Not a Drop of Rain

This morning we woke up in Paracus and celebrated D'Ann's birthday. Pancho surprised her with a big caramel covered cake. He bought it yesterday at Plaza Vea and kept it hidden from us. It was so nice of him. However, D'Ann in gluten intolerant, so she couldn't really even eat her own cake. She didn't say anything though and just enjoyed some of the rich icing. Birthday cake for breakfast, what a fun way to start the day!

Today we were boarding a boat to see the Ballestas Islands. These are know as the "Galapagos of Peru" or more amusingly called "the poor man's Galapagos" by my Lonely Planet guide book. We met our guide Luis at the small office on the water. We joined a group of about 10 more people and stepped on board the open top motor boat. We put on our over-sized orange life vests and set off into the ocean. I spoke with a father/son pair from California behind me, a girl from Colorado next to me, and a guy from Mexico in front of me. Luis was funny (which can be particularly hard when you are speaking a language that isn't your own) and he kept us entertained.

The air was cold, the sun was bright, and the water was blue. There were small mountains that looked like smooth, tan sand dunes that dropped off into the water. Soon we stopped to looked at an unusual carving into the side of one of these mountains. It is called the Candelabra and looks like a three pronged candelabra (or cactus) drawn into the ground. As with the Nazca lines, there are several theories as to how,when and why it was made. It is a huge drawing in the ground, but apparently is only about 30-50 centimeters deep. The reason it is so well preserved is that it never rains here. And when Luis told us it never rains, he meant it never rains.

We sped up and continued on to the islands. Along the way we saw a swarm of birds (seagulls and cormorants) feeding in the water and some huge pelicans. When we arrived to the islands the rock formations were beautiful. There were caves and big rock arches. Birds covered the rocks. We saw gray cormorants, Peruvian boobies, pelicans with brightly colored beaks, and penguins! The cute little black and white Humbolt penguins waddled along the rocks. There were even some high above walking along the top of the rock arch.

While driving around the islands, the strong scent of bird guano whirled around us. My nose wrinkled with the stench and I tried to concentrate on my conversations with the people around me. The rocks were covered with the white droppings and Luis told us how the guano was sold as fertilizer. I pictured the awful job of being the guy that has to shovel that stuff into containers for selling. Despite that thought, the scenery was gorgeous.

As we came around another curve, we saw two sea lions perched on a rock above the water! Luis informed us they were pregnant. We wondered how he knew. Then, he revealed his secret way of knowing that. Turns out, these sea lions are almost always pregnant. Two hours after giving birth they get pregnant again. Thus, they are almost always pregnant. What a life.

This tour was over all too quickly too, like so many of the amazing tours I have been on here. The driver put it into full gear and we sped back to our starting point. I enjoyed talking to the college student from Mexico in front of me as we drove. He and his brother were traveling all over South America.

Before our long drive back to Ayacucho, we stopped at a sea front boardwalk for some shopping and some lunch. I loved all of the beautiful and unusual seashells for sell. There were purple ones, pointy ones, white ones, peach ones, big ones, little ones. It was hard to restrain from buying them all. We enjoyed our lunch with great view of the ocean right in front of us and the sun shining down on us. Several of us got the famous ceviche and it was delicious. Fresh and light. Satisfied and fully, we waved good-bye to the coast.

Our drive back to Ayacucho proved to be just as death defying as my other driving experiences. HUGE trucks and double-decker buses sped to pass us and each other on the winding two lane road on the edge of the mountains. I tried to keep myself occupied with my book and not think about it. I pushed thoughts of careening down the side of the mountain in our little van out of my head. After many pages read, naps taken by everyone else, and several hours of driving, we all became bored. We got good laughs out of playing a story-telling car game. Each person had to add a sentence to the story and each story got funnier and more unusual with each addition.

The sun setting over the mountains was gorgeous. I reflected on what a great experience this is and how happy I am. Once it was dark we came over the mountains to see the lights of Ayacucho spread out in the valley. The rows of little yellow lights snaked through the city. The town was much larger than I thought. It was good to be back "home."

Not a Drop of Rain, Robert Earl Keen