Staring at the sea, Staring at the sand, Staring down myself, Reflected in the eyes of the dead [sea lion] on the beach . . .

Daytrip
Ballestras Island
Baracas
Baracas Nacional Park

Note: I'm still several days behind on blogging and I think that this will continue. Because I'm in a hostel with good internet access there's going to be a lot of posting to catch up. Ignore the dates. Also, pictures will hopefully be uploaded to this and previous posts soon.


Got out of Lima for a day. Getting out of the smog of Lima was pleasant in and of itself, but the destination was fantastic as well.

We started off by taking a boat tour to Ballestras Island, which is a kind fo mini-Galapogos. We saw penguins, sea lions, various birds, and lots of complicated rock formations. You may be sensing my lack of enthusiasm. This is because I've gone on several similar trips in Korea, sans animals. It was nice, but that's about all.

The really interesting part was seeing a giant candelabra carved into the side of the peninsula as we rode out. it's been around for 2000 years and nobody knows why or how it was carved. it's best seen from the sky. Use your imaginations about the significance of that. (Note: There are similar carvings all over the area.)

The highlight of the trip, by far, was Baracas Nacional Park along the Baracas peninsula. The whole park used to be underwater, but now has a slight sand covering, making it appear to be a desert with monumental dunes. It's also very hot. On the edge of this "desert" is the Pacific Ocean at its most blue. The whole park is desolate in the best way possible and felt completely otherwordly. Walking around, I couldn't help but feel that there is no place else on earth like this place and I never could have guessed that a place like it even existed. The combination of empty beaches, cool and blue water, and the "dunes" as a backdrop made me remember why I travel. Walking along the beach, getting burned by the bright sun (I am peeling and leaking fluid now, hooray!), seeing no signs of human life, and finding only the head of a dead sea lion washed up on shore allowed me to (wait for it) be comforted by my own insignificance. (Note: Here's where those of you who can't handle swillish existential ramblings will want to skip ahead.)

This has happened twice before while travelling. Once, while hiking halfway down the Grand Canyon alone and sitting on the edge of the plateau over the Colorado River. I felt completely alone and meaningless, and that made me feel in control of life more than I'd ever felt before. The other time was while traveling with Gabel and Mores to Dok Jeok Do, an island to the west of Korea. We went there a week or two before tourist season and nearly couldn't find a place to stay. We ended up staying in a minbak (a very basic lodging usually in someone's house) and ate a simple meal cooked by the owner of the house. This was not what we had in mind upon arrival and we were a little disappointed. To drown our sorrows, we sat in the minbak (on the floor, no chairs or bed) drinking beer and soju and acting how we act when we drink too much. We got a little stir crazy and decided to explore the island for no real reason on "borrowed" bikes. Mindlessly drunken, we founf our way to the shore to find that there was no water. The tide had gone completely out and we walked what felt like halfway into the sea, wondering what was going on and why nobody else had noticed. Our minds returned after a lot of "Holy Shits, what the hell is going on" and "I hope the tide doesn't come back in too fast or we'll drown" and I think we actually STFU for a few minutes to take it all in. This might be selective memory, but I remember feeling an awe similar to how I felt sitting over the Colorado River.

A combination of these two feelings is how I felt at Baracas Nacional Park. The feeling completely snuck up on me and that made it all the more memorable. I think we haven't given ourselves enough chances to experience these moments so far because we've been so concerned with seeing as much as possible and experiencing as much as possible that we haven't really taken the time to really experience much at all. Re-reading the blog so far, there are a lot of factoids and impressions, but very little real connection to the trip. To me, the whole reason for traveling is to connect, to change, to re-evaluate. Hell, if we end up changing our minds about the months of plans we've made for when we go back to Korea because of this trip, so be it. I know that I want to really experience (I know I sound like a hippie) this trip and have parts of it resonate the way that the Grand Canyon and Dok Jeok Do have for me.

Note: I think the Nacional Park also will resonate because we had a great tourguide, Jose, who spoke very little Spanish. I was amazed that we found a way to communicate via a rudimentary phrase book and my limited memories of 6th grade Spanish. Mores, you were right, language has worked itself out.