Exploring Paracas

This morning, after a nutritious breakfast of cake and cookies, we went over to Paracas Bay, where we boarded a tour boat that took us out to the Ballestas Islands. These rocky islands are full of cool rock formations and arches and are home to tons of wildlife, including dolphins, boobie birds, cormorants, penguins, and sea lions. We also got to see another awesome line drawing on the side of a hill.

Boat tour to Ballestas Islands

After the boat tour, we got to drive through the Paracas National Reserve, which is an amazing national park where the desert meets the ocean. The landscape was almost eerie, though quite fascinating, in it's desolation.

Paracas National Reserve

Following a tasty and big-portioned lunch, which included tacu tacu, a traditional Peruvian rice and bean dish, we made the four-hour drive back to the airport in Lima to catch a plane to Iquitos. The flight had rigorous weight restrictions for carry-on bags and fees for checked bags, so before checking in for the flight, we removed just the things we needed for the next several days and repacked into our daypacks. Then we left the rest of our stuff in the airport's luggage storage area. I feel sure I left something important behind that I will soon discover isn't as important as I thought!

Lunch at El Piloto