Paracas and the Islas Ballestas

Our mini-bus took us on the Pan-American highway along the coast from Lima to Paracas. The mountains were close on one side and the sea on the other with little vegetation to be seen.

Our hotel in Paracas, the Posada del Emancipado, was a seaside resort type place, about 100m from the beach, across a road. The town stretched around a bay and was full of tourist restaurants. The bay itself was full of boats - half for fishing and the other half it seemed for taking tourists to the islands.

We started our trip to the Islas Ballestas early in beautiful conditions. The islands are indeed a nature hot-spot. Any flat beach area was covered in sea-lions; on one beach it was clear some pups were just minutes old. The cliff faces were covered in nesting blue footed boobies. On top of the cliffs, among others, were Humbolt penguins. The sky at times was filled with birds heading out to fish or returning. And the islands themselves were riddled with large caves and arches. The air was filled with the sound and stench of the birds and sea lions.

1 On the coast road down to Paracas	2 On the coast road down to Paracas	3 On the coast road down to Paracas	4 On the coast road down to Paracas	5 On the coast road down to Paracas
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16 Our hotel in Paracas	17	18	19	20
21 The Candelabra of Paracas. Age and origin uncertain.	22	23	24	25
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31 Humbolt Penguins	32	33 Young Humbolt Penguins shedding their down	34	35
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41	42 Young boobies	43	44	45
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51	52 Gulls and vultures gorge on the sea lion's placenta	53 Sea lion moments after being born	54	55
56	57	58	59	60 Unloading scallops