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...