Islas Ballestas

The morning after arriving in Huaca China, we joined a tour group to see the Ballestas Islands. We boarded a speed boat that first stopped off at the hillside of a large sand dune so that we could view the "Candelabra". This is an actual etching of what looks like a Candelabra or cactus in the sand dune, of unknown origin. It is 177m tall and 50m wide. There are 3 myths about the origin: 1) that it dates back to the indigenous ppl of Paracas (region from where we boarded the boat) and from 2000A.D. 2) done by pirates to indicate the directions for north/south 3) created for one of the Generals as a Masonic symbol.
So one wonders how is this figure still there? Our guide explained that its because the slope faces north and so protects it from the winds.
We continued on to some pretty big waves (yikes) to get a close look at sea lions, birds including Guanay Black Comorats, Humboldt penguins, Peruvian boobies. The highlight was catching a glimpse of a baby sea lion suckling from its mother.
Stay tuned for pics!