Peru Continued

After the Nazca lines I headed to a Pisco distillery that has been in three generations of one family. I walked the vineyards, learned the process for making Pisco, tasted several Piscos and then had lunch in their dining room. I ate the most amazing lima bean salad with minced onions and avocado…it was so simple yet incredibly tasty.

I then transported to Huacachina for a dune buddy ride on the desert sand dunes. I have to admit I was not thrilled about this activity until I DID IT! Oh my gosh it was fun and similar to being on a roller coaster. The Venezuelan driver was a dare devil and certainly wanted to get as many screams out of the passengers as possible.

During the dune buggy ride, we of course stopped to take pictures and then do some sand boarding. This was another activity that I was not excited about. The dunes were so tall and I imagined eating a bunch of sand. But, once again, I did it and LOVED it. It was so much fun. I then headed to another simple, clean, friendly hotel for the evening.

The next morning I had an hour bus ride to Paracas. Paracas is the gateway to a 40 minute boat ride out to Ballestas Island, a natural protected area for wildlife and fauna. We stopped to look at the Candelabra, another unexplained etching in the side of a mountain on the way to the island. I saw plenty of birds, sea lions and Humboldt penguins. It was truly beautiful.

After the boat ride we headed to the Paracas Reserve. This is a huge desert butting up to the ocean. Our first stop was fogged in so we went to another viewpoint, the Red Beach, which was stunning. Then lunch and another stop at Playa La Mina. After this stop and walk along the beach we stopped again at the first stop, which was no longer fogged in. What a gorgeous viewpoint! It was a day filled with beauty, variety, wildlife and then a bus ride back to Lima late at night. I was beginning to realize the beauty and magnificent variety of Peru. The most amazing thing was I was in an enormous desert but also the agricultural heartland of the country. This region grew every fruit, vegetable and nut you could imagine with seeming wasteland. The hard work and ingenuity displayed was mind boggling!