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Published: March 4th 2009
Paracus and Pisco - 23rd to 25th of Feb.
After an uneventful five hour journey down the Panamerican towards Pisco, we were swiftly deposited by the side of the road. Oh when you said the bus went to Pisco, you meant it dropped us at the side of the road 6km away from the town? I understand. Luckily, there were numerous taxi drivers more than willing to bring us to Pisco so we hopped in a taxi.
On the way to Pisco, the taxi man said that tourists don't usually stay in Pisco anymore, rather they go to another town called Paracus instead. Pisco was levelled by an earthquake in 2007 and they are rebuilding the town currently, whereas Paracus was barely affected. Where to stay - in the rubble or the beach town?
We decided to go to Paracus with poor Fiona being unnerved by the taximan's slightly erratic behaviour, though it was fairly typical of many South American drivers. He was slowing down and speeding up and it was a dark road. I just thought if anything happens, I won't be able to run because my flip flop has just broken!
Once we got to Paracus, much negotiations took place between us and various hostel owners (one offered us dorm rooms with a pisco sour and a penguin) but we settled on a twin room with an ensuite and cable TV for 20 soles each. It was a really nice room in a place called Refugio de Pirate, I think.
After depositing our things, we ventured off in search of food where our white skin (the whiteness is doubled now that I have Fiona at my side!) attracted much attention!
The next day, we wandered around the town and spent time at the beach. It's a very pretty town, one of the nicest I've been in, though like much of Peru litter is a problem. We also had some cerviche (probably a bad idea) and a picso sour which was yum. In the evening time, we met two local guys who worked for a tour operator and went for dinner with them. It was a nice evening, talking about our various countries, though I think they were disappointed to hear we had boyfriends!
On Wednesday, Fiona and I were up early to go on a tour to the Isla Ballestas, another Poor Man's Galapagos. As the boat passed by various sand cliffs, we saw the candelabra (or depending on your point of view, an etching of the San Pedro Catus) which was craved into the side of a sand cliff hundreds of years ago by the Paracas people.
We could hear the islands for ages; the combination of sea lions and birds makes for an interesting sound. The boat sailed around islands, visiting various parts where sea lions, penguins and numerous birds live. The birds dung is gathered every six years or so and used as fertiliser and the likes. It's meant to be excellent. And it really smelled. The boat also went by the maternity beach where the mammy sea lions were looking after their babies.
When we got back to Paracus, we had to pack up our things as our hotel was booked up that night. So after a spot of lunch, Fiona and I made our merry way to Ica.
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julia sydney
non-member comment
who's fiona?
who's fiona? and did you steal a penguin? can you send me one?