Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We stayed for two nights at a beautiful resort hotel in the desert on the coast near Paracas. There weren't many other guests because this time of year, the Peruvians come here on weekends and tourists stay during the week. More about the resort later...
We went by boat on a birdwatching trip to the Ballestas Islands near the Paracas Reserve. On the way, we saw the Candelabra, huge shapes cut into the side of a mountain on the water. There are a number of theories about how these were made, who made them, and why. On to the islands... Interesting rock formations rising out of the Pacific Ocean covered with birds, and guano, which is collected every 7 years and sold for fertilizer. The birds we identified included Humbolt Penguin, Inca tern, Peruvian pelican, brown pelican, black oyster catcher, American oyster catcher, turkey vulture, blue footed boobie, common boobie, red legged cormorant, neo tropical cormorant, one eyes guanay, and (Peruvian?) flamingo. We also spotted lots of sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks. This was a great experience, well worth the 4 hour bus ride from Lima.
Back to the hotel... La Hacienda Bahia Paracas is a lovely resort on the beach with several pools, a fitness center, and a gourmet restaurant and bar. Ancient Peruvian weavings hang in the lobby and piscos, tear drop shaped containers about 4 feet long that held Pisco brandy or lima beans were scattered outside around the entrance. Lots of flowering shrubs grew on the property and attracted hummingbirds; we saw amazilia costena from our balcony. Our room was large with a big balcony that overlooked the pools and beach. We spent the afternoon on the beach, sunning in cushioned lounges, walking the waterline looking at huge, colorful jellyfish floating a foot or two off shore, and watching lizards scoot into the succulent ground cover. Some of the kids took kayaks out. Some of the adults rode bikes into town. A very relaxing time and a very different look at Peru for us.
- comments
Grace Sounds heavenly.