We were up early for breakfast at 6:00. We were on the road by 6:45, picked up
Monica, her son Kevin and little Grace (Grace is Rosa’s daughter and is five
years old; she has started calling me Tio Tom).
Then into San Vicente to pick up Zenon and the long bus ride to Paracas,
arriving around 9:20. Paracas is south
of Pisco and is on a beautiful bay.
Paracas is a combination of the words for sand and rain – it is so dry
here that the wind whips up the dry sand and causes it to rain sand.
There is also a large colony of sea lions – hundreds, if not thousands. We saw them loafing in the sun, swimming all around the boat and in one location, all making so much noise that when I shot a brief video of them, you can only barely hear me narrating the video.
Then it was back on the bus for the ride north back towards La Florida. We stopped at the beach side town of Cerro Azul (Blue Hill). It is off season and Cerro Azul has a nice beach, a long fishing pier and about a mile or more of nice sand beach. It is unlike Paracas and Pisco, which American and European tourists have discovered. In those towns, you can buy condos with 3 or 4 bedrooms and baths for $239,000. Cerro Azul is still a Peruvian fishing town and beach resort, so it is not as urbane as Pisco and Paracas – that is probably for the best. There is a nice park on the beach and we watched the sun set – a beautiful late afternoon.
We had a few minutes to wait at the waterfront and then got
on the completely full 10:00 boat out to Islas Ballestas.
On the way, we stopped briefly at the “Candelabra” which has been cut into the side of a hill. It is 170 meters tall and of unknown origin – it is not modern day Peruvians, nor the Spaniards nor the Incas.
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| Although full, the boat had ample space for each passenger and was quite fast |
On the way, we stopped briefly at the “Candelabra” which has been cut into the side of a hill. It is 170 meters tall and of unknown origin – it is not modern day Peruvians, nor the Spaniards nor the Incas.
The islands had been mined for guana, but that ran out a
long time ago. It is now part of the
Reserve Nacional de Paracas. As such it
is a sanctuary for hundreds of thousands of birds, including Humboldt penguins,
Peruvian boobies and guanay birds. And
of course, there was lot of guano everywhere.
There is also a large colony of sea lions – hundreds, if not thousands. We saw them loafing in the sun, swimming all around the boat and in one location, all making so much noise that when I shot a brief video of them, you can only barely hear me narrating the video.
Back on shore, we had another nice lunch prepared by the
Palabra de Vida staff and then went the Museum of the Reserva Nacional de
Paracas. Besides learning a little about
the flora and fauna of the area – on land, on the water and under the water -
we learned some history. Like many
mining operations, the guano mining of the islands created a boom town and
billions of dollars poured into the area.
But the guano ran out in less than ten years, and little of the money
had been spent on lasting infrastructure.
The point was made that this is happening in many countries today where
this is being repeated.
As for the birds, the estimated population was 23.5 million
in 1953. The primary food source for the
birds and the sea lions is anchovies.
Peru has fished for exported anchovies and other fish, being the second
largest exporter of fish in the world, behind only China. As they have taken more and more anchovies
for people, there are less and less for the wildlife. There are now only about 700,000 birds out on
Islas Ballestas.
Then it was back on the bus for the ride north back towards La Florida. We stopped at the beach side town of Cerro Azul (Blue Hill). It is off season and Cerro Azul has a nice beach, a long fishing pier and about a mile or more of nice sand beach. It is unlike Paracas and Pisco, which American and European tourists have discovered. In those towns, you can buy condos with 3 or 4 bedrooms and baths for $239,000. Cerro Azul is still a Peruvian fishing town and beach resort, so it is not as urbane as Pisco and Paracas – that is probably for the best. There is a nice park on the beach and we watched the sun set – a beautiful late afternoon.
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| Pelicans in the bay |
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| City park in the central section of the beach |
We are working in La Florida, which is in the Canete region;
San Vicente is the largest town and capital of Canete. We went into San Vicente to one of Zenon’s favorite
restaurants, Pollo a la Lena y Chifa – they serve rotisserie chicken and
Chinese food. We all had piles of
chicken and thick French fries, as well as some salad. Our lone vegetarian, Kaye, had a nice dish of
rice, mushrooms and other vegetables, which she shared with the rest of us (it
was large enough to do so). And of
course, we had several bottles of
Casqueña Cerveza to drink.
Back on the bus, we took Monica, Kevin and Grace to a
relative’s home in Neuva Imperial, then went back to San Vicente to visit La
Cabaña Zapata for pisco sours. More
importantly, we also learned how to make them and Pam and Mike were the two
volunteers.
Here is a link to the video of how to make a pisco sour
We also then had a few other varieties, including one with mango. All were great and everyone was very happy. We got back to camp around 10:15 and all headed off to bed. Before doing so, we declined the offer to delay breakfast.
Here is a link to the video of how to make a pisco sour
We also then had a few other varieties, including one with mango. All were great and everyone was very happy. We got back to camp around 10:15 and all headed off to bed. Before doing so, we declined the offer to delay breakfast.
As Zenon had told us when we first met, he likes to have the
volunteers work hard but also play hard – he is a man of his word!
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