South America Day 4
Ballestas Islands
We were woken at 5.30 by some noisy Spanish speaking locals in the room next door. They were not only making a ruckus packing their bags, but shouting at each other as well.
We got over it, had breakfast and boarded out trusty bus again. The route that day started off with a boat cruise from Paracas a few kms south of Pisco There's a small island group off the coast called the Ballestas Islands. It's a serious bird rookery as well as having a pretty healthy sea lion colony (more on those later).
We piled into the boat (as pictured) with our dodgy life jackets and headed out to the islands.
The next interesting sight was on the same peninsular. It's called the Cantelabra. The ancient Nazca people carved out this pattern on the hillside. Thanks to the lack of rain on the West Coast of Peru the pattern hasn't been washed away even after 100s of years. Top to bottom it's 180m.
On the way out to the islands, we were escorted by the pelican for a little while. They're quite the sight in full flight. Check the wingspan on this one. The Peruvian Pelicans are similar to the ones we saw in California, but have much more colourful markings.
We
arrived at the islands after not too long. The closer we came the more a
horrible rotting fish smell filled our nostrils. It's pretty much stock
standard for seabird rookeries the world over.
The arch in shot has a couple of features. The rocky beach under it has a healthy sea lion colony. The top of the arch is packed with nesting seabirds. Spices include Pelicans, Cormorants, Boobies (Gannets), Turns & Penguins. They are all similar to their cousins throughout the world, but typically a more colourful variant.
These Humboldt Penguins are persistent if nothing else. They nest all the way up to the top of the island cliffs despite not being able to fly at all (they're not the most expert climbers either).
Incan Turns are probably the most interesting variant of the lot. The turns most of you would be accustomed to are predominantly white with a black head. These ones are far more interesting, particularly the little yellow and white eyebrows.
Check out this island. It is absolutely covered in nesting birds. It's wonderful to see wildlife so prolific in such a poor country. The temptation to exploit this natural resource must be irresistible.
There are a number of beaches like this one on the Ballestas Islands. The resident South American Sea Lions are as raucous as their cousins around the world.
The South American Sea Lions are also just as good at posing as their relatives.
Pisco
Sour is very popular in Peru, Bolivia & Chile. It's an odd mix made
with a liquor of sorts (made by distilling grapes) lime, egg white
sugar syrup & a local variant of bitters. They also like to sprinkle
cinnamon on top.
I took an instant liking to it because of my taste for all things sour. It's also very refreshing in the hot climate of coastal Peru. The only problem with it is that it's got quite a high alcohol content. Fortunately the lime is quite strong also which makes it difficult to drink more than 2.
About half an hour's drive from Paracas (where we set of for the cruise), we visited a Pisco vineyard. It looks like any other vineyard (well, more or less).
We were shown around the place & told about the process. It wasn't like the wineries in Australia with their sterile stainless steel vessels. These guys had small concrete pits that they stomp the grapes in during a festival. They used to ferment the Pisco in slender clay jars (Pisco Jars) but now are a bit more modern and use barrels.
After the tour they let us do some Pisco tasting. The first couple of lower alcohol ones weren't bad, but the rocket fuel versions (like all similar spirits the world over) were horrible!
The arch in shot has a couple of features. The rocky beach under it has a healthy sea lion colony. The top of the arch is packed with nesting seabirds. Spices include Pelicans, Cormorants, Boobies (Gannets), Turns & Penguins. They are all similar to their cousins throughout the world, but typically a more colourful variant.
These Humboldt Penguins are persistent if nothing else. They nest all the way up to the top of the island cliffs despite not being able to fly at all (they're not the most expert climbers either).
Incan Turns are probably the most interesting variant of the lot. The turns most of you would be accustomed to are predominantly white with a black head. These ones are far more interesting, particularly the little yellow and white eyebrows.
Check out this island. It is absolutely covered in nesting birds. It's wonderful to see wildlife so prolific in such a poor country. The temptation to exploit this natural resource must be irresistible.
There are a number of beaches like this one on the Ballestas Islands. The resident South American Sea Lions are as raucous as their cousins around the world.
The South American Sea Lions are also just as good at posing as their relatives.
Pisco
Sour is very popular in Peru, Bolivia & Chile. It's an odd mix made
with a liquor of sorts (made by distilling grapes) lime, egg white
sugar syrup & a local variant of bitters. They also like to sprinkle
cinnamon on top.I took an instant liking to it because of my taste for all things sour. It's also very refreshing in the hot climate of coastal Peru. The only problem with it is that it's got quite a high alcohol content. Fortunately the lime is quite strong also which makes it difficult to drink more than 2.
About half an hour's drive from Paracas (where we set of for the cruise), we visited a Pisco vineyard. It looks like any other vineyard (well, more or less).
We were shown around the place & told about the process. It wasn't like the wineries in Australia with their sterile stainless steel vessels. These guys had small concrete pits that they stomp the grapes in during a festival. They used to ferment the Pisco in slender clay jars (Pisco Jars) but now are a bit more modern and use barrels.
After the tour they let us do some Pisco tasting. The first couple of lower alcohol ones weren't bad, but the rocket fuel versions (like all similar spirits the world over) were horrible!
