Worth its weight in . . . .

Posted on April 30th, 2008 in Peru by Jeremy Kaye

On the south coast of Peru is the Paracas National Reserve, a 700,000 acre park established in 1975 for the protection of local marine and bird life. Falling just outside this reserve but protected by its own legislation are the Islas Ballestas, also known as The Poor Man’s Galapagos. These islands are a popular tourist attraction because the rocks are home to thousands of marine birds (over 150 recorded species) and massive colonies of sea lions numbering in the hundreds. The easiest way to see the islands is to join one of the the speedboat tours which embark from the pier at El Chaco port by the village of Paracas. Weighing anchor near the islands and landing on the islands are both prohibited, though experienced navigators can maneuver their craft to within a few meters. Our pilot managed to get close enough for us to snap these pics:

Canon del Colca

Posted on April 30th, 2008 in Peru by Jeremy Kaye

The Canon del Colca is the 2nd deepest canyon in the world, measuring in at 3,191 meters on its tiptoes. Nestled in between some young mountains, geologically speaking, it is twice the height of the presumptuously named Grand Canyon, which clocks in around a measly 1,800 meters at it’s deepest point. The Canon del Colca is so steep in fact that from its base to its summit the vegetation entirely changes. Lush flora thrive at its foot, while hard and hearty scrub-land vegetation - the kinds that are good at scraping by on bits of sunlight and thin oxygen - take root at the top.

The following conversation took place one morning in February:

My ugly mug

Posted on April 28th, 2008 in Peru, Photos by Jeremy Kaye

More than one person has commented that there aren’t enough pictures of me on the blog. Why you would want to ruin a beautiful scene by inserting my face into it is beyond my powers of understanding, but for your edification here are a random sampling of pics I culled from other people’s cameras.

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