Islas Ballestas - near Paracas, Peru

We decided to take a short boat tour of Islas Ballestas on our way from Lima to Arequipa last Saturday. The bus ride from Lima to Arequipa is a mere 16 hours, so in order to take the tour and get to Arequipa that same day we left Lima at 4:15 AM. Ouch! ! We arrived in Paracas at 8:20 or so and headed straight for the harbor to catch our 8:30 boat. The tour lasted until 10:30 and we rushed back to the bus station to head to Arequipa, where we arrived just after midnight. Even though we traveled in relative luxury on a double decker bus, and on the 1st floor (sort of like 1st class on an airplane) for the last eight hours, everyone was quite exhausted. That said, as you will see from the pictures below, the day was worthwhile!