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Due
to the very little time avalialble for the many couples when encountering
in Lima to filing for the "Spousal Visa" after getting
married, we have made up a marvelous Honey Moon for all
of them ......just a few hours from Lima......Paracas... ONE
OF THE WORLD’S MOST VALUABLE AND IMPRESSIVE COASTAL HABITATS !!!
* Private
transportation Lima - Paracas - Lima
* 3 days / 2 nights at "Paracas Hotel"
* A visit to the "Ballestas Islands"
* A visit to the "Paracas Reserve"
Tour fee
: $ 499 each person
To
make your reservation in advance, send us an e-mail to:
manager@matchingsys.com
PARACAS,
ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST VALUABLE AND IMPRESSIVE COASTAL HABITATS
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Millions
of years ago, a cataclysmic earthquake brought about changes
to the land, that together with the confluence of two great
ocean currents,
El Niño and la Peruana or Humboldt, created an environment
where aquatic life could flourish, encouraging abundant
growth of plankton and phytoplankton, essential components
for marine life. There is an astonishingly diverse variety
of biologic life. In Paracas reserve, scores of
sea
lions can be seen lazily basking in the sun align with condors
and giants turtles easing their way through the water. The
winds, the sea temperature, and other weather factors have
created a habitat for thousands of species of marine fauna
and flora, ranging from tiny fish and mollusks to great
seals. The scenery is beautiful, a fact that ancestral cultures
were well aware of, because it was in this rich area that
a major civilization flourished. Paracas, famous for its
weavings, the finest in the world, inimitable even today.
Paracas opens up a wealth of possibilities for tourists.
You can enjoy them all thanks to the facilities now available.
AVERAGE ANNUAL
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TEMPERATURE:
DISTANCE: TRAVEL TIME BY ROAD: 22ºc 250 KMS. FROM LIMA 3 HOURS
FROM LIMA APPROXIMATELY Continuing south on the Pan American highway
is Pisco, a port city that gave its name to the clear white grape
alcohol used in Peru's national drink, the pisco sour. The invention
of pisco was actually a mistake by Spaniards trying to introduce
grapes and wine production into the dry coastal area of the New
World. However, once they tried this potent, yet smooth, beverage
they decided it had merit of its own. A pisco sour is a cocktail
made from pisco, lemon juice, egg white and sugar syrup, whipped
and served with a dash of Angostura bitters. The city, now with
80,000 inhabitants, joined the bandwagon when revolutionary fever
overtook the continent in the early 1800s. Half a block from the
town's Plaza de Armas is the Club Social Pisco used as the headquartersfor
liberation leader General Jose de San Martin while he was fighting
the Spaniards. A statue to this Argentine hero of the independence
war is found on the main plaza - the same square where boat trips
to the Ballestas Islands can be arranged.
Originally, Pisco stood in another spot not far away. But an earthquake
in 1687 and subsequent pirate attacks badly darn_ aged the structures
in the city, prompting the viceroy, Count de la Monclova, to order
it moved. Construction of the opulent baroque cathedral started
shortly thereafter, only ending in 1723.
Pisco's small airport serves as the emergency landing strip when
heavy fog prevents planes from descending in Lima; passengers
are then bused to the Peruvian capital or wait until the weather
clears before flying north again.
From 1960 to 1970, small propeller planes of the foreign-owned
Consorcio Ballenero buzzed the waters offshore in a now defunct
project to localize and count groups of whales that regularly
ply Peru's coast. Then, in late 1988, Peruvian scientists, in
conjunction with experts from the Natural History Museum at the
Smithsonian Institute in the United States, announced the appearance
of a new whale species.
Named
the Mesoplodon Peruvianus, one of these mammals was inadvertently
picked up by fishermen working the waters between Pucusana
and Pisco. The 4-meter (13foot) long whale is one of the smallest
members of the whale family. Poor man's Galapagos: Some 5
km (9 miles) down the coast from Pisco is the Bay of Paracas,
named after the Paracas winds - blustery sand storms that
sweep the coast. Transformed into an ecologically-delicate
national park, and a popular spot for New Year's Day camping,
Paracas is a wildlife reserve boasting a wide variety of sea
mammals and exotic birds, among them the red and white flamingos
that allegedly inspired hero General San Martin to design
the red and white independence flag for Peru. The beach is
lovely, although craggy for swimming and the waters contain
jellyfish. A monument marks where San Martin set foot in Peru
on September 8, 1820 after liberating Argentina. (A law passed
by the National Congress makes September 8 a provincial holiday.)
Not long after the Argentine's arrival, a shipload of British
troops under the command of Lord Cochrane dropped anchor in
the same bay and headed to shore to help San Martin plan his
strategy against the Spanish. The British motivation was to
break Spain's monopoly on trade in the region. The famous
Candelabro, a candelabra-shaped drawing scratched on to the
highest point of a cliffside overlooking the bay, can be seen
from the beach although it is best viewed from a boat. |
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Some scientists
link the drawing to the Southern Cross constellation; others say
it is actually a stylized drawing of a cactus - a symbol of power
from the Chavin culture, which flourished farther north but whose
influence has been found great distances from its seat of power.
The magic associated with the cactus is related to its hallucinogenic
powers and use by high priests in ancient Indian cultures. Recommended
from the Bay of Paracas is a visit to the Ballestas Islands, part
of a national reserve where sea lions, seals, penguins, guano
birds and turtles rarely found at this latitude converge before
photo-taking tourists. Dozens of bird species thrive here, among
them albatross, pelicans and seagulls.
Also worth a visit in a fishing boat or launch is Punta Pejerrey,
nearly at the northernmost point of the isthmus and the best spot
for seeing the Candelabro. On the exact opposite side of the isthmus
is Punta Arquillo and the mirador de los lobos, or sea lion lookout
point. This rough androcky place, reachable only after an hour's
trek on foot, takes visitors to a spot above a sea lion refuge.
Looking down, the adventuresome find themselves nearly face to
face with a congregation of noisy sea mammals. On lucky days,
a look skyward is rewarded by the sight of a pair of condors soaring
above. These majestic birds sweep down on sea lion carcasses,
then use the intense coastal winds to wing themselves up to the
high altitudes they normally frequent.
So well-known was the Andean birds' presence at Paracas that,
when the nature reserve was being named, one scientist pushed
for the moniker "Parque Nacional de los Condores" (Condor National
Park). During the last century, this region was important for
its guano - mineralrich bird droppings used as fertilizers in
Europe. Extensive exploration of the peninsula is best done with
the help of a guide as paths are not clearly marked and it is
easy to become lost. In June and August, Paracas is foggy - a
reaction to the heat and extremely sparse precipitation combined
with the water-laden ocean winds that caress the coast. A meteorological
office here recorded only 36.7 mm (11/2 inches) of precipitation
during a 20-year period.
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