Las Islas Ballestas

So after arriving in Huacachina I signed up for a morning tour to the Ballestas Islands in Paracas.  The tour was incredible- tons of birds and sea lions on these islands also known as the ¨Poor man´s Galapagos.¨  I tried my best to note the specific names of all the birds, but as our tour guide was giving the tour in both Spanish and English, and I was also in the middle of a German tour group on the boat, some information may have gotten lost in translation.

This is the candelabra that we saw on the side of an island on the way to the Ballestas Islands.  It has the same history as the Nazca lines... noone really knows how it got there!



Boats in Paracas

Sea lions sleeping  (lobos marinos en espanol)



Peruvian Pelicans



Peruvian Pelicans



OK anyone wanna tell me how to rotate these?  Maybe its these old computers I´m using.... anyway I believe if you turn your head these are some Peruvian boobies and pelicans



This is where they collect the guano from the comerants that is used to make a fertilizer. 

humbolt penquins

Okay so because it takes gobs of time to upload photos from my icon, still to be uploaded are the photos of the Humbolt penguins, Inca tern and red-footed comerant.  And probably some more Peruvian boobies :)

Nazca

Nazca lines, Tree

Landscape and mound that we walked to to view more lines

Nazca city plaza

Nazca

From Ica I travelled with Martin, a Swiss guy I met in Huacachina, to Nazca to try to get to a tower where I good see the famous, mysterious Nazca lines.  It was actually quite easy to get to the lines via Perubus, and I was able to see the tree, a part of the hand, and a part of the lizard.  Below is a link to tell you a little more about the liines, but really we don´t know much about how they got there!  Most tourists opt for the more expensive plane ride over the lines, but I think I was able to get a pretty good view of the lines from the tower and dirt mound we went to.  Right now as I am trying to write this, this drunk hippy Peruvian (its only 12:30 PM) won´t stop talking to me, so I am going to go make some lunch!

http://www.world-mysteries.com/mpl_1.htm



I think this shows part of the hand



Arequipa

I have never seen so many different kind of potatoes.  This is in the San Camilo market, Arequipa

San Camilo Market

Uta and Deborah, my companions in exploring Arequipa, Day 1

I arrived in Arequipa yesterday morning after a night bus-ride from Nazca.  I spent the day with Uta and Deborah, who I met in Huacachina.  By far the highlight of the day was seeing Juanita, the Ice Maiden  found in 1995 at the top of the mountain Ampato near here.  Deborah (Switzerland) and I went and did a tour of the museum where Juanita is currently residing.  The general consensus among archaelogists and anthropologists is that Juanita was between 12 and 14 years old when she was walked up to the top of this mountain (quite a trek) to be sacrificed to the Incan gods.  Other mummies were found below Juanita on the mountain as well. Juanita is particularly well preserved because her body was frozen at the top of the mountain.  She was discovered when a nearby volcano erupted causing the snowcap at the top of Ampato to melt.  There were also many artifacts found near her, also things offered to the gods in sacrifice.  I was able to see artifacts like shoes, cloth, gold figurines, and bags which held the sacred coca leaves that were offered in addition to Juanita herself.  You can learn a little more if you´re interested at these links-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u782D1Q_2DY
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/arequipa/2881010012.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy_Juanita

Having mate de coca at a terrace cafe above the Plaza del armas, Arequipa



Main Cathedral, Plaza del Armas, Arequipa


Arequipa seems like a pretty cosmopolitan city, and perhaps if Cusco doesn´t work out, I could see myself working here.  I did meet up with the woman who I had a skype interview with in the US, Madai, and learned more about the school that she is starting.  It will be in a house in a gated community in Cayma, and will offer an afterschool program to children that includes English classes, art, dance and music.  There will also be classes for 3 or 4 year olds in the mornings.  Madai grew up in Cusco, but was living in the US for several years and working as a Spanish teacher in Montessori schools. 

Yesterday I met up with a girl from New Jersey who has been teaching here in Arequipa for 2 months now.  She, like me, got her TEFL certificate in Costa Rica, in Samara, but wasn´t able to find work in CR, so she came here to teach.  She brought me to her school, where I plan on sending my resume in Cusco doesn´t work out.

