From the Jungle to the Desert

This morning, we woke up super early, at 4:30 AM, to catch our bus to the southern coast of the country, stopping at the beach town of Paracas, and the famous oasis of Huacachina. The tour we were on was quite expensive and there were 41 people on our bus, and two other busses with other guides following our same itinerary. This was definitely a tourist trap of a tour, but both Zack and I were glad we made it to the desert in the end.

We arrived in Paracas at about 9 AM. The area, now filled with beach shops, people selling sunglasses and tacky Paracas hats on the streets, and littered with English signage used to be the home of an ancient culture, about whom we know very little.

Paracas was home to one of the oldest civilizations known to man, and in general, Peru, its coast, and the Andes are considered one of the seven Cradles of Civilization, hosting cities and agriculture from the earliest of days. You may have heard of the mysterious Nazca lines, which are very close by, and like the Nazca civilization, the Paracas civilization left very little behind for us to study. But the main reason we were in Paracas was to see the Islas Ballestas—sometimes nicknamed the “Poor Man’s Galapagos. We were guided to a boat that took us on the short journey over to the islands, stopping a few times along the way.

Our first stop was spontaneous, as we quickly pulled over to catch some sea lions who’d decided to take a break from swimming and sit on a buoy. They were very cute and do indeed look a little like dogs!

We then went over towards the opposite shore to admire a glyph that’d been carved into the edge of the sand dune facing the water. Now, nobody knows who created the glyph, however it’s been there for centuries, without restoration. Since Paracas is in the Atacama Desert, like much of the coastline of Peru, it receives on average less than an inch of rain a year, and it’s not uncommon for an entire year to pass without a drop of rain. Also, the glyph sits on the leeward side of the dune, and thus, receives very little wind as well.

There are several theories as to how the glyph got there and for what reason, but nothing is proven. Some think that the pre-Incan Paracas civilization created it, much like the Nazca civilization created their famous Nazca lines. Others think that the man considered to be the Liberator of Peru, Jose de San Martin (who, interestingly enough, was Argentinian), created it in the mid 1800s as a symbol of national spirit. And, of course, you have those who think aliens made it…

We then made it to the rocky, yellow islands after a ride filled with salt spray and choppy waves. There, we both admired the beauty of the rock formations and the animals which were there. We saw crabs, penguins, more sea lions, and many species of birds which, according to those who know more than me, do not belong at latitudes this tropical.hu

A Collage of Boats, Animals, and Rocks That We Saw

The reason all these Antarctic animals have made their way up here is interesting though—it’s because there’s a current, the Humboldt current (Peru Current in this map), which cuts up the western coast of South America from the Antarctic circumpolar current, and even up into the Galapagos. Therefore, the water and air conditions are closer to Antarctica than they would be, say, in São Paulo, which is even lower in latitude, yet whose water comes from the tropics.

I suppose this may be my time to mention, also, my perpetual amazement at how “north” the southern hemisphere is in comparison to the northern hemisphere. Like the Antarctic peninsula reaches past the Antarctic circle, and Ushuaia, the town on the tip of the South America, is but 55°S, whereas Tromsø, Norway, far from the northernmost city in the Northern Hemisphere, is already at 70°N. Longyearbyen, on Svalbard, is at 78°N.

The rest of the day was spent at Huacachina, the only desert oasis on the continent, in the middle of the Atacama Desert. Huaca, in indigenous languages, means “sacred place,” and indeed, a large source of water in the world’s driest desert, I would imagine, would be quite a sacred place.

The Oasis

The area is nice, touristy for sure, but nice nonetheless. They’ve made the area around the oasis into a nice outdoor mall and walking area. But most of our time there was spent on dune buggies and sand skiing! Again, not much more to say, but that we did it and had a good time.