viernes, 16 de julio
4:oo am - 11:00 pm
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islands of the birds
Alien Drawings; Humboldt Penguins
All of the Harvard Limeñan students went to Paracas, as organized through the program. We met at Bembos at 4:00 am, so we could make it to la Reserva National de Paracas in the morning. And, just upon our 8am arrival in Paracas, we loaded onto the boat, which took us around the island reserves. Our first stop was the Alien drawing (above). The creation of this sand carving is unknown, as C-14 cannot be used to age since there isn't any organic material, so the origins are up for interpretation. After our Alien stop, we headed over to the bird islands. There are over 160+ species of birds on the islands, including the pengüinos de Humboldt (Humboldt's Penguins). Other species present on the islands include lobos del mar (sea lions), which - unlike seals - have ears.
Interesting fact: Perú is the leading guano (bird droppings) exporter in the world. Guano is so valuable because it is an extremely nutrient-rich fertilizer.
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desert, desert, and more desert
sand-boarding on dunes; an oasis
Located a couple hours southwest of Paracas, quite literally, a oasis city Huacachina. After unloading the bus, we packed into sand buggies to begin our aventura desertio (desert adventure). The sand dunes were incredible - I really felt as if I were in the Sahara Desert. The only thing missing were camels (I later found that there were camels actually there). The ride in the sand buggy was mad fun, especially the rides down the sides of the dunes. We were then let off to begin sand-boarding. There isn't anything like going head-first down the side of a 100ft sand dune, with only your legs to stop you. By the end of the time in el desierto, we were all quite satisfied to heading to a vinero (winery). Ica has the ideal climate for making vino y pisco, so we obviously had to check out the vinero before heading back to Lima.
Though this trip only lasted a day, it was by far one of the best trips in el Perú.
Rating - 5 llamas
