Islas Ballestas, Galápagos on the Cheap — Part 2

Circling the Sea Lions

On this particular day we didn’t see a lot of the diversity for which Islas Ballestos is famous, but we certainly saw a lot of pinnipeds of one species — the South American sea lion.  Here is a colony of mother sea lions tending to their pups:

The Nursery

The most prevalent bird species had to be the Peruvian Booby.  They were everywhere:

Peruvian Booby

Peruvian Booby

These are the remains of an old guano mining operation:

Abandoned Guano Mine

Here are a couple of sea lions putting on a show for us:

Where’s My Flea Collar?

Snooze Time

For Additional Information:

• Islas Ballestas — Wikipedia
• Islas Ballestas — Lonely Planet
• Paracas National Reserve — Wikipedia
• Paracas National Reserve — Trip Advisor
• Paracas National Reserve — Nature.org
• Ballestas Islands — Trip Advisor