Pisco

We left Paracas and headed to the Doubletree in Pisco. The plan was to have a down day here relaxing after a lot of go days. That turned out to be a really good idea since we both forgot sunscreen before the kayaking and we were close enough to the Equator for that to be a big mistake. We both were sunburned so relaxing and staying in the shade for a bit sounded good.

The Doubletree was resort-style, so we couldn’t walk through the fun parts of Pisco, though this was fine for a recovery day. The resort was more upscale than I like, with expensive food and people who learn your name and refer to you by it at the desk.

Also they have art furniture.

I tested the seats to see if they were as uncomfortable as they looked. They were.

still impractical, though less actively hostile to the sitter

We also managed to try a Pisco Sour here. These are really good for this kind of drink. I tried some straight Pisco and it’s not nearly as horrible as I expected. (I have a kid palate – alcohol has always just tasted vile to me). Pisco is a grape brandy, and the town of Pisco is a beach town in the middle of a desert which puzzled me. It turns out the drink is made in wine making regions elsewhere in Peru, but the original port it was all shipped from was Pisco, so the name came from there.

the pool was popular with local birds

Juvenile little blue heron

The staying in the shade didn’t last very long for me, because the resort was on the water and the shore had birds.

**We got some nice up-close and personal time with flamingoes feeding in the bay in the back of the resort.**

A sanderling and a ruddy turnstone – there were tons of sandpipers, gulls, and terns

greater yellowlegs

Flying peeps

sipping sanderling

sanderlings & yellowlegs

We spent a day here recuperating, treating sunburn with aloe, and messing around looking at birds. I also saw rufous-collared sparrows on property and followed some around to get a good look.

A good look

a great look

coastal miner (Geositta peruviana)
endemic to Peru

While the Doubletree was fine for us since we were trying to stay in and recuperate, this place is really isolated from the more colorful and fun parts of Pisco and is more of an isolated resort than a base to visit Pisco. Pisco is a really cute, though very dusty, beach town with a lot of character that looks like a fun place to spend time in.

The next day we ate and had a leisurely morning, then checked out. We took a taxi to Pisco, to the Perú Bus station. We’d booked the bus from Pisco to Lima online which worked out fine. They stowed our luggage underneath for the ride.

boarding PeruBus

I read some of the phrase book on the bus (still doing homework), and we watched films dubbed in Spanish with Spanish subtitles. Iron Man II is not a good film to learn Spanish from. Charlotte’s Web (2006) was ok. Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit was great.

For a while the seat in front of me was leaned back. Manos, Hands in Face.

We pulled into Lima around 7 PM, and got a taxi to the slightly over-fancy* Hyatt Centric in San Isidro, Lima, ate at the hotel’s restaurant (mushroom risotto), then got to bed.

* Any hotel where staff learn your name and then refer to you by it when they see you is way to fancy, and also somewhat distressing in the awkwardness that ensues. Hotels that use golf carts to get you to your room are too fancy. Hotels that have their own tailored pillow scent are cool for that, but also too fancy.

next: Lima Day One