We took a bus from Ica to Pisco yesterday. Then we jumped in a Combi van to El Chaco. The Combi takes you past some fish factories. You’re lucky if the diesel exhaust outweighs the sour fish smell. El Chaco was a small fishing village that has become gentrified. There is a sidewalk along the water for a couple miles. It starts in the town’s restaurants and souvenir shops and wanders into a few nice resorts with green lawns. After the last resort gate large houses continue with more green lawns in the desert. Our hostel has signs for water conservation. I would like to housesit for one of these places.
Today, we were supposed to go to the Islas Ballestas but it was cancelled because of the waves. Someone we met last week had the same story. We did go to the Paracas Reserve. A skin tag of a peninsula sticks out of Peru called Paracas. The thing is made up of a desert, several fishing boats, birds, and fossils. Desert can be beautiful but it is mostly in shades of brown and the shapes of sand dunes. I saw two Sea Lion carcasses as well.
When we returned we slept. Now Jill is cooking some soup. We found a tiny market curiously well stocked with fresh vegetables and Jill is pleased, to say the least. Tomorrow we are returning to Lima for a bit and I’m looking forward to the familiarity of it. Maybe we can watch a movie.