Paracas is a tourist spot but beautiful. Islas Ballestas was a worthwhile stop for those whom appreciate natural splendor. We saw penguins for the first time. A barking chorus of sea lions, drowned out the racket of the twin 90 Johnsons of our tour boat.
The island has been a hot spot for quano since before the Inca. Today the bird poop gets scraped by shovel every seven years and continues to be used as natural fertilizer. The island and areas around the Paracas Peninsula have been made into a national reserve. We didn't visit the local mueseum as we heard it was looted after the 2007 earthquake and has yet to rebuild it displays.
On the way to Ballestas we passed by the Candelabra of Paracas. This Geoglyph is almost 600 feet tall. Its origins and age are not known but some suspect it to be at least 200BC. It remains today due mostly to the lack of rain in this region.
We had a pretty good meal at a seaside restaurant in Paracas before returning to Pisco to packed up for Huacachina.
To get to Huacahina from Pisco we had to catch a “Suyaz” bus to Ica from the side of the Pan American Hwy. From the Ica bus terminal it's a short cab ride to Huacachina.
If you are in Peru go to Huacahina. The town was once a get away for the wealthy elite types. There is a lagoon in the center of the town with a promenade echoing its palm and sand shores. The water used to be naturally fed but is now pumped in. The Hotel that Fiore recommended and Vicky reserved for us was sensational:
Hostal El Huacachinero
Av Perotti s/n
Balneario de Huacachina
Ica, Huacachina, Peru
The dunes to the west pushed up against its fence. There is a pool it the center of simple but elegant, terraced gardens. Well-decorated and its helpful staff fortified its embrace. Any sense of time was quietly being eroded the instant we arrived.
We book the dunes tour through our hotel (50 soles each). We had a lot of fun blasting around on the dunes, imagine a dusty, hot, roller coaster ride that carries a significant potential for disaster. We made stops on progressively taller dunes to sand board. Wiping out in the sand sucks! But when you can stay up it's a lot of fun. Actually the most fun was laughing at how terrible we all were.
On the longest run we lay on the board and went down headfirst. Riot! Riot! So fast, you really have to try it to get it. It felt dangerous in my tummy!
After our hot dusty sunset ride in the dunes we had a relaxing swim and watch the stars wake up as we floated on our backs, cocooned in the cool calm of the pool. We stayed in the pool until the days heat was siphoned from our bodies. (I really wanted to go out on the dunes to photograph at night but exhaustion and commonsense prevailed, maybe next time). 
No comments:
Post a Comment