Pooped on by Boobies

We were up early this morning, had a quick coffee at one of the only nearby cafes open, bought some plain bread from a lady on the street for breakfast then caught our minibus south to Paracas for a tour of Las Islas Ballestas. These are islands just off the coast, often referred to as ´The poor man´s Galapagos.´ We were herded into a speed boat with about 25 others, then quickly jetted out to sea, stopping first at the Candelabra, a giant figure etched into the hillside of a large uninhabited island. It is about 170 metres high and over 50 metres wide. No one knows who made it or why it is there, but there are many theories: they´re linked to the Nazca Lines, it was used for navigational purposes, and of course aliens did it.

We probably smelled the Islas Ballestas before we got too close, as the thousands of resident birds make a lot of guano, cultivated and sold (for a tidy profit) as a natural fertilizer. In places on the guano is up to 50 metres deep! Thats some deep shit. For about an hour we cruised around the rocky island, viewing the thousands of birds (Peruvian booby, Peruvian pelicans, Humboldt penguins, Guanay cormorants, and Inca terns) as well as sea lions, and lots of sea life clinging to the rocks. We even saw some fluffy baby birds among them. The island is literally just covered in birds (and their poop).

Arriving back on the mainland, we took the bus back to Pisco, checked out of our hotel, used the internet for a bit and then went to the bus stop to catch our 1:30 bus south to Nazca. Of course we weren´t surprised when the 1:30 bus showed up just before 3:00, since we were on this same bus from Lima yesterday.

It was a slow trip to Nazca. It was supposed to be 3.5 hours but we arrived in Nazca after 7:00. We found a cheap hotel, bought more bus tickets for the next day, then found a fantastic place for dinner. It is basically just like an Aussie chicken shop, but bigger. All they have are rotisserie chickens, served with chips and salads (the menu did include other choices, but we didn´t actually see any of it). The queue for takeaway was out the door and down the street, and nearly every table inside was packed with locals, out for a Friday night meal. We ordered half of a chicken, which came with chips and salad. It was cheap, delicious, and enough for at least 4 people. It´s so fantastic when we are lucky to find little local restaurants like this one. One of the best things about travelling I think. Besides one other couple, we were the only foreigners in there.

Being WAY past our bedtime by this point (about 9:00 now!) we headed back to our hotel, had a hot shower while trying to avoid the small tingles of electrocutions from the water, and went to bed.