Short trip to the Islas Ballestas and the Paracas National Reserve

On our way to Lima in northern Peru, we made a stop in Paracas. Here, there is a peninsula with a nature reserve, and off the coast, there is a little gem of Mother Nature.

The Islas Ballestas are also known as the 'Galapagos for the Poor', and we wanted to check them out. So, we stayed here for one night and in the morning, we took a tour with one of the many speedboats out to the islands. The barren rocky islands are a protected area, and swimming, fishing, and landing on the islands is not allowed here.

So, we set off and around the rocks, and indeed, a wonderful sight of animals opens up. You should ignore the smell, as it could spoil your mood. But there are birds everywhere. We see thousands of cormorants, many pelicans, and quite a few clumsy Humboldt penguins. In the sandy coves, there are larger creatures lounging around. The sea lion colony here seems to be healthy, as there are countless young ones hanging around in the water. A fantastic sight, and besides the unpleasant smell, now there is also a very entertaining grunting concert.

After about an hour, we return to the small harbor. The multitude of animals has certainly made the trip worthwhile – but we hope that there is still much more to see on the Galapagos. We will soon find out for sure.

In the afternoon, we had another short tour. This time, we took a minibus across land to the Paracas National Reserve. The desert landscape along the coast is barren, but with the blue sea, it creates a beautiful contrast of colors and is a lovely destination for an afternoon excursion. We visited the Cathedral, a sandstone arch in the water that unfortunately collapsed during the last earthquake, and the red beach before making our way back to Paracas and then directly to Lima by bus.

We will spend our last days in Peru in the capital and coastal city of Lima. After that, we will continue to our final destination, Ecuador – we are excited!