Peru (2): PARACAS

07.01.
4th Day

Instead of arriving at 16:15, I arrive in Paracas a little after 7 p.m. I've heard that Paracas is not worth a visit, that you should just see the islands and then leave quickly because there is nothing to do, the beach is ugly, and all the dogs are naked. Well. Since I'm arriving during a beautiful sunset, I can't share that sentiment at all. After wandering around the village on the promenade, I have already fallen in love with this little town.

 
When I arrive at the Kokopelli Hostel, I help Kyle from Toronto with the check-in and translation. He has a mandolin, so we quickly have something to talk about.
However, I'm told that my booking is not confirmed. But in my email, it is confirmed. The hostel is fully booked. They want to put me in another hostel around the corner, but since I make a sad face and say that I've heard so many good things about this hostel and was really looking forward to it, the girl goes away, comes back, and says: Ok. We've rearranged someone else. MUAHAHA. Now I have a bed in the 14-person dorm. Boom. It's even cheaper than the 8-person room that I originally booked. Lucky me. 

The hostel is really great. There's always something going on, there's a pool, a kind of restaurant, and a bar where something happens every evening. Everything is open-air, of course. Located right on the beach, and you can paddle out with a canoe for free. I like it!

After settling into my bed, I go to the bar and order some food. Kyle joins me, and we chat and meet Jake and Emily from England, with whom we sit at a table. Suddenly, Jana comes back to the hostel with her group, but only to have a drink. Funny. We chat briefly and then she's gone again.
At a table, there are two guys who also have a ukulele case. I ask them about it. It's a cavaquinho, a kind of Brazilian ukulele. Roberto and Fred are Brazilians who met in Peru. Fred shows me some chords on the instrument, but it's all too difficult for me, it's really played differently, but he plays super well! So now we make music and more and more people join us over time:

Kyle and a bunch of Argentinians are sitting at a table, and at midnight, we have to leave because people want to sleep. So we all go out to the beach. There are four Argentinians sitting in their sleeping bags, one of them is playing the guitar, so we sit down right next to them and we continue jamming with about 20 people. It's super relaxed and a lot of fun. 

But around 3 a.m., I finally go to bed because I actually want to do a tour to the islands at 8 a.m. Hmm... maybe not...

07.01.

5th Day

No, I didn't go on the tour. I'll do it tomorrow... today I'll just relax a bit. Everything was exhausting, right? So I get up, go out to the promenade, have ceviche once... but it wasn't that good, which will become noticeable later.

Today's obligatory program: lying on the beach. One hour this way, splashing in the water, which is not as cold as I feared, then one hour the other way. 

Then I book a bit more, until Fred joins me and we chat a bit, which is a bit difficult because he only speaks Portuguese and Spanish. He just has to bring some time. His actual name is Fred Becker, he has German roots. Funny. That name doesn't really suit a Brazilian. But in Brazil, Fred is pronounced "Frrädsch".

The rest of the day is also relaxed, I book the bus to Ica for tomorrow, but printing doesn't work. I send the ticket to the hostel for printing, but their program doesn't receive anything. I have to wait. I wander around outside a bit more and then in the evening, I go to the bar until Kyle joins me again. 

We play foosball and have a round. I win, of course. BAM! Ha. Whoever wins has to dance. Suddenly, a 7-year-old Peruvian boy stands next to me and wants to play. Sure, come on. The two of us play against Kyle. The little one, Kevin, goes crazy with every goal, and we do the duck dance and we're super happy. But Kyle still wins. He could at least pretend to let us kids win sometimes... :) 

Back at the bar, we meet Max. It's very refreshing to meet someone from northern Germany for a change, most of the people you meet are from the south. We chat for a while, until we're all kicked out and we go to the beach to make music again. This time, there are about 40 people. Our jam session from yesterday has already spread, and people are coming from all over. It's a lot of fun again, but we leave around 2 or 3 a.m. I take Max to his hostel, as his phone is dead and he doesn't know the way without GPS. We chat until 6 a.m.

08.01.

6th Day

No, this morning I also don't manage to go to the Islas Ballestas. The night was just too short. Besides, I have to check out of the hostel. I pack my stuff, finally manage to print the ticket after sending it to other email addresses. One last breakfast with Kyle and Max at the promenade of Paracas. 

A very overpriced breakfast with soggy toast, tasteless cheese, and a thimble of yogurt. Well. The sun is shining. It's fine. Max has been riding his motorcycle through South America for half a year and spontaneously decides to go to Huacachina as well. Huacachina is an oasis in the middle of the desert, where many hostels have settled. The area is known for sandboarding and dune buggy rides in the desert.
With my big backpack on my back and his small one in front, he takes me to the bus on the bike and then continues parallel to me. Very relaxed. 

...continue reading at Peru (3): HUACACHINA