We go out and pick up some rolls from a nearby bakery for breakfast. After that, we pack up the truck and head south. We drive the whole morning, arriving in the sea-side town of Paracas. We stop here for lunch - we each head off and look for a lunch spot on our own. We and Paolo decide to head to the other side of the beach and have lunch where the locals are eating. There are no menus, so with some hand signs, a little Italian and some pointing at other peoples' food, we are able to get our order across. It turns out to be very good - some very fresh fish. The whole meal comes to less than a buck each.
After lunch, we pile back into the truck and head into the Paracas National Reserve. After a bumpy drive over some rough roads (and one near plunge over a cliff edge - well, maybe not that close, but still exciting), we stop for the day on the top of a bluff over looking a bay down below. It is a fantastic spot. The whole problem is the strong wind that is blowing in from the sea.
A number of us decide to wait with setting up our tents and have a fun time watching the others struggle with theirs in the strong wind. In the end, we are lucky that none of the tents blew away. While the rest of the people wander off and explore the area, we and Jackie and Paul begin to prepare dinner for that evening. We have positioned the truck as a wind block, so it is not too bad. But the wind blowing in from under the truck does bring with it quite a bit of sand and everything has to be covered.
For dinner tonight we cook a chicken curry with rice and strawberries and cream for dessert. It turns out to be quite good, even though the rice was a bit under-cooked. After cleaning up, we hang around for a short while around the fire. But in the end, we want to enjoy the night sky from the warmth of our tent, so we retire for the night. The wind is howling by now and the tent is not much protection (we did not put up the rain fly) and we can feel the chill of the air. But we have a good nights sleep, except when we have to visit the toilet and brave the wind.