Our first tour excursion in Peru was a two-hour boat ride to view the Ballestas Islands. We rode on a standard tour boat out of Paracas Harbor (in the region of Pisco), about four hours drive south of Lima.
The Ballestas are now a marine wildlife sanctuary. These islands are home to a number of marine bird species including penguins. They also provide sanctuary for sea lions, fur seals, and several other species of marine mammals. At one time, they were mined for the layer of bird guano (bird shit) that covers the islands, which was once valuable for it’s nitrogen content and used as fertilizer. Due to the development of artificial nitrogen fertilizer, guano now has little commercial value. But the birds continue to deposit their layers of guano over these rocky islands.
We got close enough by boat that the scent of these islands was noticeable.
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Images of the Ballestas Islands
Bonus Video
In between photos, I tried experimenting with a little video. This clip is of our boat backing out of a cove on one of the larger islands. This video cuts off abruptly as my GoPro battery went dead.
I have to admit, our boat driver knew how to handle his boat.
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