Santuarios, arena y espiritus

Hola todos Today we were up and ready to go at 7:30, to catch a shuttle to visit the Ballestas Islands. The Ballestas Islands is known at the Gallapogos of Peru, and is located just off the coast of Pisco via boat. It is home to 11 species of birds, including Humboldt penguins and Peruvian boobies, as well as South American sea lions. We caught a boat out to the islands (unfortunately we were unlucky enough to get the seats right up the front so it was extra bumpy for us) and got plenty of opportunities for pictures while the guide talked about the native wildlife. It was so beautiful! Interesting enough, this island is also used for the collection of guano, which the Peruvians use as fertilizer. It is an essential resource for them to remain self sufficient as a country! After the boat ride, we caught our private bus to Huacachina, an amazing place in Peru located in the Ica district. Surrounded by sand dunes, Huacachine is an amazing oasis with a lake in the middle, surrounded by great restaurants and places to stay. It also offers tours to go sand bugging/boarding, which Steve and I couldn't resist taking part in. Like a roller coaster, we flew threw the sand dunes on these great buggies, stopping at three locations where we could try our hands at sand boarding. As the name suggests, on our tummies head first, we clung to these boards as we're pushed down these HUGE sand hills. It was amazing fun, but I will never get all of the sand off me! The sand is so soft and fine! After a celebratory lunch to toast our success at the dunes, we were back on the bus and taken for a tour of a Pisco distillery. After the tour, we were treated with being able to try several different kinds of Pisco spirit, from the 40% alcohol one to the nice creamy ones. Let's just say that we were all very sleepy when we got back on the bus afterwards! After driving for a bit longer, we arrived at the desert of Nazca! For those of you who don't know, on the dessert of Nazca is carved a number of lines and figures by the ancients. These figures are several kms big, and can only be viewed from the sky. If you haven't seen them, I suggest you google them after reading this blog! They are fascinating. In order to see a couple of them today we pulled over at a small tower and climbed to the top! From there we could see the tree and the hands! They were so amazing, and I kept wishing that they would build more of these towers so we could see more like this, rather than having to take a plane to see them. We could also see part of the lizard, but it has actually been cut in half when the highway was put in. The highway was put in before they were discovered! We finally got back on the bus and arrived at our hotel in Nazca. After a quick shower, we went and listened to a lecture on the Nazca lines, then went for dinner at a great restaurant in town. As it is our last night on the coast before we start heading into the mountains, fish was a must. We start to make our asent in altitude tomorrow. I'll will keep you posted how our altitude sickness goes! Until next time, hasta luego.