The speedboat was to depart at 8:00 am so we set the alarm for 6:30 to give us plenty of time to shower and have breakfast before departure. A rather pointless exercise because we were both wide awake at 5:30 to the music of hundreds of crowing roosters around town. My memory of bedtime was that the feral dogs stopped barking around midnite so we had a solid 5 or so hours of sleep. Funny thing though, it seems like no matter how little sleep one gets while on vacation, one is never tired!The sky was clear, the sea was calm and the morning temperature was in the 20’s. What a perfect day for a boat ride to an island that is so famous it actually started a war. What was it famous for? Guano…. bird droppings. This natural resource, very rich in nitrogen and valued as a great fertilizer, reaches 150 feet deep in places on the island. Today more modern synthetic fertilizers have replaced guano, but it is still valuable enough that guards are stationed on the island to stop illegal gathering. But this island is famous for more than bird sh*t!
Ballestas Island is home to penguins, sea lions, turkey vultures, Inca terns, Peruvian boobies, pelicans and several other rare and endangered species of birds. Not just a few, but hundreds of thousands of birds. The food supply (anchovies) is plentiful and most of the birds stay on the island year round. I don’t recall having ever been so awe inspired by an animal phenomenon. The sights, sounds and…. smells were mind blowing. Actually the island itself with its many arches, spires, caves and coves was worth the 25 minute speedboat trip even without the birds.
Back at the dock we decided to grab lunch before heading out to Nasca, a 4 hour ride. I had the mixed seafood platter with fried rice (eat your heart out Lucy) and Corinne had a freshly made vegetable soup. Satiated, we hit the road and had a great, but desolate ride to Nasca. Crossing the expanses of Wyoming is like riding through an Oasis compared to the Southern Peruvian desert and the Pampas. Over a pass and on to Nasca where we arrived at a nice hour… 4ish.
Corinne and I got separated at a large traffic circle and I pulled over for her to catch up. Oh oh… a mistake. I was immediately inundated with people offering me everything from beads to guided tours. No, gracias, no, no, no, no. I finally figured I’d give them the hint that we were only interested in getting a room. “Don Agucho Hostal” I spoke loudly. That worked! A senorita excitedly approached waving a brochure proclaimed “I work for Don Agucho. Follow the blue car. I looked across the street to see a carfull of people waving frantically at us. Off we went down a busy one way market street, across the river and directly to the Hostal.
Now that worked out just fine. We were helped with securing the bikes in the “garage”, checked into a nice large room on the second floor overlooking the centre courtyard with palm trees, real live parrots, and swimming pool. We were helped to get flight tickets to see the Nasca Lines tomorrow, were driven by car back down to the Plaza de Armas for supper and shopping, and this all within an hour and for US $30.00!
We ate an awesome dinner and headed back to the hostel to post some stories to the blog and send some emails. Unfortunately our plans were quashed due to the internet being out of service. That must wait. Off to bed.
