Paracas, Peru

We woke up early to meet our guide, Cesar, and our travelling 'family' for the next three weeks. Everyone was shy to start with, but it wasn't long before we were getting to know each other!

We headed south to the coastal town of Paracas and arrived at close to sunset, so wandered down to a nearby beach to admire the view. Cesar then took us out to try the famous Ceviche (raw fish marinated in lemon juices) and then to the most luxurious hotel in town to try a Pisco Sour - Peru's national cocktail.

The next morning Jo was regretting the raw fish and cocktail combo, so unfortunately didn't join Sam and the group on a boat ride around the Ballestas Islands.

Just off the Paracas peninsula, the Ballastas have been dubbed 'the poor man's Galapagos'. Yet despite the name, the islands were absolutely teeming with thousands of birds, as well as dolphins and sea lions!

The best moment was seeing a stranded baby sea lion call out in panic for its parents once it saw that a boat full of tourists coming its way!

We also went to see the 'Paracas Candelabra', which was carved into the earth around 200 BC. Similar to the Nazca lines, there are many theories about what it is exactly... we liked the idea that it's a marker to lost treasure!

Later in the afternoon we went to a local winery to taste some more Pisco. We thought we would be experts at tasting after our stay in Mendoza, but we hadn't counted on doing five shots of 40% alcohol prior to lunch!

Before the shots had time to settle we were off again... this time to Hauacachina, an oasis in the middle of the desert. The town is built around a small natural lake, and is surrounded by huge sand dunes. After lunch were given the option of relaxing by the pool or taking a ride in a dune buggy, and going sand boarding...

The buggy was absolutely mental. We felt as if we were in a roller coaster as the driver took us up near-vertical hills and hammered the accelerator on the way down... everyone was screaming like girls, especially Sam!

The sandboarding wasn't much better for our stomachs as we lay on a snowboard and got pushed down huge hills. Both of us were hesitant at first, but soon got the hang of it! Jo even managed to go the furthest, even a mouthful of sand from screaming... and the very best bit was that the dune buggy would pick us up at the bottom and drive us to the top of the next dune to do it again!

All in all an incredibly hectic, but very fun day!