Today we headed out of the constant gloom of Lima - caused by the cold Humbolt current which creates cloudy foggy conditions 9 months of year - but with it, it is does bring the plankton which supports a thriving fishing industry and hundreds of seabirds and for many years the guano ( poop ) they produced was a key export as is an excellent fertiliser but it was usurped by widely produced and cheaper chemical fertilisers. The current also brings the Humbolt penguin, the most northerly penguin, and we were off to see if we could see them.
But first we stopped at Pachacama (lord of earthquakes) to see the most important Inca coastal fortress and settlement - at the time of the Spanish conquest - and which is older than Machu Piccu. For thousands of years it was covered by the coastal desert sands but has been painstakingly uncovered allowing visitors further insight into the world of the Incas. The spot they chose gave them both a good vantage point for defence and worship, the Sun temple was at the highest point, (along with its archeological finds of human sacrifices). It was also well positioned for food as this bleak desert area has fertile valleys running through it and surrounding the fortress we could see, still the populated, green and cultivated valleys. The best excavation was of a large building that was just used by the women ( today's photo). As we left we saw a seemingly hairless stray dog trotting around - apparently these are an old Peruvian breed and are to be found at many of the archeological sights.
History lesson over we headed further down the coast to a small fishing village, Pucusana, where we ordered lunch in a local restaurant ( fried local fish and french fries for us - frankly I didn't fancy the Peruvian speciality of Cerviche ( uncooked marinated fish with corn and sweet potato - those that like raw said it was lovely - each to their own!) We then headed off to the dock - which was quite large and filled with brightly painted fishing boats and ever hopeful Peruvian pelicans waiting around the dock for the bits the fishermen didn't want. We donned bright orange life jackets and jumped into one of two boats and headed off with local guides for a tour of the coast line. We did see why specks in a steep sided inlet, which were the Humbolt penguins, then we saw a couple of brave ones who were closer and up on the rocks nearer to us - we also saw beautiful grey birds with red and yellow head markings and white moustache type feathers on either side of their head - these were inca terns, also on the list were, Peruvian grey boobys, the 3 types of cormorant, red legged, neotropic and guyani ( so named as they are great guano producers),grey gulls and sea lions. As we returned to port the captains threw out fish so we were able to witness a, predominantly, pelican show like no other!
A brilliant trip over we headed back for our lunch and a long trip to our overnight stop on the edge of the national park at Paracas. Paracas was the jewel in what had been a pretty bleak drive -lots of shanty towns, dust and light industry with some agriculture in the more fertile zones - including grapes for wine production. Poverty, hardship and struggle were the abiding words I was left with to describe the essence of what I saw. The hotel and the location was the polar opposite, it had the biggest pool I have seen -sadly we arrived too late to use it. The rooms were well designed and minimal - but with a great big comfortable bed and a small balcony - the large walk in shower was a wonderful antidote to the grime of the day.
We all met for supper at 7pm but after a substantial lunch we opted for soup and desert only.
It's so nice and dark at night with little light pollution so I slept well - it was also quiet.