Goodbye South America

Today (26th August) is our last day in South America. Tonight we catch another fight to Miami then onwards back to the UK :-(

We couldn't have a big lie in today as we are hoping that today we will be able to go to the Islas Bastellas.

Given how stuffed we felt after breakfast yesterday we decided we'd do breakfast when we got back from our trip and just have a small snack before the trip.

The hotel staff had been busy all yesterday evening and this morning cleaning the hotel grounds. It was starting to look a lot better although lots more dust had settled overnight (our balcony had been cleaned when we went for dinner but was now dusty again).

Although the sky wasn't as blue and clear as yesterday the wind had almost completely dropped.

As we walked along the beach we found even more pelicans, egrets and other birds crowded onto the pier.

As we approached the pier where our boat was we could see people starting to be loaded onto one of the boats. The boat trip was on today. Wahoo! Lucky we had decided to take a bus from Pisco today else we would have had to have left at 9.50am and missed our chance to go to the islands!

As we waited for the boat to depart we saw a dolphin off on the distance.

With our boat full we set off for the Islas Bastellas, but first we had a look at 'The Candellabra', a giant cactus carved into the sandstone pointing out to sea. The carving had been dated to be more than 500 years old but why it was carved is unknown. Stories include pirates did it to mark their territory, it was used to guide ships or my favourite to let all passing boats know there were hallucinogenic cacti nearby! Photos taken we moved on to the main stop of the day.

As we approached the islands we could see thousands of birds lining the edges of the cliffs and more coming to the island flying in long straight lines.

As we got close we could smell the ammonia-like guano. It was really strong, much stronger than the bat caves we visited in Malaysia!

As we got close to one of the cliffs a passenger towards the front of the boat got a little present right on the head! On the bright side, guano is expensive and Peru mines it from the island for export every 7 years. With 7 million birds living on the island you'd have thought they'd do it more frequently.

Further around the island we saw some penguins and all the small rocks in the sun were covered with sea lions. The boat got really close to them so we could see the sea lions up close, so close in fact I'm sure the could have jumped into the boat if they had wanted too!

Thankfully we kept a little more distance between us and the sea lions that were fighting.

With our hour up cruising around the island we started our return to the hotel, however we had one last stop: the harbour to see the dolphins from earlier!

There were around 5 dolphins in the harbour and 3 of them decided to follow our boat, swimming under, behind and beside us!

Eventually they got bored and disappeared and we returned to the hotel pier with us heading straight for breakfast as soon as we returned!

When we got back to our room we rang the Concierge to book a taxi to take us to Pisco. On arrival at the hotel the Concierge had told us we just needed to arrive around an hour early at the bus station however the guy on duty today said we had to reserve tickets 2 hours in advance. Tickets reserved, just in time, and taxi booked we finished packing and checked out. Another dust storm was due to hit Paracas and Pisco at 1pm so instead of spending an hour in Pisco we got the 1pm bus back to Lima.

Just as we were leaving the hotel the staff had managed to get the place and pools looking clean again, ready to do it all again this evening after the next dust storm hit! We thought about suggesting that they should have sand bottomed pools to save them some work!

Arriving on time back in Lima (makes a change, Cruz del Sur are normally late however this time we took a local direct bus, Soyuz VIP), we went to collect our luggage.

We got to the hotel just after 5pm and I asked reception what time we should get a taxi. She said "now". Supposedly Lima becomes a car park after 6pm on a Monday so it was leave now and get to the airport for 6pm, 2 hours earlier than we wanted or leave in an hour and the journey would take at least twice as long!

So off we went, arriving at the airport 5 hours before our flight leaving us plenty of time to get through security (the salt from Uyuni in my bag looked like drugs so my bag was searched!) and have a slow dinner.

As Far As You Can See

Today (25th August) we were booked on the 10am trip around  Islas Bastellas. This meant we could get up at a sensible time and have a leisurely breakfast.

Although they recommend only having a light breakfast the buffet was so good we wanted to try everything! Feeling completely stuffed we went to the pier to catch our boat.

