Ballestas Islands sea life galore!

Peru – July 20

I’ve gotten in the habit of not sleeping the night before we have to make an early wake up and this night is no exception.  Needless to say, I wake up at 5am, 5:30 and then 6:00 and decide to go ahead and get up and get some coffee.  I get the kids up and going and we are ready for our pick up right on time.  We were under the impression we would be riding on a large bus like previous tours, although it quickly becomes clear that we are traveling in a passenger van to Paracas which is the embarkation point for the islands.  After a rather uneventful ride, we arrive and follow our tour guide to the port.  We are given arm bands and are corralled among hundreds of other passengers toward the dock….not sure how they know everyone is together in our group, but at least we five are still together.  We board the openair boat and are soon realizing we have underdressed for the weather.   Most days we have spent have been warm to hot during the day and then chilly to cold starting around 3pm, however, this day has started off grey, overcast and cold so being on the water makes it all the more bone-chilling.  We ride in the boat for about 30 minutes before the tour guide makes a good attempt at describing the sea birds nestled into the rocky outcroppings of the islands…..the little sound system they use is no competition for chatter of the birds, the hum of the engine and the lapping of the waves against the boat.  We see pelicans and then see the tiniest penquins hugging the faces of the jagged rocks.  They have to waddle-hop to climb up the steep inclines.  Next we move on to another island to see the sea lions and seals playing in the water and sunning themselves on the rocks.  The one eyed cormorant seems to be something exotic as the guide keeps marveling over them and how they all fly to the same spot to eat.  After about two hours of touring around the frigid waters, we return to the dock and grab a bite to eat before driving back to Ica for a relaxing afternoon.