On reaching the opposite side of Paracas Bay we
suddenly found ourselves confronted by hundreds of Peruvian Pelicans, sporting grey
bodies and red and yellow stripped bills, along with numerous Red-Footed
Cormorants, sitting on a small rise. Pleasantly surprised, we continued on our
way by fast speedboat to the islands. On the way we found ourselves confronted
by thousands of Guanay Cormorants bathing in the ocean before then heading off
in enormous ‘squadrons’ towards the coast. Gobsmacked, we continued on the
crossing to the islands. On arrival, we found ourselves looking up at literally
tens of thousands of birds clinging to the cliffs, occupying every nook and
cranny, and of a myriad different types. Aside to more Pelicans and Red-Footed
Cormorants, there were Inca Terns, Humboldt Penguins, Gannets, Peruvian Boobies,
Turkey Vultures, Elegant Tern, Franklins Gulls, Kelp Gulls, Elegant Terns, Gray
Gulls, Neotropic Corporants and many smaller critters that I was unable to
capture on film. And if that were not enough to satisfy every Onithologists
wildest dreams, there were also large numbers of sea lions and dolphins to
captivate visitors. Perhaps the most amazing encounter was the sight of a
Galapagos Booby, which is extremely rare given the waters around Peru are normally
much colder – 12C due to the Humboldt current. This year however we are in the
midst of an extreme El Nino event (predicted to be the strongest ever), with
local sea temperature now an eye-popping 20C. The sight of the Galapagos Booby
is thus viewed as a harbinger of bad times to come….
For the next two hours we drifted close to the
cliffs of all three islands, with the skies filled with birds returning to
roost or taking off in search of food to feed the many fledglings perched in
their nests. The three of us were constantly elbowing each other to point out
sights that should be premiered in BBC Nature or National Geographic
documentaries. With memory cards and batteries depleted we headed back to the
mainland. On route we found ourselves being ‘attacked’ by legions of pelicans
and cormorants, flying single file +/- 20ft above sea level, as far as the eye
could see. What amazed me in particular was their effortless flight. While we
were travelling at speed in a streamlined fibre class boat fitted with 2 x 350
hp outboard engines, we found ourselves nonetheless inundated with disdainful
looks from pelicans that chased us down without a single twitch of their wings,
and simply ‘glided’ past us. As we returned to the marina I struggled with the
fact this tour is a mere footnote in the Lonely Planet Guide. That this place does
not have international recognition or advertised more extensively simply
beggars belief!
Our tour guide must have found our child-like
enthusiasm very beguiling (we even helped him pick up trash off the beaches),
as he extended the tour to nearly 4 hours. At the end we visited a private
museum back in Paracas that are filled with skulls that show evidence of trepanning,
and other skulls revealing the ancient practice of head deforming –very bizzare.
We then walked back to the Hotel, stopping off on the way for a quick snack,
washed down with a few Pisco Sours. We then spent the next few hours
downloading and filtering the hundreds of photos of today’s adventures, and being
thankful that Astrid brought her Canon D5 MKII Bazooka to Peru. We ended by the
day doing something stupid – drinking too much wine……
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