Yes! Finally I can say the zoom lens I've been carrying around for the last six and a half months has paid back some of its hefty price tag. The Ballestas Islands off the coast of Peru are home to hundreds of sea lions, some penguins and more birds than you can count, and the long lens came into its own.
We stayed in Pisco, which is towards the coast and about four hours south from Lima. In 2007 an earthquake struck the region and Pisco was very near the epicenter. The damage done is still very apparent - the town understandably looks more like a building site in some parts. The cathedral was not totally destroyed but you can see its very fragile-looking dome from the street. However, the main plaza and streets feeding from it are now in good condition and buzzing with people.
Twenty minutes in a taxi down the road is Paracas and the National Reserve. From here you can take a trip to some of the islands. In the mood to see sea lions, we got ourselves on one of the early morning boats leaving for the Ballestas Islands.
It was a simple but fantastic trip. Firstly we journeyed along the coast to get a look at the pre-Colombian Candelabra etched into side of a sand dune, the origin of which is a mystery.
Next we arrived at the islands and amongst the thousands of birds we could spot the odd peguin waddling around. The water temperature is an all year round 15 deg C and it certainly was not cold there.
Around the next corner was a beach full of sea lions. It was rather odd to see and from a distance they almost looked like humans. In the sea were sea lions floating and swimming, and they too looked pretty human-like. I suspect they were in fact busy looking for food. In any case, the zoom lens was a joy to use as, because of the rocks and choppy waters, we were that bit too far away to get some good close-ups otherwise.
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