Isla Paracas (Paracas islands) are considered the “poor man’s Galapagos. We’d seen tour advertised from Huacachina, but knew we would be better off going there directly. Also I wanted to work my way up the coast.
Carolina couldn’t book her bus from Huacachina so we would see her off at the bus station in Ica. Sallie and I would then go to Paracas. Unfortunately the bus was full so Carolina couldn’t get a seat. A good thing she also wanted to see Isla Paracas :) Three of us headed for Paracas. Carolina would leave in 2 days time.
The town of Paracas is small, but on the weirdly calm Pacific ocean. Many buildings seem very low budget wood construction. I’m assuming this is due to the earthquakes that are common. I guess this is rather a cost thing because I saw brick buildings too (all the hotels). We weren’t planning on staying for long since the place is dead. But I had no idea where to go next.
The next morning we took the boat to Isla Paracas to see the wildlife. At the dock waiting to lead our tour was a guy we’d met in Ica (on night’s party). It was great to see a familiar face! We all piled onto a big boat that held 40 people. Very snazzy, but you get a bit wet if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction :) We started off at a “piece of art” packed out on the side of a hill next to the ocean. Nobody is sure what the purpose was, who made it or exactly why it has survived for so long. You could probably compare it to the Nazca lines, just much smaller.
Next: wild life. Loads of sea birds, penguins and a couple of seals…and lots of guano. This gets harvested every 7-or-so years. It is evident that this is not a new practice as there are walls build around the cliffs to catch the guano.
Have you ever heard that being “bombarded” by a bird is supposed to be good luck? Many years ago I got zapped 5 times in one day! I guess that luck is still holding, because I walked off the boat with no extra fluids except the sea spray :)
We got invited to party with the guys, that we’d met in Huacachina, in Pisco (where our guide was from). Cool. Paracas was dead, so why not Pisco.
“Taxi!”
Main street into Paracas – The Paracas beach front (yes, this is the Pacific Ocean) – What out boat looked like
Remember “Thunder Cats?” I was a huge fan :) – The “rock art work” – Each dot is a bird
Where they used to load the guano onto the boats – Getting up close – Locals diving for a living – Living in harmony
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