The Atacama desert is the driest place on earth. 🦥🏜️

🔎🐧💡 At Centro de Interpretación, Paracas, Peru:
In the coastal desert around Paracas, numerous fossils were found. Including various penguin species, such as the Inkayacu pictured here. It lived around 36 million years ago. The 2008 discovered skeleton is the first one with fossilized feathers attached to it. The feathers are so well preserved that it's even possible to draw conclusions about the coloring. They had similar feathers as modern penguins, but more gray or brownish.


The other prehistoric bird in the picture is a pseudotooth bird (pelagornithid). These birds reached a wing span of up to 6 meters and were thus about twice as large as the Andean condor. They were probably related to pelicans or storks and lived all around the world. The fossils found around Paracas are attributed to the same era as the Inkayacu.

Salt-tolerant coastal vegetation in the Atacama Desert, the driest desert outside the polar regions.

In October 2018 I've explored Peru by myself. After my arrival in Lima I took the bus for Paracas (Ica) and visited the Paracas National Reserve. It's a protected area for desert and marine ecosystems.
We started early around 9 o'clock.
There was a very good tour guide, she explained everything in English and in Spanish. She took me from my hostel (Hospedaje Mary) and brought us to the haven.
We went by boat to the Ballestas Islands. It was cool and a bit foggy, which are the best prepositions to see all the animals.
I've seen all the animals I wanted to see and much more. South American sea lions and fur seals, Humboldt penguins, Peruvian boobies and pelicans, Guanay shags, Inca terns and beautiful sea stars.
After this boat trip we've had a little break and then explored the Atacama Desert. There was a small nature museum, very interesting! I searched for the Paracas gecko. How sad I have never seen one.
At Playa Roja (red beach) my smartphone went out of energy and off course (!) I had forgotten my charger. But I've seen so many beautiful things!
Peru is absolutely worth a thousand visits!