I'm not too sure why, but for some reason the Pisco vineyard had this Beetle with the Herbie paint job.
So that was the last we saw of coastal Peru. From the vineyard we headed inland to the sandy desert & the oasis, Huacachina.
For more photos from Coastal Peru, click this link.
Huacachina
Huacachina (above) is an oasis of sorts toward the edge of a vast sand dune area. We were excited because of the promise of a dune buggy ride & sand boarding.
Woo
Hoo! Dune Buggies! These things weren't at all what I was expecting.
They were nothing more than a roll cage with an engine & wheels, a
few seats & a steering wheel. The operators like to wring the necks
of these things as well. They tear up what are some quite big &
steep dunes. Loads of fun!
After our sand dune adventure, we returned to the Oasis. Of course there was the obligatory stop for photos.
This is a bit of a funny photo out of context. Looks like we're all ready to make the final push...
The reality is that we were all lined up for sand boarding. I tried the stand up option (like snow boarding) but it didn't work so well. The board didn't have anything in the way of an edge so it was more like slide a bit then turn & fall down, then do it all again. By the last time, I was lining up on the ridge with the rest of them to slide down on my stomach.
The reality is that we were all lined up for sand boarding. I tried the stand up option (like snow boarding) but it didn't work so well. The board didn't have anything in the way of an edge so it was more like slide a bit then turn & fall down, then do it all again. By the last time, I was lining up on the ridge with the rest of them to slide down on my stomach.
Here's the more popular way of sand boarding. Pictured is Kerri
flying down the dune at full noise (full noise fast, and full noise
screaming).
It got me thinking that I should build myself a sand board when I get back to Perth (still haven't BTW).
It got me thinking that I should build myself a sand board when I get back to Perth (still haven't BTW).
We
couldn't go too far without a group photo. Our first for the trip.
Sounds simple, but by the time everyone has handed their cameras to the
guides & posed 14 times for the same shot, it adds up.
The crew from left to right:-
Roberto (the tour guide), me, Kerri, Smita, Polly, Mike, Special-K (AKA Karishma), Emma, Hina, Vixy, Gemma, Richard, Melissa, Nichola. (Missing were Nora & Vincent).
The crew from left to right:-
Roberto (the tour guide), me, Kerri, Smita, Polly, Mike, Special-K (AKA Karishma), Emma, Hina, Vixy, Gemma, Richard, Melissa, Nichola. (Missing were Nora & Vincent).
After a hot & dusty sand dune adventure, we headed back to
the oasis for some nice cold beers & a dip in the nice cool pool. In
fact I did both at the same time. There are very few places in the
western world that you are allowed to do that these days. Maybe a few
resort pools where the bar is in the pool, but that's about it. Stupid
health & safety laws...
After a hot & dusty sand dune adventure, we headed back to
the oasis for some nice cold beers & a dip in the nice cool pool. In
fact I did both at the same time. There are very few places in the
western world that you are allowed to do that these days. Maybe a few
resort pools where the bar is in the pool, but that's about it. Stupid
health & safety laws...
It was so good to be able to immerse my whole body in water after a year & a half in Canada.
I wasn't the only one
of the clan in the pool. Most of the tour group ended up in the pool at one
time or other.
Eventually we were dragged out of the pool & back onto the bus to continue our journey. Next stop was to be Nazca.
It was so good to be able to immerse my whole body in water after a year & a half in Canada.
Eventually we were dragged out of the pool & back onto the bus to continue our journey. Next stop was to be Nazca.
After a bus trip from Huacachina, we reached a tower beside the
highway. It's a lookout point for the Nasca Lines (I'll make the concept
clear later). It was quite late in the afternoon and the light was
fading so it was a mad scramble up the tower to get a few very dodgy
photos (including this one). You should be able to make out the shape of
two hands & a blob of a body.
We jumped back on the bus for the final 1/2 hr to the hotel in Nazca. I say 'in' Nasca. It was a couple of kms away, so we were left with no option but to eat at the hotel restaurant. It was rubbish! Meat & veg done very boring & bland. It was very disappointing after a very interesting dinner the night before in Pisco where we had all manner of seafood cooked in all sorts of new & interesting ways. Kerri had a seafood soup that was akin to an Asian seafood laksa but with a whole crab broken into it. Delicious! I had the 'Ceviche De Pescado' which is seafood cold cooked by citrus juice (usually lime). That was also pretty nice & it became a favourite menu choice of mine in the subsequent weeks.
After dinner it was off to bed & the end of a busy day, what was the first full day of the tour.
We jumped back on the bus for the final 1/2 hr to the hotel in Nazca. I say 'in' Nasca. It was a couple of kms away, so we were left with no option but to eat at the hotel restaurant. It was rubbish! Meat & veg done very boring & bland. It was very disappointing after a very interesting dinner the night before in Pisco where we had all manner of seafood cooked in all sorts of new & interesting ways. Kerri had a seafood soup that was akin to an Asian seafood laksa but with a whole crab broken into it. Delicious! I had the 'Ceviche De Pescado' which is seafood cold cooked by citrus juice (usually lime). That was also pretty nice & it became a favourite menu choice of mine in the subsequent weeks.
After dinner it was off to bed & the end of a busy day, what was the first full day of the tour.
