Paracas And Ballestas Islands Marine Reserve
About five hours south of Lima is the fishing village of Paracas and the Ballestas Islands Marine Reserve. A beautiful area of the coast surrounded by desert, the reserve is home to seals, penguins, dolphin, pelicans and many other sea birds over 70 species from what I am told... The village of Paracas is very small, with only two hotels. A boat tour of the Ballestas Islands cost about $15.00 US (Dec. 2005).
A huge seal basking in the sun......
The "Candelabra " A beacon for ancient
sailors. Coastal desert starts south of the city of Ica and extends south all the way to the Chilean border. Rainfall is
almost nil in this area. The city of Lima went 3 years without
rainfall from 1999 until 2002 when it finally rained. Humidity usually
stands at about 70%. but 90% humidity is not out of the question from
November to March.
Chincha and Guanape islands, are
infamously rich in guano. The nitrogen rich fertilizer has been
deposited in pockets over four hundred feet deep by ten of thousands
of black cormorants. Both islands have also provided archeologists
with significant discoveries, headless female mummies, whose breast
and thighs were covered with symbolized platelets of hammered gold.
But we were there for the fish as you can see from the photo below,
Here is Alfredo Pinto trying his hand at saltwater fishing off the
island
Little did we realize that the
fish were all gone. Eaten by the dozens of seals that lived in a
nearby cave as shown below.
I was tempted to jump in the water with
them, Until I was warned they bite like dogs.
Pelicans
Pelican Colony on Chincha island