Day 3: Ballesta Islands/Huacachina Oasis

An early start this morning for a boat trip to see the wildlife on the Ballesta Islands. Lathered up in factor 50, put on my shorts and ready for some sun. Think again. Overcast and chilly...

Jacket and trousers on and a short walk to the pier and we boarded "Carol I", a small open top motorboat with rows of seats. On the water for a short time when a flat, stoney beach, covered in hundreds of Pelicans came into view. Behind them the Paracas península of rolling, sand covered hills, where soft red tones of the stone beneath breaks through creating a beautiful graduated affect of red and brown.

Another short distance and we could see the Candelabra or Cactus: a mysterious, ancient geoglyph, enscribed into the sandy hillside, measuring some 200 hundred feet tall. Estimated at 2,400 years old, this sandy relic has survived this length of time as, according to our guide, it never, ever rains here! Also, it's location on the mountains, protect it from the wind.

Another 20 minutes on Carol I and we could see the Ballestas Islands (a poor mans Galápagos!). We spotted cranes, pelicans, Peruvian boobies (hehe), cormorants, sea lions, red spider crabs, penguins, vultures and a lot of other s***. Bird s*** specifically, aka guano. A thick layer of the smelly stuff covers every inch of the place. Walls have even been built in certain places to stop it sliding off the island, as the guano is extremely valuable as a fertiliser. Every seven years, some poor sods have to harvest the guano, shovelling it, sweeping it, gathering the gick into bags. Makes being a bin man look glamorous!

Not much waiting around after our boat trip before we were back on a bus for our next destination - Pisco.

Pisco is famously the home of the popular alcoholic drink (a sort of sweet wine, like port) of the same name. So naturally, we made a short stop at a winery and after the briefest of tours, knocked back a few shots of pisco! By this time the sun was out in force and we were set for the next part of the adventure, the Huacachina Desert and Oasis.

Back on the bus, I had my head in my book, so when I briefly glanced up and noticed the huge, sprawling sand dunes that surrounded us on both sides, it was a bit of a shock!

We pulled into a small town in the heart of these sand dunes and got syked up to go sand boarding. We boarded a bad ass dune buggy which looked (and sounded!) like something from mad max. And, in the end, wasn't probably that dissimilar! The driver took us, at speed, around, down, up and over the dunes. Think of an unpredictable rollercoaster, manually operated by a rally driver in the most picture perfect environment with nothing but beautiful golden sand dunes as far as the eye can see. Thrilling and intensely beautiful all at once.

We stopped to take it all in (and let our stomach catch up). I've never seen anything like it in my life. Arguably one of the most spectacular landscapes I've ever witnessed (until later that day at least!). The sand itself had such heat in it, and so soft. Truly beautiful. I could have stayed there for hours. With a gallon of water maybe...

Another white knuckle ride up to the next set of dunes and a few nerve wracking trips down the dunes on the sand boards, belly down to start, then graduating to standing. Basically, we went surfing on a beach without any water!

The excitement of our final stomach churning trip back dramatically turned into awe when the oasis came into sight. Now, THAT was one of the most stunning things I've ever seen! A green lake, in the middle of arid dunes surrounded by palm trees. Sublime. I can only imagine how perfect it would have looked before the oasis was disturbed by tourists.

A quick (cold) shower, a delicious lunch and back on the bus for four hours to bring us to Nasca, lapping up the gorgeous scenery in what little time sunlight permitted: the vast expanse of the Andes to your left, the spectacular Huacachina Sand Dunes to your right; periodically passing through brightly painted road-side towns of simple flat roofed structures.

I don't have the words to describe this achingly beautiful and breathtaking landscape of mountains, valleys and sand dunes... but I actually felt a little emotional... I don't think I've ever been moved by a vision of natural beauty, but this place is truly special... and this is all from the vantage point of a bus! What the hell's going to happen to me when I actually get up there!

I'm just so happy to be here...

It was dark when we arrived in Nasca. We stopped to pick up snacks and supplies for the evening and made our way to our accommodation, a plantation mansion, for an evening of chats and chilling.

Accommodation:
Weather: Cool and overcast in the morning (I'm starting to see a pattern...); hot, sunny and dry in the desert (obviously).