Bird Invasion and cow hearts

So, today has been a very Nicole day. I woke up early to depart for my tour of the Islas Ballestas and Reserva National Parque, my bus was supposed to pick me up at 7:15 and of course we are on Peruvian time and they came at 7:45. So me and 2 of my closest French friends, 1 Canadian and about 24 Peruvians headed out to the next town over Paracas. We then waited on the dock for about 15 minutes with lots of other tourists waiting to board our speedboats. I started talking to Diane from Canada (remember her) and she asked me to be her translater because we were wondering if our guide would speak English.

We board our ex-Miami Vice speed boats and put on our life jackets and head out for a 15 minutes ride to the Islands (Islas). As I said yesterday the Islas are the "poor man Gallapagos" and the easiest way to describe the animal life is thousands of birds. I have never seen so many birds in one spot in my life, it was a little creepy. At least 10 different species flying over head, chilling in the water, on the rocks and more guayno than I ever want to smell again. If you don´t know, guayno is bird poop, white smelly, I want to puke bird poop. And historically Peruvians use it for fertilizer (some still do on a small scale). So we drive around several islands looking at birds and poop. There was the occassional sea lion in a very obscure place on the rocks. I don´t know how they got up there and am convinced marine biologists placed them there to guarentee to tourists they will see sea lions. Oh yeah there were some penguins as well. Oh and I almost forgot, on the way to the Islands we passed the candelabro (http://www.caminandosinrumbo.com/peru/ballestas/index.htm scroll down and it´s on the right and side) It is similar to the Nazca lines, but experts are unsure of how it was created. I go back to my theory of Peruvians setting the whole thing up to draw tourists or aliens.

After the islands we go to the National Reserve which is a wild life reserve in the desert. It was really cool to see a desert next to water, and we saw more cool views of the cliffs and water than animals. Then lunch at a really small beach. I had ceviche (raw fish marinated in lemon juice and spices) it was sooooooo good. It´s served with Yucca and sweet potato. When we get back into town Diane was walking towards my hotel with me. Now here is where the story gets muy interesente.

We ran into the two touts (guys who get commission for brining tourists to hotels or travel agencies) who she and I got our hotels with. We started talking and Diane told me she was going to the discoteque with Jose tonight. Now I was scheduled to leave on a 4:30 bus to Nazca to fly over the lines tomorrow. There is nothing in Nazca - nada. I wasn´t looking forward to it and then Jose told me there was a early bus I could take. So of course I got on my guide, Nelson for not telling me about the earlier bus, but there was nothing I could do. Or was there.....

I am waiting in the train station and my bus is late (of course). Nelson and some other guys came over to meet the tourists coming in from the bus so we were talking, I started practicing my spanish. Several told me they would pay me to stay so I could go to the discoteque with them, I only had to get the tourists to come with them when they got off the bus. I said if I could get a hotel for $5 I would stay and catch the early bus, then I was invited to stay at two houses (don´t worry mom, I did not take them up on this offer). So before I knew it, Jose was telling the bus station guys that I wasn´t getting on the bus and I was going to the same hotel Diane was staying in. The guys were very surprised I was just like OK. I was able to get a double room for 1\2 the price (thanks to Jose) and then I went out to eat with Dane and another guy. And I can´t remember his name.....So Jose is going to try to sell my ticket to another tourists for tomorrow.

Diane and our friend and I ate some Peruvian donuts from a street vendor then went to a pool hall. We were of course the only two females in there and when we walked in, some guys at the front looked at me and said "hola mamacita" If you don´t know mamacita is, it's a pretty woman. They apparently didn´t think I could understand Spanish so I said "Hola papi, ¿como estas? which embarrassed them and was funny to me. So we play pool and got Orlando to play on my team (Orlando is a friend of the guy we were with who's name I can't remember). When we were leaving the guys were still talking about me, so I starting talking to them and one asked if I was a mamacita, and I said no. He said si, you are a mamasota, I said si. I have no idea what a mamasota is and I asked our new friend and he said it is a woman who is twice as pretty as a mamacita (I have never heard this before)

Afterwards we to eat corozon de carne (cow heart) from a street vendor. It was actually pretty good (much better than I´ve had in the past). We had a pleasant meal sitting on dirty bench eating off of plates that are just rinsed off in dirty water on a dirty corner. There were three girls there, daughters of the stall owner I think. They got a kick out of me talking to them. Everyone was impressed two gringas were eating cow heart.

So, I have eaten and need to go take a nap before we go to the discoteque. It has apparently turned into a huge party and there are about 15 of us going....I think one of the other guys has some other tourists going. Tomorrow I will take the 6 a.m. flight to Nazca and I´m just out the $10 I spent on my ticket, but so worth it because Pisco is more fun than Nazca.

This is why I love going on a vacation.

Oh yeah last night my bartender who I was talking to while drinking a pisco sour (traditional Peruvian drink with white grape brandy, lemon juice, sugar, and egg whites) asked me to help her get papers to enter the US :) I declined.

FYI when I say I´m talking to people, it usually means in Spanish or Spanglish. Very few people speak English, which is great because I get to practice.

Adios mis amigos!