Paracus

PERU - DAY THIRTEEN - Paracus
Previous Blogs: Day 1 - Arequepa \| Day 2 - Yanque \| Day 3 - Colca Canyon \| Day 4 - Lake Titicaca \| Day 5 - Road to Cusco \| Day 6 - Machu Picchu \| Day 7 - Cusco Day 8 - Sacred Valley \| Day 9 - Salt and Terraces \| Day 10 - Rain Forrest \| Day 11-12 - Rainforest/Lima \| Day 13 - Paracus Click photos for a larger image...

	We were picked up from our hotel at 6am (these guys are REALLY killing me!) and dropped off at the bus station for our 3 1/2 hour coach ride to Paracus (not to be confused with that nasty dangerous city in Venezuela called Caracas!). It was foggy most the way, but that is not what was really startling... I had NO IDEA this part of Peru along the coast was desert! Not a tree or blade of grass in sight. Just rock and sand on the one side and ocean on the other. Who knew? Reminds me of Namibia... Also, this is the way to travel - luxury coach. This bus made Greyhound look like an archaic school bus from the 20's! FULL reclining seats, more than 12 inches leg room IN FRONT of my knees. Free snacks and drinks served by hostess. Toilet on board. Free Wifi. Pillow and blanket provided. Free entertainment (well we watched the Disney movie "Frozen" in Spanish). But the second movie at least had English subtitles.
Paracus Bus "Terminal".	Here's something interesting we have found since getting back from mountain country. Wherever we went in the mountains, many people spoke English and they were very geared up for tourism. Now that we are on the coast, not so much. In Lima the largest city in Peru, we battled to find anyone who spoke English from hotel receptionists, waiters, even our own guide who picked us up at the airport battled. We went to a restaurant for dinner and the menu was only in Spanish and this was no local restaurant, it was in the busiest touristic area in town on the main drag. Going to the very large bus terminal, no one there spoke English, neither were any of the announcements in English and the hostess on the bus didn't speak English or the check in people. Our boat tour was only in Spanish and the restaurant we had lunch at, all waiters only spoke Spanish and the menu was only in Spanish. Same when we checked in to our hotel. I honestly thought it would be the other way round, once you got into the countryside and mountains you would battle to find English, but not so. In the big city is the problem! Go figure. Wendy's knowledge of Spanish has certainly made a HUGE difference here. Wendy's Note: Never travel to a country thinking they will speak the way YOU do. 99.999% of the fun is immersing yourself into a culture and testing your limits. I will admit, I acquiesced a couple times saying, Yo no se, and just go'd with the flow! LOL Dang these peeps speak muy rapido!!!

The beach front	restaurant row
Paracus is a very quaint beach town, most famous for its proximity to the Ballestas Islands off shore and the National Reserve. But from what we saw, it is basically a domestic tourist center, that is a tourist destination for Peruvians.
People loving the beach!	Of course we decide to go on a boat ride to the islands. $20 each for 1 1/2 hours - armed with twin 200HP Yamaha 4 strokes, the boat moved it's 42 passengers pretty quickly!
43 people on board and not one including the tour guide spoke English! Can you say GRINGOS!!!!	The islands were stunning so let me let the pictures and videos do the talking.







Here is a video of just one section of the Ballestas Islands Here is a video of the beach where all the seals hang out.
We had lunch at a beach front restaurant - good thing they had empanada on the menu, its the only thing I recognized!	Our hotel room - picture perfect with balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
View from hotel room looking out - note how the parking lot is enclosed from the street for security reasons	View from hotel room looking towards the city - we are a 5 minute walk away from restaurant row and the beach area
	And finally.... Really? Seriously? You are really going to do THAT? Right here, over the bow in full view? WTF?
Wendy's Note: Peru is so diverse, such a dichotomy of cultures, vistas, landscapes and living. I came to this country with a vision of what I "thought" it would be - I am leaving with a love and understanding that cannot ever be expressed in mere words. It's heartfelt. Each area is so unique. So amazingly beautiful in its own right. The insight granted into her political world, tourism efforts, eco-efforts are vast and reaching. On a scale of "Go" to "No Go" - Peru is exponentially on the "GO GO GO GO GO to infinity" category!