July 24th, 2015
Paracas, just one hour north of Ica and Huacachina, is a charming and small town on the Peruvian coast, full of things to do. The two most obvious attractions are The Ballestas Islands; otherwise known as Peru’s Poor Man’s Galapagos and the Paracas National Reserve; a collection of beaches and desert great for biking, hiking or driving through. Rob, Bethan and I are lucky enough to be visiting both places.
When we first get to Paracas we find the most popular hostel in town completely full and so instead, we find a private triple room for 20 Soles each at a small establishment on the main street of town before heading out for some early dinner along the seaside promenade followed by a quick dip in the Ocean. The beach is far from ideal for swimming and the water is full of Algae, but I’ve been away from the sea since so It doesn’t mater and I enjoy the waters salty caress.
Swimming done we stop by a few of the small tourist agencies and start negotiating, the fact that were booking two tours, a boat trip to Ballestas and a bus tour to the reserve gives us some leverage and we get a good deal paying 60 soles for both trips including all entrance fees, so we go to bed happy and eager for the next morning which sees us in line at one of Paracas’ two piers just before 8 am. They try to make us pay entry for the Ballestas Islands (5 soles for Ballestas Islands and 5 soles for the Reserve) but we explain it was included in our package and after a quick phone call they let it pass and were welcomed on to a boat of about 30 people for what we’re sure will be a thrilling ride.
The first stop is a colony of Pelicans on a beach near the main port, their heads are surprisingly yellow, and as always these big sea birds are quite fun to watch, as they peck at each other and take flight in bunches.
Before long though it’s on to our next site, the mysterious Candelabra which is often linked to the Nazca Lines a few hours south of here.
The Candelabra is a giant indentation in a sand dune, in the shape of a candelabra maybe 40 meters high and 20 across. My mum and dad we’re here on their visit to Peru and I have to agree it’s pretty cool. No one is absolutely sure why the Candelabra is there, but one popular theory is that pirates used it to mark a meeting place before going on raids to the port towns.
We snap lots of photos and the scale and age (exact age unknown but pottery found at the site dating back to 200 bc is impressive enough) of these strange lines in the desert sand lend it a sense of grandeur appropriate for a Candalabra, but before long we’re heading on towards the main attraction. It’s the sad thing about tours in general but especially boat tours, time is always in short supply, and we always move faster than I want. It was true in Isla de Damas Chile, and in Isla De Plata Ecuador and it’s true here.
As we pull up to a few small islands made of dark rock largely covered in bird guano, which was harvested here for many years every day and still is today in certain seasons I can quickly tell were in for something special. The dramatic rock formations full of arches and strange towers, mixed with a sky overfull of countless sea birds make that plain as day.
My camera’s in overdrive mode as we coast over increasingly turquoise seas, drawing closer to the rocks and the countless bird to be found here. There’s Boobies, Pelicans, Cormorants and Penguins mainly, and they all seem to intermingle in a chaotic society on the rocks.
We continue along the jagged coastlines looking for more penguins when we stumble upon a baby sea lion left by it’s mother who is gone hunting and mewling for her from time to time while watching our boat drift by full of wide eyed curiosity that only the young seem capable of mustering.
We don’t go to close as we don’t want to bother it and rather continue on past countless caverns and arches in the stones all covered in birds and we even manage to spot a few brightly coloured crabs and sea stars low down near the water.
We round a corner together, passing a local fisherman in near the rocks and find our first group of fully grown sea lions tanning themselves on some rocks.
In this part of the islands we’re surrounded by dozens of small protruding rocky islets, most of which are covered in birds and sea lions. I have to say in many ways this is the poor man’s galapagos that’s most reminiscent of the real thing, at least in terms of population density and there seeming disinterest towards the handful of tourist boats drifting through the water.
Perhaps the best thing about Ballestas is that should you get bored of watching the islands, you just need to look up and be amazed at just how many birds are in the air. Boobies and cormorants soar above us at all times, navigating traffic like an expert motorcyclists in the streets of Hanoi Vietnam.
After lots more sea lions, and one particularly densely populated cormorant cliff we start heading back towards Paracas only to find more and more birds flying out towards the islands.
