From Sue
On Wednesday, we took a much anticipated family trip to the city of Paracas located 3 hours south of Lima. Because we booked 7 people for this tour, we were told it would be cheaper for us to have our own van. Cool! After 10 weeks of riding in the back of a taxi with the kids, I was ready for it! Our driver, Javier, showed up at 3:35am and we loaded up. He told us that there was another person coming and we picked her up along the way. I thought it was another tourist 
but it turned out to be our own personal tour guide. Very cool! (gotta love a big family!) We made the drive sleeping most of the way and arrived in Paracas at 7:45. Our boat tour left at 8 so we 
made our way to the dock. Our boat was a motor boat and had a capacity of about 30 people. We all put on our life vests (for Rebekah and Elijah it was more like life dress!) and headed out to the Ballestas Islands. On the way, we saw a huge candelabra-shaped design etched into the side of a hill ala Nazca lines. No one knows who made this design or why. One theory is orientation which the people of the area still use it for today. We then drove for about another 15 minutes to the islands. These are volcanic islands used as nesting and rookery areas for thousands (I am not exaggerating) of birds. There were Inca terns, pelicans, boobies and even penguins! They were everywhere all over the rocks and flying overhead. If you have an aversion to birds, this is not 
the place for you. Apparently, guano is harvested here several times per year for agricultural purposes. We could sure smell it! This is also an area where sea lions live and breed. Eric has video on facebook of the main beach where the sea lions live. It was so cool to see these animals in their natural habitat! One of the moms was teaching her pup how to dive. At one point, the pup was left alone and we couldn't see the mother. The pup was squalling and looking around. Then from out of nowhere, the mother pops up out of the water right next to the pup and barks right in its face. As a parent, I could totally relate to this animal. It was an amazing sight and the day was very sunny and beautiful. The entire boat tour lasted for two hours.
but it turned out to be our own personal tour guide. Very cool! (gotta love a big family!) We made the drive sleeping most of the way and arrived in Paracas at 7:45. Our boat tour left at 8 so we 
made our way to the dock. Our boat was a motor boat and had a capacity of about 30 people. We all put on our life vests (for Rebekah and Elijah it was more like life dress!) and headed out to the Ballestas Islands. On the way, we saw a huge candelabra-shaped design etched into the side of a hill ala Nazca lines. No one knows who made this design or why. One theory is orientation which the people of the area still use it for today. We then drove for about another 15 minutes to the islands. These are volcanic islands used as nesting and rookery areas for thousands (I am not exaggerating) of birds. There were Inca terns, pelicans, boobies and even penguins! They were everywhere all over the rocks and flying overhead. If you have an aversion to birds, this is not 
the place for you. Apparently, guano is harvested here several times per year for agricultural purposes. We could sure smell it! This is also an area where sea lions live and breed. Eric has video on facebook of the main beach where the sea lions live. It was so cool to see these animals in their natural habitat! One of the moms was teaching her pup how to dive. At one point, the pup was left alone and we couldn't see the mother. The pup was squalling and looking around. Then from out of nowhere, the mother pops up out of the water right next to the pup and barks right in its face. As a parent, I could totally relate to this animal. It was an amazing sight and the day was very sunny and beautiful. The entire boat tour lasted for two hours. We then headed over to the Paracas Reserve, the only marine reserve in Peru. This area was hit very hard by the earthquake in 2007 and so many of the hotels and restaurants are new. The 
museum in the reserve, however, has not yet been rebuilt, so we drove around the reserve. This area is a desert and the most desolate piece of real estate I've ever seen. There wasn't just no plants, there was no life period. Occasionally, though, we would round a bend and see the ocean and it was just gorgeous. We stopped at one lookout point and there was a sign about the rock formation that used to be there called the Cathedral. It was a huge arch of rock that had taken 25 -28 million years to form. It crumbled in the earthquake and was ruined in seconds. We could see cracks in the dirt along some of the cliffs. We then walked down to the beach. It was really neat, the climb back up in the sand, less so. We drove to a little cove, Carolyn has dubbed it Pelican Cove, and we had lunch at one of the little restaurants there.
These had also been rebuilt as they had been destoyed by the resulting tsunami in 2007. It was a neat little place about 30 yards from the beach, open all around. We had fresh, and I mean fresh, fish for lunch with juice from these amazing little "limons" sprinkled on top. Delicious! After lunch, Rebekah and Eliljah had a ball playing in the surf as it was gentle in this little cove. The rest of us thought the water was a little too cold for a swim.
museum in the reserve, however, has not yet been rebuilt, so we drove around the reserve. This area is a desert and the most desolate piece of real estate I've ever seen. There wasn't just no plants, there was no life period. Occasionally, though, we would round a bend and see the ocean and it was just gorgeous. We stopped at one lookout point and there was a sign about the rock formation that used to be there called the Cathedral. It was a huge arch of rock that had taken 25 -28 million years to form. It crumbled in the earthquake and was ruined in seconds. We could see cracks in the dirt along some of the cliffs. We then walked down to the beach. It was really neat, the climb back up in the sand, less so. We drove to a little cove, Carolyn has dubbed it Pelican Cove, and we had lunch at one of the little restaurants there.
These had also been rebuilt as they had been destoyed by the resulting tsunami in 2007. It was a neat little place about 30 yards from the beach, open all around. We had fresh, and I mean fresh, fish for lunch with juice from these amazing little "limons" sprinkled on top. Delicious! After lunch, Rebekah and Eliljah had a ball playing in the surf as it was gentle in this little cove. The rest of us thought the water was a little too cold for a swim.Then it was time to head home. The roads were pretty good and they were actually in the process of building a new one. What a remote and barren area. Yet there are small communities scattered throughout. There are also some pockets of fertile valleys that are homes to many wineries. It is amazing how diverse ecologically this country is- deserts, rain forests, mountains and coastal environments. I still can't get over how this barren desert devoid of life, exists right alongside the ocean teaming with life and diversity. A very worthwhile, fun and exhausting trip!
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