Peru is a big country. At almost half a million square miles, it ranks in the top 20 in the world. Bordered by rain forest to the north, the Andes Mountains to the east, and the Pacific Ocean and deserts to the west, Peru is also one of the most geographically diverse countries on the planet. Now, I am finally going to see parts of Peru that I didn’t get to visit in 1998.
You may wonder how we plan to travel through all that space and distance. Naturally, we must rely on air travel for long hauls; and Peru really doesn’t have a passenger rail system worth spitting at. So, the answer is buses; and, more precisely, Peru Hop. Peru Hop is like an inner-city hop-on, hop-off bus, except that it travels to all the major towns and cities in Peru. You pay one fee up front, and you just tell Peru Hop what town and hotel you plan to stay in and for how long. There is a central meeting point for departures, and Peru Hop buses come and go from these places on a daily basis. So, you just need to tell the Peru Hop folks which date you will depart and where you are going to. This is perfect for our needs and will get us to most of the places we want to go to in Peru. So, let’s hop on board!
Paracas is a small port town about a four hour drive south of Lima. It has a beach, of course; but it’s major advantage is that it offers a relatively inexpensive base to explore the many nearby attractions. This is our first stop in Peru after Lima.
But first things first. We have to traipse over to the nearby Paracas Restaurant to learn how to make a Pisco Sour-the national cocktail of Peru. Basically, it includes Pisco (an amber-colored brandy made in the Peruvian town of Pisco), sugar water, passion fruit, egg whites, ice, and bitters on top after it is shaken. Even if we made them perfectly, we wouldn’t like them. Too sour for us.
The first place we visit are the Ballestas Islands. I don’t know if these are touted as Peru’s version of the Galapagos Islands; but they are clearly advertised as an important tourist experience.
To get there, we need to head down to the beach, where we get on a large motorboat with about 40 other people of various nationalities.
After passing by the harbor facilities and the natural gas platform, we get our first glimpse of the mysterious geoglyph known as “Lo Candelabro”-the Candelabra. Not much is known about this glyph. It is supposed to be older than the Incans, and the Candelabra might have been used as a beacon to ancient mariners. No one knows for sure.
We make a special stop beneath the cliff of another island to get a look at a red-legged cormorant. Now that’s something you don’t see everyday-either in Germany or where I live in the States.
After about an hour of boating, finally we slowly begin to circle around the Ballestas Islands. These islands (about three or four of them taking up less than half a square mile) are more like rocky outcrops. There is not a speck of green on them. But there are birds…a hell of a lot of birds.
It’s not so much that rare birds are found on the Ballestas as that there are so many of them…pelicans, seagulls, guano birds, Humboldt penguins. In some spots, they seem to cover every square foot of the rocks. The space that they don’t take up is reserved for snoozing sea lions.
So why do all these birds and sea-going critters find these islands so attractive? Well, it just so happens that they all eat fish, and the islands are just a short flight or swim away from where the Paracas fishing fleet plies its trade.
The fishing ships try to protect their catch with netting and other objects; but they don’t seem to be any match for the birds and sea lions. I guess they figure that a certain percentage of their haul will always be given away in tribute.
Having explored the Ballestas Islands, our boat heads back to Paracas-but first circles around some playful (or sleepy) sea lions trying to claim prime real estate on a buoy.
Our afternoon excursion takes us on a drive through the town of Pisco with a full olfactory experience: from revolting (a natural gas plant) to delightful (a cacao factory). Our objective is the Incan settlement of Tambo Colorado in the Pisco River Valley.
Having seen Incan ruins during my previous visit to Peru, this old village doesn’t seem to be Incan at all. But our guide explains that the site was used more as an administrative and control center and, thus, has few religious connotations.
The settlement here (about three acres in size) began in the late 15th century and ended at about the same time that the conquistadors toppled the Incans. So, it wasn’t long.
Tambo Colorado supposedly got its name from the colorful walls here. Unfortunately, there’s not much color left, except for the white stones that line the walking paths. Beige or dried adobe is the predominant color. At least the scenery beyond is splendid.
Next, we seem to go cross-country, down small lanes, through farmland and small villages to the edge of the desert. Our guide just waits by the car and tells us to walk. So, we walk along a sandy path between the fringe of the desert and rows of tall reeds until we arrive at-a lake. How did that get here?
This is actually the Laguna Moron, a hidden oasis. There are lots of people already at the shore, so it can’t be THAT hidden. Still, tourism is at a minimum here, and most of the beach-goers are probably locals.
It is named after a bandit who supposedly hid in the tall vegetation bordering the lagoon after he had robbed the wealthy landholders. He was the so-called “Robin Hood of the Desert”.
The other thing to do here is sandboarding. You just walk from the lagoon up the sand dune to practice this craft, which is sort of like skateboarding or surfing on sand. Whatever. In any event, there is no one at the top of the sand dune but a pair of dogs.
Peru Hop also includes stops at scenic locations as part of its ticket price. That is why we have no need to go to Paracas National Reserve independently…the Peru Hop bus will take us there on the way out of town.
The Paracas National Reserve was established in 1975 and extends about 1,300 square miles. The desert part, except for the dunes, is not remarkable. Only some foxes and geckos live here, and we see neither.
It is along the coast that the Reserve offers some spectacular sites. The first of these is a cliff overlooking “The Cathedral”. La Catedral is a rock formation vaguely resembling a cathedral. This resemblance was probably more pronounced before a 2007 earthquake. Before those tremors, The Cathedral had a rock archway which connected it to the land. Too bad; but the views of The Cathedral, distant cliffs, and sea are still enjoyable.
Next, we head to a cliff overlooking the picturesque Lagunillas fishing village. Actually, it’s not so much a village as a collection of fishing boats. You can have a seafood meal if you go around to the village; but we imagine that the place looks better from a distance, anyway.
The terrain must be particularly salty around here, as we can pick up chunks of salt right from the ground.
The last place we visit in Paracas National Reserve is the Playa Roja, or “Red Beach”. To us, it looks more brown than red; but, perhaps, that is just quibbling. It’s pretty, whatever color it is. Anyway, we’re not allowed to go down to the beach. Only one guy (probably a local) is down there collecting shells.
The sand dunes follow us all the way down to the village of Huacachina-a true oasis surrounded by desert on all sides. There are only about 100 people who live here full-time; but tourists abound.
The waters of the lagoon are natural, and are said to have therapeutic properties. Of course, that claim is even made for some bottled waters. Local legend says that a beautiful native princess was about to bathe here; but, sensing that she was being observed, she skedaddled, dropped her mirror, and this turned into the lagoon. I love these origin myths. They’re so much more fun than the scientific reasons of underground aquifers.
It seems that the tourists who come here at this time are more interested in the sand dunes and the desert than the waters. We climb the dunes ourselves to seek a spectacular sunset and observe sand boarding, dune buggies, paragliding, and even some folks jogging up the dunes…but no sunset. Bummer.
The next morning, we are off to Nazca and, beyond that, Arequipa. New adventures await!
Muscial Interlude: “Paracas”-Alexandro Querevalu