We landed in Lima, Peru capital city, in the late afternoon of August 2, 2007, after a long and tiring flight from Turin, Italy. We just stay in Lima for one night of rest and the very next day we moved southward to Paracas Reserve using a local bus (Cruz Del Sur).

We arrived in Pisco after a three hours bus trip and stayed at Hostal Santa Maria in Paracas. Paracas Reserve is one of the best marine reserves in the world, with the highest concentration of marine birds. It is located in a desert peninsula where the powerful winds of the Pacific Ocean, the sea temperature, and other weather factors have created a stunning habitat for thousands of species of marine fauna and flora, ranging from tiny fish and mollusks to great seals.

After a funny walk of the gorgeous beaches and cliffs of the peninsula we admired the famous “Cathedral” (now lost forever since it has been destroyed by the huge earthquake that hit Peru in just a couple of weeks after our visit!).

The next day we visited also the Ballestas Islands, a group of three islands with narrow shorelines and cliffs where, in the breeding seasons, birds build their nests with their own droppings. These droppings are known worldwide as the famous guano fertilizer. During our boat trip to the Islands we had the opportunity to watch resident and migratory birds, including flamingos, red-legged cormorants, Inca terns, bobbies, as well as playful sea lions, and some amusing Humboldt penguins (well not a close encounter, just a far watching!).

The visit to Ballestas Island is a half-day trip, and in the afternoon we moved in the outback and visited the downtown of Ica and other places around, such as the Regional Museum where we saw great quantity of archaeological remains such as potteries, textiles and mummies. In the outskirts of Ica we visited also a traditional winery, where we had an explanation about how to make Pisco and Wine.

Finally, we spent the night in the Huacachina Lagoon, a nice place, with many hotels built around a lake surrounded by huge sand dunes, also called "El Oasis de America", where we climbed to the top of one of the sand dunes surrounding the lagoon and had the occasion to admire a beautiful landscape of sand dunes at sunset that we will never forget.