Flamingos and Sea Lions in La Reserva Nacional de Paracas

We woke up Sunday morning in our hotel in Pisco. 

In 2007, Pisco suffered a 7.9 scale earthquake, which destroyed much of the town. The front part of our hotel - Villa Manuelita - was still in the process of reconstruction. And, the municipal building in front of our hotel and on the main plaza is still vacant because of earthquake damage.

City Hall with Earthquake damage

We thought of staying in Pisco a bit longer, but decided to get moving early in the morning. We loaded ourselves in the car to drive to Nazca. Shortly after leaving Pisco, we saw signs for the Reserva Nacional de Paracas. Neither Nando or I had been there before, so we decided to check it out. We figured at least we would have breakfast in Paracas – the town next to the Reserva.

We took a right turn off the Panamericana Sur and about ten minutes later, we were in the town of Paracas. We parked our car and walked along the beach. The girls were excited to see pelicans and there were tons of them hanging out on the fishing boats.

Tanya and Nando in Paracas

Paracas in the morning

As we walked into town, Nando spotted Edgar, an artisan friend of his and they talked while the girls and I admired his beautiful jewelry. We asked Edgar where we could get a bite to eat, and he recommended we try the tamales the lady on the corner was selling.

Edgar and Nando

Raymi - she likes this necklace

We bought tamales as well as delicious pan de leña – an artisanal bread they make in Paracas. We sat on a bench looking out at the beach, and enjoyed pan con tamales – a typical Peruvian Sunday breakfast.  I find Peruvian tamales especially delicious – the masa is flavored with sofrito, and they are stuffed with chicken and olives.

After breakfast, we decided to check out the Reserva. They charge just 5 soles for adults and 1.50 soles for kids. We drove in and our first stop was the welcome station. You can walk a few minutes from there and see tons of birds – including flamingos! The attendant at the Welcome Center lent us her binoculars and we were able to get a glimpse at the dozen flamingos relaxing in the swamp. In addition, there were several huge dead red jellyfish. The kids love animals and were fascinated watching the birds and the jellyfish. We stayed there for a while before piling up in the car again to continue our tour of the Reserva Nacional de Paracas.

Tatiana, Soraya, and Raymi checking out the flamingos

Lots of birds in the Reserva Nacional de Paracas

And a giant red jelly fish

End of the road

Flamingos - first time we've seen them in the wild

Our next stop was Lagunillas – a beautiful rustic beach where the kids saw a whale rib that was bigger than all of them. We also saw a dead pelican – which the kids found fascinating. The view was also quite pretty.

Lagunillas - a giant whale rib

At Lagunillas, we asked the guard how to get to where we could see sea lions and penguins. He pointed us towards a “road,” which I put in quotes because there is not really a road through the sand dunes. Instead you have to follow the tracks of previous cars that have passed through there. It was a bit nerve-wracking as we seemed to be the only people in the desert other than the occasional passing car and the guards at the station.

Reserva Nacional de Paracas - the desert

After driving about 20 minutes through strangely beautiful dunes, we arrived at the other side of the peninsula, where there was a sign telling us that we were almost to the Mirador de los Lobos Marinos – where we could see the sea lions. We parked the car and walked about 800m up a sand dune where we were treated with a spectacular view of huge cliffs that dropped straight down into the sea. And, sure enough, down below, there were large sea boulders covered with sea lions.

Sea Lions relaxing on the rocks

Reserva Nacional de Paracas

Reserva Nacional de Paracas

I always get a bit nervous near the edge of cliffs so could only stay there with the girls for about ten minutes. There was another overlook and Raymi and I went to check it out while Nando, Tatiana, and Soraya went back to relax in the car.

Raymi and I walked about 5 minutes and came to these awesome cliffs with waves crashing on them. There was also an overlook, but I was too scared to get close to it, so we just enjoyed the view from afar.

Walking back, Raymi and I marveled at the fact that we were the only people in this beautiful place. The Reserva is extremely peaceful, with miles and miles of sand dunes, and surrounded by a beautiful blue sea. I was very happy we decided to make the trip to the Reserva.

Pink hills in the Reserva

By this time, it was noon and we had run out of water to drink. There was much more to see, but we were tired and out of provisions. We decided to head back to Paracas to have lunch. In Paracas, we were treated with a beautiful blue sky – something we hadn’t seen since we arrived in Lima on Tuesday morning. I love that sensation when you see the sun for the first time in days and are reminded of how important sunshine can be.

We searched around for a reasonably priced lunch and found a place that sold us 3 menus for 8 soles each, plus 10 soles each for a ceviche and a chicharron de pescado. With a large bottle of water, the check came out to 49 soles – about $20 for the five of us. The menus with chicken soup and lomo saltado de pollo were cheaper, but we wanted to also try some of the seafood while we were still on the coast. Everything was tasty, and we had ordered too much food. We took a doggy bag and headed to our next destination – Las Lineas de Nasca.

Rosa and Nando

On the way to the car, we ran into Rosa, another artisan friend of Nando’s who sells artesania in Paracas. We chatted with her for a bit and reminisced on the days when Nando and I used to travel around Peru selling jewelry. I wonder if we will see a friend of Nando’s in each stop we make!

In Search of Aventura 757 – from Comas to Lima to Miraflores to Pisco

Finding the book Aventura 757 Kilometros was an aventura in itself. But, I knew I had to get a copy before leaving Lima, as I was sure I wouldn’t find it outside the capital.