On the way we saw lots of pelicans diving into the ocean and other sea birds standing on the rocks or floating on the ocean, their feathers being ruffled by the wind.

When we got to the pier we saw lots of people getting off the boat not looking as happy as they should given the trip is meant to be fantastic. A few minutes later we found out why, the wind was too high to get close to the island and they had to turn back before getting there. This meant our trip was cancelled :-(

I had been really looking forward to seeing the sea lions, penguins and other wildlife and felt really disappointed. Fortunately we are here long enough tomorrow that they booked us on the 8am boat. Fingers crossed the wind has died down by then!

We walked along the hotel's beach until we reached another pier where we found a load of pelicans and egrets sitting sunning themselves and drying their wings.

If we weren't going to get to the island today I was determined to see as much wildlife as I could around the coast! We crept as close as we could without disturbing them and just stood and watched them for a while (obviously taking lots of photos!).

After Stu scared off the last remaining pelicans (he'd had enough of watching birds on a pier) we went back to our room to change so we could go on a walk around the nature reserve a few kilometres away.

Once changed we went to see the Concierge to book a taxi. The price though seemed extortionate, £50 for two 25 minute trips! We've been getting a taxi for a whole day for that sort of price!

After some more discussion we changed our plans to walk in the north of the reserve instead because the wind was coming from the south. With the taxi still too expensive we decided we would walk to the nature reserve with the north coast path starting just 4km away.

Route decided we went to the hotel shop to stock up on water. They only sell Evian in the hotel and a 750ml bottle cost 22 soles (£7)! Given that the town was just a few minutes walk away we opted to go and buy our water there first even though it was in the opposite direction to the nature reserve.

When we got to the promenade we saw a load of pelicans on the beach following a man around. It turned out he had a bucket of fish off-cuts which he fed to the pelicans to enable us tourists to get some interesting photos.

Having spent around 30 minutes watching the pelicans on the beach and diving into the ocean we noticed that the peninsula where the nature reserve is was no longer visible, nor were the Islas Bastellas. There also seemed to be a lot of dust on the air.

As we went to find some water we found that all of the local shops were starting to close. A little later we found out why, a huge dust storm was coming our way! We sped to get a cup of tea and coffee, hoping the dust storm would ease up but it just got stronger so we bit the bullet and started back for our hotel.

By the time were got back we were both covered in dust and even though we had kept our mouths closed salty dust had got in there too. Lucky we hadn't gone for a walk in the national reserve (which is full of sand!).

We spent the rest of the afternoon in our room reading and ordering room service for lunch.

By around 4pm the storm had finally subsided and we could see hotel staff busily sweeping and cleaning to get rid of the dust which was now everywhere.

As there was still a lot of dust in the air and we had a relatively late lunch we decided to eat at the hotel for dinner (it's not recommended to walk to/from town after 8pm).

After dinner we went to the bar and tried a shot of neat pisco. It was surprisingly nice and very strong!

So although all plans for today were foiled by the dust storm (we couldn't even go for a swim!) we still had a good, relaxing day, seeing lots of birds on the beach before the dust storm was in full swing. Fingers crossed tomorrow the weather will be better!

One Last Trip

Today (24th August) we got up at a sensible time, 8am! Breakfast wasn't due to finish until 10am so we had plenty of time to get ready and go down for breakfast.

Unfortunately breakfast was a little disappointing but compared to yesterday it had a lot to live up to.

Having finished breakfast we decided we'd go get a delicious chocolate croissant once we had finished packing and tidied the room, giving us an incentive to do this quickly!

Having paid and checked our bags in at the hotel (we're not taking them down to Paracas with us) we went to get our chocolate croissant (and takeaway sandwiches for our bus journey).

We had noticed straps on the chairs at all the restaurants and cafes we had visited. At first we were puzzled by them but then realised it's to attach your bag to your chair to stop someone stealing it!

I forgot to mention yesterday about the police officers standing at all the major traffic lights with whistles and little light up batons (they turn them on in the evenings!).

Today one car tried to jump the lights and the police officer came over shouting and waving his little baton. The car tried to keep coming but the police officer came running over blowing his whistle and waving his baton at him. The driver eventually stopped, car half way across the pedestrian crossing with all the pedestrians ignoring the whole debacle, crossing right in front of him so he couldn't move even if he wanted to!

