Paracas

WARNING: this may be my most negative post about Perú to date

On a whim, some friends and I decided to visit Paracas, a small town about an hour and a half south of the plant. It is most famous for island tours where you can observe wildlife in their natural habitat and riding dune buggies around the sand dunes.

Because we didn't make advance plans and it was a Sunday, we didn't have the option to ride the dune buggies, but we were able to take an island tour as well as a tour of the natural reserve.  First up was the island tour.

Upon arrival at the dock, I witnessed a scene of mass chaos, the likes of which I had not seen since leaving India. People pushing and shoving and line jumping...I was glad to be with some native speakers to help navigate the 'system' of getting on a boat.  Though we had 'reservations' from our tour company, we still needed to pay government taxes and fees to two different people who, instead of being in some sort of ticket booth, were milling through the crowd.

Eventually, we located and paid the requisite people and the line moved ahead. Oh no, wait...

Eventually, we located and paid the requisite people and were nearly trampled as the people at the end of the line raced to cut ahead to get better seats on the boat.

Despite the behavior reminiscent of 6-year-olds, we all managed to board the boat and find seats. Much to my dismay, we shared our boat with a young boy who was CLEARLY terrified of being out on the water and let us all know it by screaming for the majority of the hour and a half trip.

Not that I entirely blame him, as this trip is not for the faint of heart (or for those who get even the least bit seasick!)  It was one of the roughest boat trips I have ever been on. Not only was it fast, but our captain also seemed to try to hit every possible wave, which resulted in a jarringly bumpy ride.

Our first stop was at La Candelabra-a 150m figure etched into the stone.  While its origins are unknown, some people believe that it is related to the more famous Nazca lines.

We then moved on to see lobo marinos (sea lions) in their natural habitat:

The older males generally are more solitary...

...but seemed to enjoy posing for pictures!

but I was disappointed not to see any Humboldt's penguins. (I believe it may be too hot for them this time of year.)

We did see many pelícanos:

Another contributing factor to the bumpy boat ride was the wind. Now, Paracas is known for its winds, but these were unseasonably strong.

Paracas: literally, 'rains of sand'

See the blurriness in the background?  That's the wind.
I later heard that it was actually a sandstorm!

Despite the wind, we headed out to tour the nature reserve.  This included stops at many beaches, including:

Lagunillas

Overlooking Lagunillas.  See the wind!

La Mina, so named for the carbon deposits that were extracted and exported by ship from this location.
You can see the black carbon streaks in the surrounding rocks.

La playa roja (the red beach), caused by magma cooling and breaking up with the movement of the sea.

...and a stop at the local museum:

Paracas wasn't always a desert.  320 million years ago it was a swamp...

...and had creatures like these.

Flamingos used to be numerous in the reserve, but nowadays they head deep in the reserve to get away from the people.  I thought this would be as close as I could get to seeing one, but after leaving the museum, our driver pointed out a colony in the inlet.  At least he insisted they were flamingos.  To be honest, they were so far away, they could have been any kind of bird.

By the end of the day, we were all hot, tired, covered in dust and ready for a shower! Will I visit Paracas again to see penguins in their native habitat? Only time will tell...

Lunahuaná

This past weekend, I also took a trip to Lunahuaná, a small town about an hour and a half from where I work.  Lunahuaná is situated on the banks of the Rio Cañete and is known by those who want to indulge in adventure sports while in Perú. Canotaje (white water rafting) is the main draw here, but cuatrimotors (ATVs), canope (zip lining), and abseiling (rappelling) are popular as well. 

View from the combi on the way to Cañete

My friend Ivan and I were eager to try the canotaje and now is the perfect time of year since the river is strong with the runoff coming from the mountains.  We ended up going with a package deal that included canotaje, cuatrimotors, and canope.  I know it has been a long time since I went rafting in the US, but I´m pretty sure that the price we paid for all three wouldn't even cover one rafting trip in the US.  (Yes, this is a plug for you adventure seekers out there-come to Perú!)

We started out with the cuatrimotors.  Though it wasn't really adrenaline-filled, it was fun, and let us see some of the area around the town.

The canotaje was our afternoon adventure.

#raftingselfie

As advertised, the river was swift and turbulent.  In addition, it rained most of the afternoon and the waters were even more swollen.

But the trip itself was awesome!  I highly recommend it.  While the rapids are exciting, you also get completely soaked-no matter where you sit in the boat.

In the evening, we decided to chill out and go wine and pisco tasting at some local viñas.  I can't remember if I mentioned it before or not, but the wines from this area are typically super sweet, whereas straight pisco (grape brandy) is strong and not very smooth going down.  We did, however, find a few that we liked-including one bottle of a wine-pisco hybrid that went down much more smoothly.

In the morning, we went for our canope adventure.  For me, this was the most terrifying activity.  I was almost petrified throughout most of the experience, but our guides were calm and patient and on the return trip I almost enjoyed myself.

Do I look terrified?  I was.
I'm not sure if letting Ivan go first and watching him was the best idea...

The return trip

Look! I'm almost smiling here!  (Maybe because I'm almost back on terra firma!)

It was a great weekend and Ivan and I are already planning a return trip to try the higher grade rapids and maybe rappelling.

El Callao

This weekend, as if making up for lost time, I visited a couple of different places. First, on Saturday, I went to Callao to have lunch with a former student and his family. Callao is slightly outside of Lima, near the airport. It is an interesting mix of industrial development area and seaside relaxation spot. 

Despite the rocky beach, day trippers make the most of their experience here in  La Punta (The Point). From this area, you can take a boat out to the islands to see sea lions, penguins, pelicans and other sea birds, which I hope to return and take on a cooler day.

While seeing the city, I was intrigued to see inflatable pools on the sidewalks outside of people's homes and businesses.  My student explained that February is carnival time in Callao.  I wasn't quite sure how to interpret that at first, since my idea of carnival is with rides, games and festival food.  However, here it happens on Sundays in February as an excuse for everyone to get wet.  Not only do people enjoy their pools outside, but children also run through the streets throwing water balloons and buckets of water on each other.  Occasionally they add dyes to the water, which makes me think of the Indian festival of Holi.