I looked for the book in several bookstores on Thursday. We didn’t find it, but everyone we asked assured us that we could find the book in the center of Lima, near the Plaza San Martin. On Saturday, on the way out of Lima, we loaded ourselves and our luggage into the Yaris, and got on the road towards downtown Lima.

Driving in Lima is not for the timid. Since I tend to get nervous around aggressive drivers, Nando took the wheel. When we got to downtown Lima, we found ourselves turning around and around looking for one-way streets that went the way we wanted to.

Traffic in Comas on the way to downtown Lima

After turning around several times, we finally made it to the street that leads up to the Plaza San Martin that is full of bookstores. There was no parking nearby and the traffic was stop and go. So, I jumped out of the car in front of bookstores and asked in each one: “Do you have a copy of Aventura 757 kilometros written by Rafo Leon?” I got a “no” in each of the stores. Then, I realized they were all used bookstores, so I asked one of the book sellers where I could find a new bookstore. She sent me around the corner.

This time, Nando pulled up on a side street and waited while I went inside the bookstore. It looked promising, with new books lining its glass windows. When I got there, the cashier was on the phone. When she finished chatting, she told me they didn’t have it either, but recommended I check out the bookstore in Plaza Real – two blocks away. I jumped back in the car and we found a parking lot nearby. It was a block away from Plaza Real, so I left Nando and the kids there while I ran to the bookstore.

The cashier in this bookstore looked on her computer and told me she had sold her last one. But, she assured me they had a copy in the Miraflores store. I had to go back to the car with bad news. The kids were hungry, and I had promised them we would have Pizza Hut before leaving Lima. Confident I could find a Pizza Hut in Miraflores, we decided to trek over to one last store to find the book.

It took about 30 minutes in traffic to get to Miraflores. I went inside the Ibero bookstore and asked if they had the book. One of the attendants went over to a shelf and pulled it out! I was so relieved that all that running around had not been for naught. I bought the book and we set off across Parque Kennedy to Pizza Hut.

Raymi with Aventura 757 - finally!

There was no way my last meal I Lima was going to be at Pizza Hut, so after the kids ate there, Nando and I set out in search of our menu. On the way, there was an artisan selling jewelry in front of the park. Nando, of course, knew him, and had to greet him. The artisan’s name is Cisto, and Nando knows him from decades ago when he also sold jewelry in Miraflores. Nando called out his name, and Cisto immediately recognized him. They chatted for a bit, and Cisto recommended a restaurant to us – Samantha’s Criollo Restaurant, one street away from Parque Kennedy – near the Banco de la Nacion.

Nando, Raymi, and Cisto

We made it to Samantha’s and sat down to eat. Our food was amazing. Nando had cau cau – a potato and stomach dish – and causa de pollo – a dish made with chicken and mashed potatoes. I don’t favor beef stomach, but Nando said his cau cau was delicious. I had a salad and aji de gallina – a dish made with cream, chicken, and hot peppers. The food was so good that, although the kids had already had pizza, they were more than happy to help us finish off our huge portions. The food at Samantha’s is not only delicious, but also cheap. Our bill was 25 soles – about $10.00.

Causa de pollo

Cau Cau

Aji de Gallina - a family favorite

After eating, we loaded back up into the car, and made our way to the Costa Verde highway, which goes along the beach in Lima. The kids begged to get out of the car and go to the beach, but it was getting late, so we decided to keep going. We left the city around 4pm. It’s at least a 4-hour drive to Nazca, our first stop, so we had to get moving.

The kids were very impatient in the car when we were stuck in traffic on the way to downtown Lima, but once we got on the highway, they chilled out a bit and we all were able to relax. I even got a chance to peek at my book, which looks amazing.

Once we were on the highway, things were going smoothly until our first police stop. The police officer pulled us over and told us that it is mandatory to have your headlights on and that there is a 300 sole fine for that. He called Nando outside of the car for a chat. Nando came back letting me know that the police officer wanted a bribe. We didn’t have any soles left, so I gave Nando $10. That seemed to do the trick.

About 20 minutes later, another officer stopped us. He asked if the girls had on seatbelts, which they fortunately did. We had our lights on and were going under the speed limit, so hoped we wouldn’t get another request for cash. We didn’t and he let us go on our way. Since that incident, the girls barely need a reminder to put on their seatbelts.

At 7pm, we had only made it as far as Pisco – just halfway from Lima to Nazca. But, it was dark and we were tired so we decided to look for a hotel in Pisco. We found a nice hotel with a very large room, comfortable beds, hot water, and Internet. The hotel is called Villa Manuelita, and is right next to the Plaza de Armas in Pisco. The girls were very pleased with the room and immediately began to play on the beds.

Happy at Villa Manuelita

After relaxing for a bit, we went out to grab a bite to eat. There were two very full Chinese restaurants, but I didn’t want Chinese food. So, we chose one of the two very empty Peruvian restaurants. The chicken soup they gave all of us for a starter was tasty and hot. But, the main course was clearly leftovers from lunch. The papa a la huancaina tasted like the milk had gone bad, and the tallarines with chicken was just a little off. I took a couple of bites and left it. Next time, we will be sure to go to the restaurants that actually have other people in them.

Sopa de menudencia de pollo

To get back to the hotel, we walked down a pedestrian street and past the plaza. Soraya went straight to sleep, Tatiana and Raymi took showers, and we all relaxed.

Pedestrian walkway in Pisco

Pisco Plaza at night