The best thing about meeting new friends while traveling, is they are pre-screened as good travel companions! So it happened that one of my fellow Vietnam travelers made it out to the other end of the world (quite literally) and we could continue our adventures on another continent. (2 and counting… and yes, we do keep score – life jackets optional)
Although I had to work, I could squeeze in a vacation day next to a weekend and we could take a trip to the south to visit Paracas, for a bit of sunshine, blue skies and bluer seas!
On our arrival, we realised we had the afternoon free to explore the adjacent countryside and we took the opportunity to visit the nearby town of Ica, complete with Pisco Tasting and Desert Oasis at Huacachina for a lazy afternoon sunsets.
On the next day we head out to the Islas Ballestas – also known as The Poor Man’s Galapagos – to view some local ocean wildlife and glimpse one of the local petroglyphs.
We opted to go visit the national park in the afternoon, and although the guidebook wasn’t exactly flattering about it, it blew my mind with its amazing colour contrasts, and emotive lanscapes. Somewhere in those stretches of desolate sand, salt water and scorching sun, there may just be an extra terrestrial trying to phone home…
No trip in Peru is quite complete without tasting the local cuisine, and we did our best to sample some of the best. Whether it be crepes with peaches, cerviche, or concentrated coffee, we gave it all a fair chance.
And along with the wild wildlife, there is another kind, the dogs of Paracas. Peru has a unique blend of dogs. Some are pampered to the point of rain jackets and socks, while others are so scruffy they scare away the fleas, and Paracas has every kind, even a sub-version of the Peruvian hairless dog, with short legs!
mcharlottesmith 
Gorgeous photos. Although, I won’t lie, I had to Google what a petroglyph is.
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