This is the aptly named “Red Beach” in the Paracas national park which despite being bright green on google maps, is actually a desolate desert without a shrub in sight.
So it turns out we aren’t actually staying in the small town of Pisco, but instead the Tiny fishing village of San Andres. We had been told that Pisco to the North is dirty and dangerous and Paracas to the south is really touristy. There is only one place here in San Andres which offers accommodation and the owner is a super friendly dude named Manuel who speaks great english. according to Manuel we are the first foreigners in town since December, which is quite obvious from the all too familiar stares.
Anyway, Manuel set us up with a tour to the Paracas national park. The tour was only $10AUD and was really just transport around to different places which suited us fine as there is limited/no public transport in the national park. We drove along barley visible roads to a museum, a bunch of lookouts and an “oaisis” on the coast with several restaurants and a beach before finishing in Paracas.
Back in Paracas it became obvious that this was the main hub for travellers as the town is nothing but overpriced restaurants, hostels, and tour agencies all of which will chase you down the street offering their services. I think we made the right decision staying in San Andres.