As we come back into sight of our dock the most amazing thing yet happens, just to our left we see a huge flock (Maybe 1000) birds all circling high in the air above the Ocean and then diving en masse, 40 or 50 birds hitting the water at once. In many ways it looked like a mass suicide, but it’s really just an orgy of gluttony and too much fresh fish. Either way it’s spectacular and a perfect cap to our Ballestas experience.
Back on shore we head to a small sandwich and coffee stand and buy some Pringles for our afternoon tour to the Paracas National Reserve. We’re watched by one of the hairless dogs, apparently famous here in Peru, partially because they run hotter than your average dog and are traditionally used as Arthritis therapy. To me they look like hell hounds straight out of supernatural, just not invisible.
At 11 am we’re promptly taken to a big bus, which surprisingly ends up less than half full as we speed out of town and into the desert. Deserts are something I’d never really seen as a child and for that reason they seem to have a special place in my heart, and so many of my best times in the last two years have been in deserts. Be it hot air balloon rides and hiking in Turkey, Soccer and Sand Dunes in La Guajira in Northern Colombia, or other worldly landscapes around San Pedro de Atacama Chile.
Our first stop is an impressive one, Once known as El Catedral, we stop on some coastal cliffs and hurriedly hike to the viewpoint of this famous rock formation which had it’s principle arch destroyed in a 2007 earthquake, but it’s still a very impressive vista, even if it looks less like a cathedral now.
We watch the waves roll in over the rocks for a few minutes, before heading left to another nearby mirador looking out on a long and sprawling beach, more cliffs in the distance beyond. It’s undeniably beautiful and I find myself thinking of Ice cube’s song Today was a good day.
Before long we’re back in the bus and heading to our next stop, an added one to the itinerary where we park at the bottom of a large hill dune hybrid and hurry up it for what our guide swears is the best view of the desert available here. Though I’m winded as I reach the summit, I have to admit, the view is pretty damn impressive, though sadly sun position made good photos difficult.
After admiring the view we head back to the van for our next stop, a truly stunning red sand beach, fringed with shelf like rocks which most of our group stays on top of. I climb down onto the red sand and wade into the waves careful not to go to deep. In the end I regret not swimming even if the walk along the beach does provide better angles for pictures.
Next up is lunch, for most people anyway, though as I often do on tours, I choose instead to explore the area around me, since the restaurants are all found in a tiny little fishing port with an idyllic cove and a lovely white sand beach. I strip down to boxers (since losing my bathing suit I’ve found there’s hardly any need for one) and plunge into the cold but welcoming water, swimming out towards some bird covered rocks.
I approach the pelicans and cormorants who watch me with some interest, but I don’t go close enough to bother them, pulled instead to some other sections of the rocky coastline where I find two skeletal looking white lizards who watch me menacingly.
Rob and Bethan reemerge from the restaurant and their complimentary and below par maracuya sours so I eventually head back to the beach and we use the rest of lunch time to go exploring up the hill nearby which provides stunning 360 degree views of the beaches and fishing boats towards shore, and the wild and raw Pacific Ocean when faced out to sea.
We leave the path’s behind and climb down to some lower sections to watch the sea birds hunt, before heading back to the summit and going to the lookout. I climb over the barrier and edge my way down to a more dramatic outlook while Bethan snaps some photos. (Thanks Bethan.)
Then lunch time is over and we head back to the bus, waiting for a few Peruvians to finish their fresh and no doubt delicious seafood lunches before setting off for our last stop where we have a choice. An interpretation centre about the reserve or a hike out to see some flamingoes and some fossils which are about 45 million years old.
Needless to say we choose the second option and are only slightly disappointed when the path ends a good distance from the coast line where we can see the flamingoes clearly enough, though they are certainly further away then I’d hoped.
While watching the Flamingoes we meet a friendly Israeli music teacher whose walked out to the reserve on this own, and our guide’s are kind enough to give him a ride back to town where we head back to a beachside restaurant to enjoy some cold drinks and good conversation before heading back to the hostel for the night after briefly meeting with Ceci and Ben one last time. They’re firmly on their own path and schedule now, but the good news is I’ll be visiting Ceci again in her home city whenever I manage to get to Argentina this winter.
We go to sleep happy with the day and glad we did the tours, and cap the evening by buying tickets to the Russian Circus in Lima, our next destination.
