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Becca, Zoe and Katy's Peruvian Adventure
...the continuation!
Where we left off yesterday we had just had a rather exhilarating flight over the Nasca lines, and had just got a coach for a further 3 hours to Paracas. We had not booked anywhere to stay, and the shiny hotel that greeted us was not to be, as it was far too expensive. I also don't think the concierge at the desk was that impressed with our appearance, and he directed us, to a smaller, more basic abode just down the road. It was really nice. The 3 of us shared a room, and there was a small kitchen, living room and clean bathroom in the apartment. It was all very pleasant!! After dumping all of our stuff, we headed out to the small restaurant opposite for a bite to eat. I had a yummy seafood pizza, although Zoe and Katy were not so impressed with their meal. However, after the long journey, it was good enough, and straight after we went back to the apartment for an early night. What we didn't realise is that we shared the apartment block with a german family (much to Katy's delight, as I think she wanted to practice her German!!), and whilst Zoe and I lay in bed with the door open waiting for Katy to come back fom the bathroom, we were surrounded by this family, who tried to strike up a conversation, as we both hid under the sheets! They eventually left, and we all slept beautifully!
The next morning we were up earlyish and headed back to the posh and shiny hotle that arranged boat trips to the Islas de Ballestas (the Peruvian version of the Galapagos Islands). It was a small speedboat, that about 8 of us piled into. We all had to wear rather fetching orange life jackets, which clashed with my pink hairband! We all looked rather inappropriately dresses for this trip, with bikinis, towels and pringles for snack food. On arrival at the pier we were greeted by the sight of the rest of the travellers in fleeces, raincoats and sturdy footwear! Ooops! The captain only spoke Spanish, but suprisingly, we go the jist if what he was trying to tell us. First stop was the candelabra ( a picture of a cactus like thing etched into the sand of the cliffs facing the sea). It was quite impressive, similar to the Nasca lines. Agter this, the journey continued to the little outcrop of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They were amazing, but smelly, as the rocks were completely covered in guano (bird poo!), which is collected (gross!) and then used as fertiliser. Check out our knowledge! Not a job any of us would cherish, as Katy said it was worse than the smell of a rotting foot ulcer!! On the trip back, we were trying to decide whtehrt he worst job in the world would be collecting this guano, or working on the stale urine smelling buses. I can safely say, i'd rather collect guano!
Other than bird poo, there was a lot else to see, including the birds that produce the poo!! The wildlife we saw included:
1) Boobies ( the bird!!)
2) Sea gulls
3) Oyster catchers
4) Cormorants
5) Pelicans
6) Penguins! - Zo fell in love and took photos to show the medical student on her placement that they do exist in Peru, as he was very doubtful!!
7) Lots of other birds that keen bird watcher people would get excited about, but we were not sure what we were looking at!
8) Sealions - Rebecca's personal favourite!! They are reallly cute, and put on a show for us on the rocks, diving into the water, and fighting! They make noises like they are about to vomit, although dad told me more specifically that this is called a 'bark'!
We also saw a rock in the shape of an elephant, and a face! After a 2 hour trip around the islands we headed back to shore. Due to having the rest of the afternoon to kill we booked a futher trip that would take us around Paracas National Reserve. The 3 of us piled into a tiny Toyota that looked like it had seen better days, with a random tour guide that spoke very basic English. He drove us into the reserve, where we were to spend the next 3-4 hours.
First stop was a small museum that had various exhibits, in partivçcular some cool looking mummies. The glass was obviously so clean at this museum, that Zoe and Katy both managed to headbutt the exhibits, Zoe with particular style, and loudness to attract the attention of the security guard. We obviuosly can't take her anywhere, as be it cathedrals, Inca ruins or museums, she comes to the attention of the security people!! After the museum, we went to a look out post to view the flamingos at the park. However, they mainly appeared as tiny pale ponk dots on the horizon, that even with the zooms on our cameras we couldn't see clearly. The view from the stage was amazing though, as all you could see were sand dunes of a pale reddy colour. It was like travelling through the deserts on a different planet. After persuading by Katy, we dragged ourselves away, and headed off on the next part of the journey. We drove for a few miles through this amazing scenery (which as soon as we get our cameras working on this website we will share with you!)
Next stop was a pretty little harbour, overlooking the Pacific. The view from the top was stunning, and we saw vultures, and more pelicans flying around us. There were a few little restaurants in this harbour, that we thought would do lovely seafood, being right next to the fishing boats, so we stopped here for some lunch, and Zoe and I had a very nice, and filling paellla. After luch, and having exhausted photo taking oppurtunitiues, and sung various songs from the Little Mermaid, we got back in the Toyota, and headed off back to the hotel. On the way we saw stopped a couple of times to admire the views of the amazing desert landscape, and at a place called La Catedral. This is Peru's version of Old Harry Rocks, and was quite pretty, with the Pacific Ocean all around. We were here for about 5 minutes taking photos, before the final leg back to the hotel and our bus journey home, There were times when we didn't think that the Toyota was going to make it back over such rough terrain, and Zoe was a little worried by the tinkling that was coming from the engine!
We made it back safely, in time to enjoy a cold drink (beer for me...i'm such an English tourist!) by the pool in the posh hotel, before piling onboard the coach to Ica. At Ica where we had to change we had a few traumas! We got off at the hotel in Ica where the lady on the coach told us to, and started to wait at the hotel for our connecting bus that was due an hour later. 15 minutes before our bus was due to arrive, Zoe asked at reception whether the bus was definately coming to the hotel, and to our slight dismay we discovered that the bus we were due to be on in 10 minutes was leaving from another bus station in town. We jumped in a cab, and thankfully, mainly due to the bus being late at the other station, we managed to catch our conection, and got the bus (smelling of stale urine!), that 16 hours later, saw us back in Cusco!
This is the end of our adventure this weekend! We arrived exhauted back at the house, and all any of us wanted to do was shower and sleep! Which we all eventually did!!
Ps. The photos that are on the site are not ones we have taken, but are from google. Thought it would give you an idea of what we are talking about anyway!!
Lots of love to you all
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