PARACAS AND BALLESTAS ISLANDS south of LIMA

After the Gap tour finished we had a few days before Liz returned to Australia so we headed south of Lima to Paracas and there was a seaside desert National Park and the offshore Ballestas Islands to explore. We had a guide and a taxi for the NP and found it beautiful and interesting. The mix of sea and desert and a really fresh seafood lunch in a tiny fishing village made for a great day.The trip out to the Ballestas Islands, the next day was very popular. We didn't realise there were so many people staying in town. Fast long speedboats powered by twin 200 hp outboards raced us out there to the 'poor man's Galapagos'. Such spectacular rock formations and heaps of birds. Even saw some leftover sea lions and penguins--most of their mates had moved on to other favourite places.