Islas Ballestas/Paracas, Peru
As promised, the early morning start for our Zodiac exploration of the Islas Ballestas provided ideal conditions as we had the islands to ourselves avoiding the crush of tourist boats we later saw making their way from Paracus. Never to be left wanting or hungry, the hotel department provided a floating Zodiac breakfast serving us coffee, tea, and sticky buns. But the real treat was the amazing concentration and diversity of marine life we saw crammed onto the 3 rocky islands. Skillful Zodiac piloting gave us front row seats at the Cathedral, a curved portion of one of the islands filled with South American sea lions, Peruvian boobies, Inca terns, cormorants and gulls. The island walls amplified and reverberated the multitude of vocalizations. Sea lion bulls were protecting their territories while pups were cavorting in the surf, playing and learning new skills. The islands themselves provided both interesting and dramatic features. The erosion powers of the sea had carved spectacular arches and caves providing many aesthetic views and exciting Zodiac passages.
Later in the morning the ship stopped long enough for us to come up with our own theories to explain the famous candelabra geoglyph, which measures some 200 x 50 m. One explanation has it dating to pre-Inca times and pointing the way to Nazca. Its close proximity to the port of Pisco (from which the wonderful Pisco Sour derived its name) led one authority to an original theory: A bunch of pisco besotted Spaniards decided to demonstrate their skills and construct something sailors could observe from the sea.
After a quick lunch, the armada of Endeavour Zodiacs invaded Paracus. One group went to visit the National Preserve of Paracus. Here we were lucky to see a variety of sea and migratory birds and had an unexpected visit from a Humboldt penguin who obligingly waddled past us into the Preserve building. Our second stop left us at the edge of spectacular cliffs. We followed a path to a cliff-top overlook with a grand view of the ocean, cliffs filled with Peruvian boobies, and a colony of fur seals below.
The second group visited the Julio C. Tello Museum, where we got a look at how people living over two thousand years ago managed to survive in the region of the arid Paracas peninsula and even buried their dead together with some of the world’s finest textiles. They were not just experienced weavers and fishermen, as they also practiced trepanning – proving they really did know how to use their heads.
A trip to Tambo Colorado provided us with the opportunity to walk among one of the best preserved Inca ruins on the Peruvian coast. Its name is derived from the reddish color still observable on some of the adobe walls (along with yellow and white). An Inca ceremonial platform (ushnu) still exists at the edge of the main plaza, being one of the few to escape destruction by the Spanish. The site museum provided illustrations of how colorful the site would have been at the height of its glory.
We all enjoyed this amazing day and returned to Paracus pier with its bustle of local inhabitants who waved farewell as we loaded the Zodiacs and returned to our home on the Endeavour.
As promised, the early morning start for our Zodiac exploration of the Islas Ballestas provided ideal conditions as we had the islands to ourselves avoiding the crush of tourist boats we later saw making their way from Paracus. Never to be left wanting or hungry, the hotel department provided a floating Zodiac breakfast serving us coffee, tea, and sticky buns. But the real treat was the amazing concentration and diversity of marine life we saw crammed onto the 3 rocky islands. Skillful Zodiac piloting gave us front row seats at the Cathedral, a curved portion of one of the islands filled with South American sea lions, Peruvian boobies, Inca terns, cormorants and gulls. The island walls amplified and reverberated the multitude of vocalizations. Sea lion bulls were protecting their territories while pups were cavorting in the surf, playing and learning new skills. The islands themselves provided both interesting and dramatic features. The erosion powers of the sea had carved spectacular arches and caves providing many aesthetic views and exciting Zodiac passages.
Later in the morning the ship stopped long enough for us to come up with our own theories to explain the famous candelabra geoglyph, which measures some 200 x 50 m. One explanation has it dating to pre-Inca times and pointing the way to Nazca. Its close proximity to the port of Pisco (from which the wonderful Pisco Sour derived its name) led one authority to an original theory: A bunch of pisco besotted Spaniards decided to demonstrate their skills and construct something sailors could observe from the sea.
After a quick lunch, the armada of Endeavour Zodiacs invaded Paracus. One group went to visit the National Preserve of Paracus. Here we were lucky to see a variety of sea and migratory birds and had an unexpected visit from a Humboldt penguin who obligingly waddled past us into the Preserve building. Our second stop left us at the edge of spectacular cliffs. We followed a path to a cliff-top overlook with a grand view of the ocean, cliffs filled with Peruvian boobies, and a colony of fur seals below.
The second group visited the Julio C. Tello Museum, where we got a look at how people living over two thousand years ago managed to survive in the region of the arid Paracas peninsula and even buried their dead together with some of the world’s finest textiles. They were not just experienced weavers and fishermen, as they also practiced trepanning – proving they really did know how to use their heads.
A trip to Tambo Colorado provided us with the opportunity to walk among one of the best preserved Inca ruins on the Peruvian coast. Its name is derived from the reddish color still observable on some of the adobe walls (along with yellow and white). An Inca ceremonial platform (ushnu) still exists at the edge of the main plaza, being one of the few to escape destruction by the Spanish. The site museum provided illustrations of how colorful the site would have been at the height of its glory.
We all enjoyed this amazing day and returned to Paracus pier with its bustle of local inhabitants who waved farewell as we loaded the Zodiacs and returned to our home on the Endeavour.
