Awoken early by shouting, banging (construction) and loud music – I expect I will get a lot of this in the coming weeks! Today we're going back into Paracas to sample some coastal seafood (ceviche) then heading to Ayacucho, up in the mountains, via an overnight bus. We headed for a new travel agent first thing in the morning and got some cheap tickets – so cheap as to seem a little dubious.
Nevertheless we bought them and checked out, before heading down to the market quarter – definitely the most frenetic part of Pisco. We hopped into our first proper colectivo – the Peruvian name for the mini-busses which run from town to town picking up locals on the way, and as found all over the world where people don’t/can’t afford to run a whole car just for themselves like we do.
After a circular journey dropping off people and goods to various security guards along the way, and running the gauntlet of the smelly fish area again, we arrived in Paracas – a seaside “town” which has grown larger servicing gringos and local tourists. The weather was far hotter and the beach beckoned, so we kicked back with a beer listening to a proper Andean quartet playing folk music in the style I love so much.
We liked this dog surveying Paracas
Lunch was the much-famed cerviche and for a tourist area it was awesome, much better than anything I have had in London. We hang around testing each other on Spanish vocab and watching the waitresses flirting with delivery guys, before getting a second opinion on our bus tickets. The lady was lovely and rang up to check for us, later giving us a lift back to Pisco when we were sunned out and being swamped by taxi drivers.
Spotted while shopping in Pisco - arf, arf
Back in Pisco we settled into a bar to drink gorgeous fresh pineapple juice and wait for our connecting taxi at 9.40 – we’re anticipating a bumpy and sleepless night on the way to Ayacucho. We were hustled to a nearby town and a small shack (or “terminal”) with a couple of friendly women selling drinks and chocolate to keep us company. Our excitement grew as huge, plush bus after bus strained their way up the hill past us – all good signs we thought.
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