Port Information. Puerto San Martin is a small port with no facilities. It is close to the small city of Paracas, which looks like it has been under construction for just a few years. The port is also close to Pisco (larger city with hotels and amenities and the namesake of the popular brandy, Pisco) and Nazca, famous for the Lines of Nazca (Chariots of the Gods fame). Puerto San Martin and the surrounding areas are a coastal desert – dry with no vegetation except for what is brought into the area.
Puerto San Martin and Environs
It is a beautiful day (bright and sunny – a welcome change from cloudy Lima) along the Chilean Coast, Breakfast in the Horizon Court (the usual W, CC, SC, P).
There is literally nothing to see or do in San Martin Port. The workers there are just there to get any tours on their way and to sweep the constantly moving sand off the area where passengers may be walking.
We have never seen a port (or surrounding area) like this. It is as strange as Iceland but in a different way.
Puerto San Martin
The ship is providing a shuttle to the town of Paracas ($16 per person/round trip), which is across the bay from Puerto San Martin (not a lot of taxis so not a lot of choice – the shuttle is probably a better deal). The shuttle ride take about 15 minutes and takes us through an incredibly desolate area composed mainly of desert sand and dunes. They could have filmed “Star Wars” here.
The pictures below were taken on our ride over to Paracas.
Sand Everywhere
Golden Princess Across the Bay
Could this be “Moss Eisley”?
I don’t know what this is but it doesn’t look like a spaceport.
We weren’t sure what the purpose of the half buried tires was but it made for an interesting picture.
Paracas consists of just a few streets with the main street located next to the beach and ocean.
Beachfront Promenade
The street was literally packed with vendors and bars. In addition, there were a couple of performing pelicans – I think the owner wanted money – that’s were stealth photography comes in. He probably doesn’t pay the pelicans minimum wage. They were pretty big birds.
I stepped onto the beach (pretty clean) to get a shot of the shoreline.
From the Promenade, you could get some nice shots of the Golden Princess just across the bay.
We also documented that we were, indeed, here in Paracas.
We met up with some passengers (also audience members) and sat down for a beer. I tried one of the local beers and I have to say it was the largest bottle of beer I have ever seen (maybe more than 20 oz). It was very good on such a hot day.
Sampling the Local Cerveza
After a bit more shopping – Ellen found a unique cap and scarf combo that should work in the Winter – we found our way back to the bus pickup spot and soon we were on our way back to the ship. As we neared the pier, I got a very nice picture of the Golden Princess. It looks like the ship is sitting on the sand.
Showtime tonight has some local talent on board. In this case, it was “Gaucho del Plata” and his Romanian Helper, Valentina. He did some interesting stunts with bolos and whips but mostly he tried his best to be funny. Gauchos are not necessarily comedians.
We retreated to one of the lounges to read and relax – I finished “The Closers”. I had pegged the bad guy about two thirds of the way through the book but it was still a pretty good novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment