Paracas

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Greetings everyone,

I am nearing the end of what I’ll call my first blog – which is an extended series of blogs about my recent trip to Peru. I think I have one more post after this one that’ll wrap things up with some Lima, Peru comments and perhaps I’ll have a video or two to share by then too…..

After the stop at Allpahuayo-Michana which fulfilled my desire to see rainforest frogs and the desire to walk a little through a rainforest – it was on to Iquitos and then onto a plane back to Lima. Two days rest in Lima and a little re-organizing then lead to last little trip to the coastal area of Paracas, Peru (what the Lonely Planet calls “The poor mans Galapagos”). It was a 4+ hour bus ride to Paracas. The desert coast of Peru is pretty barren in most spots with various small towns and cities appearing here and there along the Pan-American Highway. Seeing a bit of agriculture seemed strange as most of the coast is rolling sand dunes and very dry desert terrain. We were dropped off on the highway by the bus and the navigated our way through Pisco via taxis and combis to the small (but growing/developing fast!!) coastal town of Paracas. Paracas reminded me of many coastal towns I have been to in Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize and elsewhere in Latin America.

Paracas is known for the Islas Ballestas which are a series of Islands not far from the coast  that are home to literally hundred of thousands of seabirds. Previously, the islands were a place to harvest guano for fertilizer or other use. Tour companies barter and offer trips to the islands aboard 30-40 passenger powerboats right at the main dock. So, at 8am the next day it was off to the islands on one of these boats. All the wildlife photos are from these islands. The bird life was never-ending. Humboldt penguins, cormorants, Peruvian boobies, Inca terns, Peruvian pelicans, Southern sea-lions, and even a lone and huge jellyfish were part of the highlights (most of the photos). The captains of the boat motor around the islands at a good pace and do a good job of getting quite close to the wildlife without disturbing the animals and without getting into danger for the boat passengers. It’s a cool trip for anyone who likes birds, boats, islands, and min-adventures. Having spent so much time in the Galapagos, it’s hard to match my experiences I had there in terms of close encounters with wildlife. Never-the-less, I enjoyed seeing all the birds – and especially the penguins which are not the most common bird to see anywhere one travels (unless you’re in Antarctica or islands south of Tierra del Fuego, Chile etc…..). On the way out to the Islas Ballestas, the boats stop by nearshore of the set of Nazca Lines (photo) seen on the dry mountain landscape. These ancient carvings in the sandy hillside date back many centuries if not millennia – curious sight to see (there are more on the mainland further south).

Since it was not a peak nesting season, the islands were not at full capacity – apparently, the islands are covered with cormorants during peak seasons. In a couple of photos you can see the mass of cormorants capping the main island – clearly a lot of birds! We did spot one blue-footed booby and there were some older juvenile boobies on the rocks. The Inca terns were quite striking with their red and white head feathers and grey/black body feathers (photo). Neat birds. A few groups of sea-lions were up on the rocks – one younger sea-lion was playing around with a large starfish (photos). Overall, this was a great little trip to see Peruvian coastal wildlife. I would do it again – and almost did the following day.

After the boat trip, we headed into the desert of the Paracas National Reserve. About 200 Chilean Flamingos were way off in the shallows of a bay near the visitor center that starts the trip in the reserve. Always cool to see wild flamingos! For the next 4 hours we motored around the reserve in a small combi with 8 other people. The coastal desert is pretty barren but the sights are quite grand. Various color beaches hug the shoreline and dramatic views from high up on the bluffs make this a neat place to visit. Towards the end of the trip we stopped into one of the fishing villages for some food. We ate fresh ceviche sitting outside on the edge of the rocks that dropped into the bay water about 5 meters away. The fishing boats were on their way in from multi-day trips – so, we got to see some of the fresh catch (photos). I took a refreshing swim in the local bay and then we were off on our way back to Paracas.  That’s about for this post. I’ll throw some Lima, Peru photos in to finish up later…

June 11, 2012 | Categories: Settling into the SF Bay Area | Leave a comment