Ballestas Islands and Return to Lima

Today was a travel day back to Lima. But first we went in a boat ride to the Ballestas Islands to see the birds, penguins and seals that nest on these islands. The islands are rock formations that are covered in white - guano - bird poop. Guano is an extremely important produce in Peru as studies dating back to the 19^th century have shown it to be an excellent fertilizer - up to 30 times better than cow dung.

Now, if you were a country that focused on agriculture wouldn’t you fight over guano?  Well Perú did in the late 1860’s.

On April 14, 1864, in retaliation for Peru's refusal to pay an indemnity, the Spanish fleet seized the lightly defended Chincha Islands. The islands were the principal source for Peruvian guano resources. The Spanish placed the islands' Peruvian governor Ramón Valle Riestra under arrest aboard the Resolución, occupied the islands with 400 marines, and raised the Spanish flag. Spain considered these islands an important bargaining tool, as they were a major Peruvian economic asset and produced almost 60% of the government's annual revenue.

                                          The left side of the "mountain" is covered with birds.

                                         The sea lions and seals were beautiful.

                                         Except this huge male!  See the female on the rocks to the left?

After leaving the Ballestas Islands we headed back to Lima where everyone was focused on the soccer game (Peru vs Columbia) to see which team would advance to compete in the World Cup. The game was a tie so Perú will need to play another game.

Tonight was our dinner at Maido which is sa restaurant that specializes in Peruvian/Japanese fusion and is number 8 in the top fifty restaurants in the world. What wonderful food. It is the best cod Myra has ever had!  A wonderful way to end the evening.