The Ballestas Islands
A four hour’s drive took us away from the concrete confines of a bustling South American metropolis to the little town of Ica, a place where the desert meets the sea and gateway to the Ballestas Islands. Ever wonder what life would be like if birds, seals, and sea lions took over the earth? That’s kind of what we found here. It’s a long day trip from Lima, but it’s worth it.
The Candelabra is a pre-historic landmark that’s been etched two feet deep into the ground and stretches almost 600 feet tall. No one really knows who made it or why.
The rock formations here are very pretty, but we were constantly looking upwards into the sky.
Pictures don’t even begin to describe the surreal feeling of having hundreds of birds winging overhead. As amazing as it was to see, common sense told us to put our hats on just in case anything fell our way.
Though there were a lot of birds in the sky, there were even more perched on the rocks.
Some types of birds that can be found are the blue-footed booby (left) and penguins (right).
Inca terns with beautiful black and white markings.
A few red crabs scuttling between the cracks.
Our first seal sighting! At first I thought that this little guy was all we were going o see, but then the boat floated around the corner…
Welcome to Seal Island (not really, but it kind of felt like it).
Two sea lions have a little local dispute over the best sun spot.
Those that get the prime seating can spend their hours counting tourists and watching the boats go by.
Pouting for the camera!