Soon after we left the port of Callao, bound for the islands where the sea lions rule, our guides, Margot and Jesus, passed around cups of water and Dramamine pills, meant to calm the stomach. It was a good idea. As the guides explained, from dockside in Callao it’s hard to predict how rough the water will be. Our day on the boat was a tough one for several people in the group, as we bobbed and tilted our way toward the Palomino Islands.

If there was a chance of being distracted from physical discomfort, we were in luck, as Margot was an excellent source of stories and information about the region. Off to our right, we saw San Lorenzo, the second-largest island off Peru. In the 1800s, Margo said, the island was a chief source of guano, droppings from seabirds that served as a powerful fertilizer and a key ingredient in gunpowder (more recently, the Japanese have discovered that guano is an effective treatment for arthritis).

Peru enjoyed a bounty in guano sales in those early years, when supplies were at their peak and demand was strong from Europe. Though the country still exports guano, San Lorenzo is no longer a “white island,” so named for being colored by bird poop, because the Navy has a base there now and all the noise keeps the birds away.

We next passed the island of El Frontón, now abandoned, but with old cells and barracks visible from the boat. During the Shining Path uprising, the island served as a prison to lock up the Maoist terrorists and others. In 1986, the Shining Path led an uprising. The current president, Alan Garcia, was serving an earlier first term then, and he responded forcefully, sending in the Navy. Many prisoners died. At various points, prisoners have tried to escape from the island, usually without success.

The Callao shore is about 5 kilometers away, and the water exceptionally cold (we were about to find out for ourselves just how cold). One prisoner, a man given the feminine moniker “La Gringa,” is said to have escaped by dressing as a woman and killing a sea lion; he lathered himself with oil to stay warm and sleek as he swam to shore.

When we arrived at the Palomino Islands, the sea lions were there to greet us, by the thousands. They covered the main island, in shades of gray and brown, always in motion. They blended in so well with the rocks that it took a minute or so to appreciate just how many sea lions were encamped there!

Our swim guide, who trained as a Navy Seal, went in the water first to say hello. Soon he was directing students to put on wetsuits. The first group of eight jumped in one after the other, usually letting out a loud whoop after that first shock of cold. But as they swam toward the island they soon warmed up (at one point all waving at the rest of us in the boat). Sea lions came out to meet them, close enough to touch (our guides said best not to do this; sea lion attacks are very rare, but still).

When the first group returned, they handed over their wetsuits to the next team of swimmers. For some, it took a bit of assistance to tug on the wet wetsuits – one of the drawbacks to waiting for a turn! All told, 14 of the 24 students in the group went in the water; some decided that they were already just too cold, or just too queasy, to make the jump.

We noticed that the area was quieter than when we came with the Spring group, which was right in the midst of the birthing season. Now the moms and dads were busy playing with their offspring: we saw lots of poking and nuzzling. On the ride back, wrapped in blankets, we had baskets of chifles, or banana chips; potato chips; pretzels and crackers to munch on. And we had all the hot tea we could drink.