's not unusual to receive a direct guano hit.” Our boat headed out to the first Island atop which was a huge Nasca Line carved thousands of years ago (did you see Indiana Jones 4?). The second island contained thousands and thousands of Peruvian Boobies (Hee Hee). Under their feet the ground is stained yellow and white with several inches of guano. Indeed the air had a certain fragrance to it. Every seven years workers live on the islands for months at a time just harvesting guano which will later be used as fertilizer (sounds like a sh*tty job if you ask me).
The boat driver took us closer to another group of rocks. “Sea Lions!” someone yelled. A whole colony sat lazily atop the jagged rocks less than ten feet from us. The baby
sea lion looked at us with its shiny black eyes then went back to its nap. The rest seemed disinterested as we snapped our plethora of pictures. A few feet away sat another colony of Penguins who would jump in the water if they saw something that looked like food. On the way back the boat driver stopped the boat so we could see the school of dolphins that were coming our way. The only thing I could think of that the Galapagos Islands had that this place didn't were the giant lizards and the Blue-Footed Boobies. At the end of the tour we stopped at a restaurant and treated to Ceviche (raw seafood marinated in lime juice and spices) and Pisco Sours (a strong alcohol made of white brandy). The waiter continually chased of a stray pelican that seemed to be begging for food. Not bad for $30.
***TRAVELERS' TIPS***
-Don't order the Caldo de Gallina, it's just chicken parts soup. If the dish is named after the animal meat it's good to eat. If the dish is named after the animal, it's animal parts. Pollo=chicken meat. Gallina=chicken parts. Carne=cow meat. Vaca=cow parts.
-Ceviche got us El Candelabro
The Nasca Line, even though we´re not in Nasca sick both times we tried it. Be warned!
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Sydney
non-member comment
Hmmmm...
I think I might know where your gastric problems started...raw seafood marinated in lime juice...Yummy!