26/3 Paracas on the beach

Leisurely start. Delicious breakfast for $3 - 2 eggs, FRESH buns and jam, coffee. Coca leaves if you wanted. One block down the road to Cruz Del Sur where we had the FRONT seats upstairs. Not that much to see - desert nearly all the way with the occasional dip into a river valley where there would be quite intensive farming. Much more comfortable up there than we were the other night.

A couple of places where they were doing roadwork or measuring for long distances. Had to laugh - the truck in front of us was blowing over the red witches' hats and they were rolling away faster than the crew could stand them up. One after the other.

This whole region is desert.  Somehow they get crops and vineyards to grow.  Quite amazing.

Passed through Ica, the regional capital - quite a large city and adjacent Huacacina - a lush little oasis renowned for dune buggying and sandboarding. But that avenue of pleasure was closed to me. We were expcting a 3 hour trip but they served lunch at 2.30 and it was another hour before we rolled into Paracas.

It is a fishing village and jumping off point to the Ballestas Is - an offshore group teeming with birdlife and sealions etc. a delightful little place. We strolled 600m downhill and exactly there was our destination and the adorable Alberto. Its the only hostel in hostelbookers.com but his approval rating is 93% and for good reason.

Guess who booked for 26 APRIL???? Oooh bugger. He took our unexpected arrival in his stride and showed us immediately to an empty room. We got the grand tour and the full rundown on the town and the available trips. He said  - I will tell you my prices and you go ask around and use whoever you want. We can't be bothered - if someone else is offering much less than $10 for a 2 hour outing in a speedboat (apparently WITH lifejackets!!) then good luck to Alberto.

It was just about time to wander off to the beach, passing the souvenir and craft shops, the restaurants, and the jetty where fisherman were unloading crates of what looked like mullet into a freezer truck. The sun eased behind the mountain across the bay and a pink glow bathed the clouds, with silver edges highlighting a big chunk of the sky.

Native hairless dog. Large dog

Pretty hey

Beautiful

We took Alberto's word that it was quite safe to walk anywhere any time and strolled back along the beach. Stopped at a little stall/restaurant and had ceviche and a seafood fried rice (delicious) with mango daiquiries. We saw the owner go off for the mango and there was some firewater in there too. Probably a bit like their cappucinos - looks about right and tastes vaguely the same as the real thing.

We are well into the tropics - no more thqan 15 degrees south - and they dont have mosquitoes here!! Get out! And hardly any flies. This is a special place. About 240km south of Lima.

We checked the hostel scene in Miami today and concluded that the only places we would feel comfortable paying would be very unpleasant to live in for 6 days. So we signed up for the 4 day cruise to the Bahamas. Sadly the tax bill is $200 on top of the cruise price $400 but we figure we will have a better time than we would on shore. So we just need one night in a motel when we fly in and one more between cruises.

We are not due in Lima for another 4 days and we will very likely just stay here - a very very pleasant little place and a great place to kick back and unwind after almost 3 months of overlanding.