After Pachacamac we drove south along the Pan American Highway, following the coast. We stopped for lunch in a place that was clean and tidy – I think the tour companies have special arrangements with restaurants to maintain better hygiene standards that most tourists would expect. We arrived in Paracas late afternoon, and the next day we took a couple of boats out to the guano islands off the coast.
Our first lunch stop. 12 of us in all, plus Karen our permanent guide.Seeing piles of luggage on top of coaches was common, as were the little tricycle ‘put-puts’ ahead of the coach.Quick stop for a leg stretch in Pisco. The Cathedral of San Clemente was destroyed in an earthquake in 2007, with the loss of 150 lives. It has been replaced with a modern building now.Hotel ParacasIn the hotel bar in the evening.Next morning, and a lone dolphin patrols the small bay as we headed out to sea in a couple of boats.We set off in a pair of speedboats for the Chincha Islands in search of pelicans, penguins, sealions and guano. Lots of guano!The other boat. The islands were a little way out, but it was a relatively smooth ride on the calm sea.Pelicans and Peruvian Boobies on the guano island. The guano is harvested regularly to make explosives and fertilisers.Penguins among the rocks on the guano islands.Sealions relaxing on the rocks. I did wonder how the big bull hauled his weight up there. Peruvian Boobies keep a clear distance.There were mechanical diggers on each islands that are used to harvest the guano, each island is scraped every ten years, and as there are a few, they are done in rotation.Leaving the islands and the wildlife in peace.The candelabra, a pre-inca marking visible from the sea.After getting back to the shore we boarded our mini bus and moved on, stopping at this roadside shop for some fruit and drinks.Huacachina, an oasis in the desert, surrounded by tall sand dunes where sand-surfing is a popular pastime.Huacachina.The coastal desert, and mountains beyond.Any marks made in the desert stay there for years, as there’s no rain and little in the way of storms to erode them over time. And our next stop would be Nazca, and a flight over the Nazca lines – ancient desert graffiti on a grand scale.
