Penguins, Sea Lions & Birds, Oh My!

This morning the Star Princess docked in Callao, Peru which is the port for the capital city Lima. I had checked online for ideas of things to do here, and one of the recommendations from past visitors was a tour called "Swimming with the Sea Lions" which we thought sounded interesting. I made the reservations for Frank, Connie, Bill & I and we kept our fingers crossed that it would be a good choice. Well let me tell you, it was! We started the boat tour at the Marina Yacht Club, about a 5-minute taxi ride from the ship.We were greeted by Eduardo, our guide and Fernando, the skipper of the motorboat. Once all of the people were there (4 young women plus the 4 of us) we headed out of the marina while Eduardo explained exactly where we'd be going and what we'd see during our tour. He also gave us a history of the area.

On the way out to the islands, we passed a boat carrying octopus fishermen who were going out to check their traps. Notice the wetsuit the one fisherman is wearing; the water is cold, about 60 degrees F. Also note how barren the island behind the boat looks. This is desert country, receiving almost NO rain -- ever. Eduardo said the last time there was "real rain" was in 1970! He told us Lima is the second city to be built in a desert, Cairo being the first.

Penguins in Peru! Wait a minute, I thought that Peru was all mountains and jungle and now I find out Peru is desert along the Pacific Ocean with penguins! Wow it sure is something when you actually visit a country you have only read a little about. This next photo shows a Humboldt penguin rookery on the rocks along the shore of the island we were passing. This island is home to the second largest Humboldt penguin colony in Peru. These penguins are here year-round and have no predators.

After our penguin viewing we were off to swim with the sea lions. They were waiting for us. When the boat showed up, they all started following it. The captain slowed the boat down and they came right up to the back of the boat. We donned wet suits and jumped into the chilly water. Eduardo told us to swim backwards up to the sea lions and they would come close in to us to see what we were. He also said if they made a hissing sound to move away from them. Well I (Bill the whale) got too close and was hissed at right away. I guess they thought I was going to eat one of their young! We backed off and tried again. This time they were much more at ease with us. One jumped up right behind me and came down and splashed water on me with his flipper. In the photo that follows the humans are on the right and the sea lions are on the left. Cindy and I are the two closest to the penguins (right in the middle of the photo.) I was looking for the one that splashed me so I could splash him back.We also saw some great rock formations around the island. Most of them are caused by earthquakes. Peru is a very active earthquake area. The islands are pushed up from the sea and the sea wears away the rock and they get these fantastic rock formations. This one they call Easter Island Rock because it reminds them of the rock carvings that are found on Easter Island. For the short stay we had in Peru we feel that we made great use of our time. It really whet our appetite and now we would love to come back and spend more time exploring so many more things we did not get to see and do here in Peru.