It seems in Peru and Bolivia they like their whistles. As you walk along a busy street in Lima or La Paz all you can hear (above the traffic noise!) are whistles being blown. In Machu Picchu if anyone violated a rule, for example sitting on a wall, the tourist police there would blow their whistle and wave their hands at you!

To help the pedestrians cross the road there is a funny little green man dancing (I think he's meant to be walking but it definitely looks like dancing to us!) to indicate when to cross with a count down.

Unfortunately a green man doesn't mean there won't be any cars! When the time's up a little red man appears with his hands on his hips. Again, just because he's red doesn't mean that the cars are all going and at times this actually felt like a safer time to cross the road!

The hotel called us a taxi to take us to the bus station. I noticed when I got in the taxi yesterday the driver locked my door and again today when I got in the hotel concierge tapped on my window and indicated to me to lock the door. Once we'd set off I noticed all doors on the car were once again locked.

The journey to the bus station was uneventful, getting there more than an hour early giving us time to attempt to get a refund on our bus tickets.

We queued up to transfer our online voucher for tickets and I ask about a refund but was told "no English". I tried a few more times with a few Spanish words but still "no English". I gave up and went to the information desk where she directed me straight back to where I had started and unfortunately the queue had got significantly longer. Grrr.

After another half hour of waiting we eventually got back to the front of the queue and they were able to gives us a refund only losing 15% of the ticket price equivalent to just over £2!

With 20 minutes until departure we sat down in some comfy seats. As Stu sat down he realised his wallet was missing. We had it out in the taxi so our either didn't get our properly back on his pocket and fell out (our hope as the taxi driver was really nice) or someone managed to get their hand into Stu's pocket and steal it (quite a feat as his pocket tops are quite tight).

Either way we lost around £15 and a £2 wallet.  Annoying but not the end of the world. I'm surprised we've managed to survive 30 days without losing anything (bar two odd socks and a t-shirt in the laundry).

Just after 2pm (the bus always leaves late!) we set off for Paracas.

Yesterday was the first day we didn't see the sun or a blue sky. Today we had to wait until we got to Paracas to see the sun. Lima in winter tends to be cloudy which is weird as the rest of Peru which we've visited has had blue skies all the time.

As we left Lima we passed around 30 furniture shacks all lining the main road each specialising in something different; chairs, tables, shelving units, etc. At the end of the row stood a huge Ikea-like building also selling furniture! I wonder what Ikea would do if 30 furniture stalls set up next to one of their stores?!

At just after 6pm we arrived in Paracas (late as usual!) meaning we missed sunset :-(

We took a taxi to the hotel. The driver was really friendly telling us all about Paracas as we drove to our hotel in Spanish. Surprisingly we could understand pretty much everything he said!

On arriving at our hotel there was a large security presence outside. They wouldn't let the car in until they confirmed we had a reservation!

Inside the place looked amazing! It calls itself a "luxury resort" and it lives up to that name!

The hotel comes complete with concierge, bell boy, health spa with sauna, several restaurants, private beach, several pools and lots of villas.

We got to our villa we were blown away by what we saw inside, especially compared to what we have been staying in for the past month. Huge bed, huge room, beautiful bathroom, balcony, etc. This is our treat for the end of the holiday :-)

For dinner we went to one of the recommended seafood restaurants in town. We had scallops with lemon and parmesan to start and both chose a prawn dish for mains.

When I had a similar scallop dish in Cusco I was given three small scallops. At this restaurant we were given 16 including roe and some were doubles! For the main we each got 25 king prawns. Needless to say we both stuffed ourselves with the seafood and felt way too full once we had finished.

We walked back to the hotel and with our appetite renewed we settled down for pudding and tea/coffee. The food in the hotel was absolutely delicious although our pudding and drinks cost almost as much as our dinner and drinks at the restaurant in town!

(No decent photos today but hopefully lots tomorrow as we have booked the boat trip around the Islas Bastellas - I'm really looking forward to it!!)