We were still dozing when we arrived in Paracas after taking a night bus from Arequipa. The bus was continuing onto Lima and so we needed to be semi alert for our stop and to ensure we didn't miss it. When we boarded the bus I was talking to Mark about Wheelers Hill (where I grew up) and the girl in the seat in front turned around and asked if we were talking about Wheelers Hill in Melbourne. When i said yes she commented that she had attended Wheelers Hill High School...its a scarily small world sometimes!

When we got off the bus the attendants that helped get our bags also ran the hotel across the road, Zarcillo Paradise. They were a bit pushy in getting us to stay there but we eventually conceded because they had their own private jetty that ran tours to Islas Ballestas and we would also be able to catch the bus the next day to Lima very easily. Our rooms were basic but sufficent for one night.

Jane and I left Mark and Kate to sleep whilst we walked into town. It was the first time we had been completely down to sea level for weeks! By 9am it was sweltering and so we cut short our tour of the town. Paracas is the main launching point for boat tours to the Islas Ballestas, or "Poor Man's Galapagos", which are a collection of small islands not far off the coast with amazing bird and other marine life. It was our only reason for visiting this town and so I guess we weren't surprised when the town didn't offer much else. It had a small boulevard along the water with a big jetty for all the fishing boats but that was about it!

We did manage to find a small stall selling fresh fish caught that day cooked with chips and salad for 2quid. The lady cooking was about 70 and so it felt like your nana cooking as she fussed over us. We went back there both days!

Given we had booked our Islas Ballestas boat tour the next day, at about 5pm we decided to head into Pisco, a town about 20mins away and famous for the cocktail, Pisco Sour. Hells bells, what a dump it was! It was like walking into war torn Beirut (i imagine!). Apparently it had suffered from an earthquake 2 years ago that pretty much destroyed it. Looks like it was still recovering. We lasted about 20mins before getting a taxi back to Paracas...our newly titled paradise! We enjoyed a dinner of fresh fish and scallops...Yummo!

The next day we were up early for our boat trip that departed at 8am. We had a very quick breakfast before we donned our life jackets. The boat was very comfortable and had seats in pairs. It took about 30mins to get out there and en route we saw a 3 pronged candelabra etched into the sand hillside. Similar to the Nazcar lines, people aren't sure how or why it got there. It used to be several metres deep but with erosion is becoming less so.

It was a spectacularly sunny day and we learnt that it doesn't rain in Paracas. Their recorded rainfall is approximately 1.6mm per year!!

We continued onto the islands and spent a good 45 mins bobbing around the shoreline looking at an abundance of sealions, penguins, pelicans and other bird life. It was so heavily populated. There is one particular beach where all the sea lions congregate called maternity beach...a real mothers club! There were seal pups everywhere.

The penguino's weren't as plentiful as the other birds and mammals but it was still great to spot them when we did. The driver of the boat did an excellent job of steering us closely so we could take our photos. I am sure it was no Galapagos but it was a hell of a lot cheaper than the several thousand $US needed to travel there.

The islands were a lot bigger than I imagined and the quantity of birds in their thousands. There was a building built on the island for a ranger-gatekeeper to keep a watch over things as apparently the birdpoop of one of the birds is Peru's main export and is used in fertilizer and other scientific things.

All in all it was a fabulous morning tour and we were glad to have broken up the trip between Arequipa and Lima. Our bus to Lima was one hour late but we boarded eventually. The highway followed the coast and so we saw a gorgeous sunset before arriving in a big, bustling city...stay tuned!