A busy few days!!

 Grr, equipment fail!  My little.keyboard refused to connect so back to two fingers!

We docked at General Sam Martin pier for Pisco Peru. There was absolutely nothing at the pier but a few vendors in a tent!   The nearest town was Paracus and the focus of this port is the Nasca Lines. They required a long bus ride and flying over the marks in the earth.  Since they are not even always visible, we chose to visit the Ballasta islands via small boat from Paracus.  It was a mess at.the dock and a wait.in the hot sun but once aboard we enjoyed being close to the water and sea life. There were sea lions clinging to a channel marker, many birds, terns, pelicans and Humboldt penguins. Very tiny compared to those we have seen previously. We were able to see the Candelabra which is similar to the Nasca  lines from both the small boat.and the ship.

These islands are covered in white bird poop, guano. They stand out compared to the clay covered hills on land. The guano is a huge part of the export products for Peru. Every few years they collect tons of it from the islands and sell at great profit as natural fertilizer. This is collected by hand!!!!

After the boat ride we stayed in Paradise for a drink created with Pisco. Pisco is a brandy made from grapes and is a specialty in both Chile and Peru. We have had Pisco sours and like them.  With the drinks we munched cracked, roasted corn that looked like cow feed but tasted interesting. 

The following day we docked in Lima for two nights. Those going to Machu Pichu  left at the previous port and will return tomorrow night. A very quick, expensive trip!

Our choice was to do a tour of Lima with a guide. We.saw some.very very old contents with beautiful art and tile work, 1620. Also we walked to a main square to see the presidents house and government building. A visit to the gold museum was a reminder of the beautiful gold Peruvian objects we had seen before in Boca Raton.. What craftsmanship they displayed! I  loved some of the jewelry designs though not the huge ear plugs or nose ornaments.  Next was a quick visit to the Indian market where many many stalls held beautiful alpaca products and indigenous designs. It was too little time for me to choose anything so I held off purchasing anything. We had lunch consisting of several local dishes. I liked most of them but a few were not so good. Fish is the specialty here so it was served in many of the dishes.  And again a Pisco  sour!

It was a long day including over an hour each way on the bus. We struggled to understand our guide who was not exactly fluent in her English speech.  She also had a broken speech pattern with lots of eh, ums and broken sentences. Between trying to understand and following her around trying not to get lost it was exhausting.  To top it off this was palm Sunday and there were processions and services in the churches we visited. Interesting to see it all but difficult to wade through.

So. Room service and a quiet night finished our day.  Our balcony view doesn't invite Lou going out there this port!!

The following day we took the shuttle into the Millefores area where we walked to a.shopping center cut into the cliff. There were all the stores we have at home but with some very upscale neighbors.  The restaurants had spectacular views looking out to sea from up high.  Lima is developing the lower shore area and adding to the many sports areas there already. Millefores is the newer , upscale area in Lima which is a big contrast to the central old area, dirty and unkempt.

We taxied to the Indian market by George striking a deal with the driver. I purchased a few items after wandering around then we used Uber to get back to the shuttle bus stop. Lunch on the lido deck.was relaxing and quiet with many off touring. It was a nice day. 

Drinks in our favorite bar then dinner in the dining room with interesting couples followed by a folk show finished the day.

Now George is playing pickleball in a tournament after warming up this morning with a few games. I get myself organized and catch up with the blog.  I'll send more photos but can't jam it up with.too many too fast.  Next port is in  Ecuador.