Buggy driving in the desert

At 4pm, the 12 of us who had booked the buggy driving were transported the short distance to the starting point in taxis.  There, we were given a rudimentary lesson in how to drive the buggy.  Basically, there's a stop pedal and a go pedal - no gears or anything complicated!  We were told to wear jackets, given helmets, and we were off!

In the beginning, we were at the head of our convoy, just behind the guide, keeping a 5-metre distance as we'd been instructed.  We drove out of town and onto the main highway where we were soon overtaken by Sam and Megan and Greg and Britt.  We had to stop at the entrance to the national park in order to pay a fee.

Then, we were off road and driving through the desert to our first stop at a rock formation known as The Cathedral.  This once-regal sea arch was an icon of the coastline of Paracas.  Unfortunately, it was largely destroyed in the 2007 earthquake that devastated the region, but it is still a nice spot to admire the spectacular scenery.  We spent 20 minutes there taking photos and bird spotting.Read more