Last night I met up with a Peruvian for a drink through the Couchsurfer network.  He works with a volunteer organization that brings foreign volunteers up to a small village in the Colca Canyon, where they teach the children there and do other cultural programs.

I was supposed to leave for my 3 day Colca Canyon trek this morning around 3 AM. I was all ready to go, and ended up waiting until 4 AM, when the lady from the agency that Denis from my hostel had called informed me the guide had somehow managed to leave without me.  I was quite enraged, especially given that I hadn´t slept well and then was waiting for an hour only to be told I wasn´t going anywhere.  I went to the agency this morning, where fortunately they were very apologetic and offered to pay for my hostel tonight if I go tomorrow morning.  So I have a whole day more to kill in Arequipa.  Quite perturbed to say that least, but at least I won´t be losing money in the deal.

Miraflores, Paracas, Huacachina

It´s Sunday I believe, and I am now in Huacachina, after taking the bus from Lima to the city of Ica.  I tried to upload a bunch of photos, but then of course the power went out and the photos were deleted from the computer.  Boooo.  I would love to tell you all about these photos that are here, but it will have to wait, as I am going out for a bit with a group of people who I met on the bus and dune buggying and sandboarding.  Be patient.  And feel free to comment please! 


Bogota, Columbia



Troll in Bogota, preparing for takeoff!

Miraflores

Miraflores, Parque del amor

Miraflores:  with a bit of a cold, I did explore a bit of Lima´s most upscale neighborhood.  The parks and walkways along the coast are beautiful, and I was able to see a ton of surfers-  really long breaks which look amazing.  There were both a Sala del artes graficos and Peruflora festivañ happening in the center of Miraflores.  I took some photos of the artwork which lined a park.  The theme of the show was about caring for our water, so there were some very interesting illustrations from artists all over the world.  Peruflora was in JFK park in the center of town, and there were many different viveros, or nurseries, showcasing their flowers, along with live dance performances.    I declined to go out on the town in Lima due to my cold, but my friends from the Hostel went out and seemed to enjoy the nightlife.  I will probably meet up with Lucinda from England again, as she was waiting in Lima for a friend to arrive, and then would continue on the same route I am taking. 

I want to go surfing! (But this isnt me)



Peruflora festival dancers





Flower Petal Mosaic, Peruflora festival in JFK park, Miraflores



Paraglider, Miraflores



Exhibit in Sala del artes graficos

Skater boy, Miraflores

Sunset, Miraflores

Troll, Miraflores



View from Cruz del Sur bus leaving Lima



I am thoroughly impressed with the organization of the bus system in Peru.  While in Lima, intercity transit seemed somewhat unmanageable, the different companies which go between cities are very impressive.  I took Cruz del Sur from Lima to Ica.  There was a movie, a meal, and pillows and blankets were provided. I was in seat number one, so I had a panoramic view (it was a double decker bus). 



leaving Lima

After a morning trip to Paracas, I met Freddy, who was working for some company in Ica giving some sort of tourist information.  While he did not sell me on any kind of tour, he had lunch with me overlooking the Laguna of Huacachina, and I was able to obtain some information about local life in Ica and practice my Spanish.  He also got along well with Troll (Who wouldn´t really?)



 

Oasis Laguna of Huacachina

During our lunch I asked Freddy about the myth of the Laguna of Huacachina, which I knew little about.  He told me that there were some beautiful women that lived there and because there were no men the women cried so much that the laguna filled with their tears.  Doing a little more research, it turns out the legend is that the lagoon was created when a beautiful native princess was apprehended at her bath by a young hunter. She ran, leaving the pool of water she had been bathing in to become the lagoon. The folds of her mantle, streaming behind her as she ran, became the surrounding sand dunes.The woman herself is rumored to still live in the oasis as a mermaid.

Beach, Paracas



Troll, Paracas

    After staying at the Casa del Arena 2 in Huacachina outside of Ica for one night and falling asleep to the sweet lullaby of pounding reggaeton, I moved to Hostal Salvatierra for my second night in Huacachina.  I went with a tour through the hostel to Paracas to visit the Islas Ballestas (Ballestas Islands), also called the poor man´s Galapagos.  This will be another post, once I upload the photos from my Nikon.  Above is Troll after our tour.  He really liked the Peruvian Pelicans.

 Huacachina desert ride through the dunes!

Dune buggy and sandboarding in Huacachina!