After a four hour bus drive down the coast from Lima, we arrived at Paracas, a small beach town known mostly as the launching point for boat tours to Islas Ballestas. The island, which Peruvians (but not Ecuadorians) call the Galapagos of Peru, features lots of sea lions, penguins, Peruvian boobies and other birds. There is also plenty of bird droppings known as 'guaneros' all over the islands. Before artificial fertilizer they used to export the stuff all around the world, but nowadays it stays where it is to ensure that tourists like us get a multi-sensory experience.
From Paracas we took an early bus to the town of Nazca, home of the famous Nazca lines and an otherwise unremarkable town. There's still some speculation about the origin of the Nazca lines (some people still believe there is some sort of extraterrestrial connection), but the most credible sources suggest they were constructed by the Nazca people around 1500 years ago. We took a 40 minute flight in a small plane over the most interesting lines, which enabled us to best appreciate of the massive scale of the ancient drawings (some of which exceed 250 meters in length). The flight definitely requires a strong stomach, as this was the first time on our trip (which has featured bus crossing over the Andes and choppy Galapagos boat trips) that motion sickness got the better of us, despite our magic pills. Even so, we're glad we did it, and that we paid a little more to fly with a safer and more established company (only a few years ago 18 people died in the space of two years when 3 different Nazca flights crashed).
Next stop was Huacachina, a tiny town built around a desert oasis. Although the much larger town of Ica is only five minutes over the hill, the large sand dunes surrounding Huacachina's lake make you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere. While in Huacachina we spent plenty of time relaxing in hammocks and paddle boats. We also took on some faster paced activities, including sandboarding and a fast paced 4x4 ride through the desert. Both were a lot of fun!
Our final stop before flying to Cusco (the Incan capital of South America) was Lima, the pre-Incan and Colonial capital of the continent. Initial impressions of Lima aren't particularly flattering, and many travelers spend no more than one or two nights there. One reason for this is that, despite its historical importance in the region, the city doesn't have much to show for it, largely due to a 1746 earthquake that wiped out most buildings of any relevance. As a result, the city lacks the historical charm of cities like Quito and Bogota. Even so, the historical centre still features some beautiful squares, churches and government buildings (although these were all built after the quake).
The other main knock on Lima is that it is both highly populated and extremely dry (behind Cairo, it's the second driest capital in the world). This was particularly evident as we travelled south of the city to visit the Pachacamac ruins south of Lima. The ruins themselves, which date back to pre-Incan times (800-1450AD), were interesting enough to be worth a visit, but we were confident that they were not going to be the most impressive ruins we saw in Peru.
The real charm in Lima can be found in the bohemian hub of Barranco and the neighboring glitzy district of Miraflores, where we spent most of our time. Both sit on top of sea-side cliffs, offer stunning views of the Pacific Ocean, and host the city's best night spots. They also feature the best restaurants we've encountered in our travels so far (which we really enjoyed after many disappointing culinary experiences in Colombia and, in particular, Ecuador). The main highlights were the fresh seafood (fishing is Peru's second most important industry, behind mining), Lomo Saltado (a national stir fried beef dish with rice) and sandwiches made with beautiful fresh bread.
While in Miraflores we also visited a Crossfit gym in the fancy oceanfront Larcomar shopping centre. It had been almost two months since our last crossfit workout in Melbourne, and it showed, leaving us a little worried about whether we were still in good enough shape to take on the Inca trail (our next stop).
The other main knock on Lima is that it is both highly populated and extremely dry (behind Cairo, it's the second driest capital in the world). This was particularly evident as we travelled south of the city to visit the Pachacamac ruins south of Lima. The ruins themselves, which date back to pre-Incan times (800-1450AD), were interesting enough to be worth a visit, but we were confident that they were not going to be the most impressive ruins we saw in Peru.
The real charm in Lima can be found in the bohemian hub of Barranco and the neighboring glitzy district of Miraflores, where we spent most of our time. Both sit on top of sea-side cliffs, offer stunning views of the Pacific Ocean, and host the city's best night spots. They also feature the best restaurants we've encountered in our travels so far (which we really enjoyed after many disappointing culinary experiences in Colombia and, in particular, Ecuador). The main highlights were the fresh seafood (fishing is Peru's second most important industry, behind mining), Lomo Saltado (a national stir fried beef dish with rice) and sandwiches made with beautiful fresh bread.
While in Miraflores we also visited a Crossfit gym in the fancy oceanfront Larcomar shopping centre. It had been almost two months since our last crossfit workout in Melbourne, and it showed, leaving us a little worried about whether we were still in good enough shape to take on the Inca trail (our next stop).
