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Day
7 (August 31, 2025) Paracas
Before
Our main requirement is to be ready very early, at 6:30 AM,
as
we'll be picked up and taken to Paracas in time for the boat trip to
the Ballestas Islands.
Afterward, we'll have a tour of the Paracas National Reserve, where
we'll stop for lunch. Then we'll be dropped off at the bus station for
our return trip to Lima, departing at 3:30 PM.
Once in the capital city, we'll be staying very close to the
airport for our flight the following morning.
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After
Breakfast opens at 6:30 AM and we are picked up for the private tour in
Paracas at 6:45 AM, so we're going to have breakfast with everything
ready to leave for Paracas at the scheduled time.
We arrived just in time for the
boat trip to Ballestas islands, so they put us on the boat which was
already almost full and would be leaving the port shortly.
As we leave, we sail alongside the peninsula, with its peculiar yellow
desert landscape, and shortly after, we find ourselves facing the
"Candelabro". The origin of this symbol is unknown. We are told that
they attempted to carbon-14 dating to at least determine its age, but
they found no organic remains to which to apply it, neither plant nor
animal.
We leave the Candelabro and the peninsula behind to reach the islets
we're going to visit. This also means the journey will be out at sea,
with more wind and waves. The air is very cold, and we protect
ourselves from it as best as we can.
We arrive at Ballestas
islands in front of a naturally carved arch in the rock. We could see
some penguins climbing the steep walls.
We sail around the
islets, watching the large number of seabirds that inhabit them. This
place was once a major center of wealth for the country due to the
export of guano, an excellent fertilizer. We also see sea lions.
Back
on land, they answered our question about whether they would be able to
shuttle us to Lima. They offered it to us for 600 soles, and we
accepted because of the flexible schedule and to avoid the cold we
suffered yesterday with the bus air conditioning.
Next is the tour of the Paracas Reserve. Our guide takes us to
the peninsula and hands over the tickets we had previously purchased
for 11 soles each.
Then
we plunge into a landscape that seemed otherworldly, immersed in that
yellow desert we had seen earlier from the water. The first stop is at
a spot teeming with fossils of conical and spiral shells.
Then
we stop and stroll along a beach, admiring the scenery. It was a sort
of appetizer for the next stop, the star beach of this peninsula: Red
Beach.
First we see it from a viewpoint, and then we go down to see it up
close. Its dark red sand, surrounded by ochre walls, is particularly
striking.
The
next stop is for lunch at the coastal area where the peninsula's
restaurants are concentrated. I order octopus ceviche and Eva orders
grilled sole with a scallop appetizer. With a passion fruit cheesecake
for dessert and drinks, we pay 170 soles in total.
We
climbed to a viewpoint at the end of the isthmus where we are before
ending the visit and returning to the agency office, which we reach a
little past 3 PM.
The car that will take us directly to our hotel in Lima is already
here. I'm going to an ATM to pay in cash and we're getting ready to
leave for a 3-hour drive.
When we arrive in Lima, it was getting dark, and our accommodation is
in a modern house in a neighborhood very close to the airport. The room
is very nice, and we are on a floor with a terrace from which we can
see this part of Lima at night.
We'll join that Lima, since we go out for a drink at a cafe for a light
dinner for Eva. When we get back, we are ready for bed. Following our
hosts' advice, we'll leave tomorrow at 7:00 AM for our 9:25 AM flight
to Arequipa.
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