Sailing along the coast of Lima

On the second day in Lima, we booked a sailing tour along the coast of Lima. Since the boat was scheduled to depart at 9am and we would be on it for 6 hours, we had to wake up early and check out of the hotel. We were a little concerned about fake taxi drivers and robberies in Lima (you hear a lot about it), so Richard recommended a neighbor of his who drives a taxi and was supposed to pick us up from the hotel at 7:45am. Unfortunately, punctuality did not work out so well and by 8:15am we were still impatiently waiting at the hotel, as the drive to the marina was supposed to take 40 minutes. We were just about to arrange for another taxi when the driver arrived. He had been stuck in traffic and indeed, the traffic in Lima is terrible, and some streets were closed due to the Ironman race the day before. However, he assured us that we would make it to the harbor on time. We would soon regret this, as due to the delay, he now rushed through the already chaotic traffic like a madman. I started feeling really sick and soon had to use a vomit bag, which unfortunately was not leakproof. The ride ended somewhat unpleasantly with me changing clothes in the middle of the street. We arrived at the La Punta marina around 9:15am, but Chris had already arranged for someone to wait for us along the way.

At the exclusive yacht club, we were already listed as planned visitors and were taken by boat to the mooring place of the small sailing ship MarDulce. Eugenio Oliveira, the owner of the boat, was already waiting for us there. We learned that we were the only guests and therefore had the boat to ourselves for the whole day. Eugenio, in good spirits, assured us that we were now the captains of the boat and he would tailor the tour to our wishes. If we had known that, we wouldn't have had to hurry so much. We set sail on the small sailboat in perfect weather and were given a lot of explanations about the coastal area and the islands. We headed towards Isla San Lorenzo, which, from afar, looked like a reclining woman with large breasts. The barren island actually houses a naval station, but on one side there is a lonely stretch of coast where visitors are allowed. Eugenio also gives sailing lessons, so that day we also got a few lessons and actively participated. Chris even got to take over the helm from time to time. After about an hour, we anchored near the island. Now it was time to relax a bit. We took the two kayaks and paddled to the shore. There, we explored the small beach and the caves. Chris also jumped into the quite chilly water (hello El Niño), and I enjoyed sunbathing on the boat. In the meantime, Eugenio prepared fresh fish for us, which he seasoned in different ways and served directly from the pan. Very tasty. This relaxed boat excursion made us forget about the stressful taxi ride, and we even saw numerous majestic pelicans and, twice, briefly, a sea lion. In the afternoon, we headed back towards the harbor so that we could catch our bus to Ica on time. Now the wind was blowing in the right direction, and after Chris had pulled up the anchor with great effort, we raised the sails.

At the bus station, we arrived on time without any problems (yes, with the same driver who had even waited for us), and we were amazed when we saw the luxurious buses of Cruz del Sur, which had proper reclining seats, and even Chris did not complain about a lack of space with his long legs. With a little delay, we arrived in Ica late in the evening and were able to check into our spacious accommodation through Airbnb.