We caught up with some essential admin, FaceTimed Lauren's parents and checked out of our hotel.
After an early buffet lunch we took a 4 hour bus ride to Paracas where we were going to go on a wildlife trip the next morning.
We checked into our hotel and they gave us a room that opened right on to the huge swimming pool and facing the sea. It was a welcome relief after the previous few nights in Fawlty Towers!
My new hat
As we watched the sunset (mojito in hand of course!) we caught up with a few friends on Skype then had dinner and headed to bed. Another early start in the morning....
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6:30am and we were up and at 'em.
We were booked on a trip to the Ballestos Islands just off the coast of Paracas, Peru.
Many bird species can be seen in the islands including Pelicans, Penguins, Cormorants, Inca Terns and Peruvian Boobies (yes, you heard!). Also, sea lions, turtles, dolphins, and whales are there at the right time of year.
Before we even got on the boat we saw hundreds of Pelicans in the harbour. It was such a strange sight - we're just used to seeing seagulls and here we were, face to beak with, let's face it, one of God's comedy animals! They look so strange!!
Soon we were on our way in our fetching life jackets!l
First stop was the 'candleabra'. This is a local phenomenon.
Carved into the sand in one of the islands is a cactus or a candleabra. No-one seems to know how it got there but it's been there since 500BC apparently.
Our guide gave us a few theories:
1) As it is exactly on the same line as the Nasca lines, it was created by the same people (and that's another mystery!).
2) José De San Martin did it. He was a big Inca guy back in the day....
3) Sailors made it as a geographical landmark.
4) Aliens created it
Sadly, our guide subscribed to the latter theory which tainted our trust slightly!! ☺
As we approached the first island we'd never seen so many birds in one place before!
The top of each island was literally covered with thousands of birds, waiting to dive in the sea and catch their breakfast.
It was at this point that we got our first peek at a lovely pair of Peruvian Boobies. In fact, there were hundreds of them.
Then came the sealions
The islands were stunning
On the way back, the captain opened up the boat to full speed and we got soaked!
It took me ages to sort my hair out after that!
Straight from the beach we got on a bus to Ica then a taxi to Huacachina, a town in the desert that is famous for sand boarding, something we'd both fancied trying!
The 'Bus Station' in Paracas
We got front row seats upstairs in the double decker
Huacachina was a very small town and had limited options in the way of restaurants. The only place that had a decent amount of punters eating in it was this place which had a rather interesting name....
When 4pm came, we went to our meeting point and were picked up by our sand buggy driver to take us sand boarding.
We both thought that we would be driven to the top of a dune and we'd sand board down but, as we entered the desert area, we soon realised how wrong we were!
It turns out that Carlos (I don't know his name but that's an educated guess!) was a Peruvian relative of multi world rally champion, Colin McCrea (RIP). Again, I don't know that, in fact it's highly unlikely, but his driving was immense and he had all 9 of us in the air on several occasions as he raced, full throttle up the 300 metre dunes, over the crest and down the almost vertical rear side! For about 15 minutes he had grown men screaming with 'fleasure' which is a word I just made up which is a cross between fear and pleasure!
First we stopped for a few pictures.
Sand, sand everywhere!
Then it was time to sand board!
These boards were loads smaller than a snow board and it had been about 7 years since I last snow boarded but I gave it my best shot for the first 2 dunes. I'll probably have a few bruises soon and may not walk for a few days but it was great fun!
Lauren's first run:
The boards had seen better days so on the rest of the dunes I went down on my belly like the rest of the group.
At the end of the trip we were covered in sand from head to toe. I had sand in places I didn't know I had places!!
'Carlos' our driver
It was an exhilarating afternoon and we left Huacachina exhausted but again, smiling like Cheshire cats after trying something so different but so amazing! Thanks Rachel for your recommendation.
We made our way by taxi back to Ica and boarded our 5 hour bus back to Lima.
On arrival in Lima we collected our bags from Fawlty Towers and checked into our nicer hotel where were staying until we leave for Colombia, our sixth and last South American country, on Monday!
How are you going to cope when you return to 'normality' in the UK without all these experiences and adrenaline rushes? ;)
ReplyDeleteNow you've seen pretty much where we used to live! Just north of Paracas. I love some of the coast route down, sea and desert.... :) Rach xx
ReplyDeleteOnly just got to see your pictures as our internet hasn't allowed them to upload (if that is the word to use). Looks just like home.... feeling a bit sentimental now. Rach
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