Islas Ballestas, Galápagos on the Cheap — Part 1

Islas Ballestas, Paracas National Reserve

Imagine a place where you can spot up to three dozen species of mammal and well over 200 species of birds. No, I’m not talking about the Galápagos Islands some 650 miles/1,000 kilometers out in the middle of the Pacific. I’m referring to a small group of islands just minutes by boat off the Peruvian coast.

Islas Ballestas, Paracas National Reserve

There is a small group of rocky protrusions jutting out from the Pacific less than twelve miles from eith...