We arrived in Ica after getting the short bus ride from Pisco. In Ica it was just a 10 min cab ride into the surreal tiny desert town of Huachina. It was an amzing place looking like a mirage in the sand. One road connected it with the outide world and the closest town of Ica. After checking in a nice cozy hotel with pool that made up for the adequate room, we took the 5 min walk to the towns centre peice the large lake used by local kids to mess around and small pedlo boats. Around the centre lake just one tier up were deffierent restarants where we ate. The twon was just overlooked by huge sand tunes in every direction. The best way to descibe it being like a bowl with the town being at the bottom. After a nice lunch we headed back to the hotel to spend the afternoon chilling by the pool. In the garden were the pool was situated the hostel also had a crazy monkey they kept as a pet tied to a piece of string. This may explain the reason the thing seemed like it was on speed jumin on anything that came near it. Aswell as the small monkey there were also different tropical brids such as parrots walking around or siiting on the tree. We just took it easy basking in the baking sun. Katrina played with the monkey who seemed to prefer women than guys, while I just as always tryed to get myself some sun. I had to be extra careful though as I had got burnt in Pisco and my forehead was peeling off, very funny if you see the pictures of me. 

The next day we went on a sand buggy tour. This involved being picked up from our hostel then taken a mad ride across the desert in the buggy to the top of one of the dunes. From there we were given sandboards to go down the dunes on. The boards were specifically for the sand being much like a snowbard only smaller. For my first hill i waxed up the board lied on my front and wizzed down the dune. Was so surprised how quick you went, it was just so much fun. The next dune I attempted standing up, this being far tougher than lying on your front. I got about half way down standing befire going head first into the sand hurting slightly getting covered from head to toe in sand. I think we did abot 6 or 7 dunes in total the last one being highest going down what must have been at least 50 mtrs. This one I did lying down as it was easier to get more speed and far safer. After doind the sand boarding we watched the sunset on the dunes then tooke the crazy drive on the dunes back to our hostel. I had so much fun and would definatley reccommend it to anyone.

The next day we cheked out of the hostel but our bus was not until the evening when we were getting a night bus to Cuzco. To kill time throughout the day we had a look around the small town of ica. We just spent town looking around the shops one of our favourite past times. We also just sat in the Plaza de armas (The towns central square) and just watched the world go by.

In the evening we got the night bus to Cuzco. I really loved Huachinna. So unique settings like no where I have been before and the sand boarding is just so much fun, like sledging without the snow   

Huacachina is a oase in the desert. By taxi it is about 10 minutes from Ica. The one of the billets of Peru shows this place, but in real it is much nicer. In the center is a big pond and around are palmtrees and some hostels. You can walk the sanddunes, ride in desert buggies and go sandboarding!

What a relief to leave Lima behind!  As soon as I got on the bus to take me south to Ica and Huacachina I felt everything lighten, my mood and my mental state.  Lima has been different this time. It’s much nicer in the summer, but even still, as the bus rolled through the outer suburbs and then squatters settlements and shanty areas of the extreme outskirts of Lima, and then into the unpopulated desert, I felt that it’s just not the place for me.  Staying in Lima would be too limiting and eventually depressing, knowing there is such great beauty out in the rest of Peru to be discovered and relished.  Many on the bus were headed for the Oceanside resorts to the south of Lima.  Evidenced by the swimsuits peeking out from their shorts and shirts, they were dressed and ready to go for a relaxing Saturday on the sand by the shore.  Asia, about 2 hours south of Lima, is a popular destination, especially for the wealthier Limenos.  I was tempted to stop but I reminded myself that lounging on the beach wasn’t in my immediate plans and that I wanted to get down to Arequipa without too much delay.  Ica and Huacachina were on my itinerary because of the oasis and sandboarding and sand buggie ride in Huacachina, and because of the wineries outside of Ica that I didn’t get to do and visit in my last trip down here right before I came back to the U.S. in October.  

The desert landscape was familiar to me in my previous travels up the northern coast, but as always it was still fascinating.  This being summer now, the balmy salt-laden air blew through the bus mitigating the harshness of the rock and sand we were passing through.  At intervals a ghostly fog momentarily drifted through the dunes and hills to obscure the sun and render the view eerie and inhospitable.  I glimpsed some shacks set up between the Pan-American highway we were traveling on and the sea, and I wondered how anyone could even stay the night there, so removed from any sign of life or basic services such as food and water.  They must be hardy and/or desperate souls to use them as shelter.  On the way, I struck up a conversation with the Canadian sitting next to me and his Peruvian wife.  They live in Calgary and this was his second visit to Peru.  We discussed the obvious subjects: Peru, Canada, and the U.S. but also global warming, prompted by the movie, The Inconvenient Truth, that was showing on the bus.  Strange pick for a movie on a Peruvian bus I thought!  The next movie was more in keeping with what I was used to seeing.  A domestic abuse movie with lots of violence and hysterics.  Ahhh, I’m definitely back in Peru!  
They got off the bus in Canete and I continued another hour or so to Ica where I got a taxi to Huacachina.  It was too late in the afternoon to visit the wineries so I decided to maybe catch some dune buggie and sandboarding action and do the wineries the next day.  I arrived at the hostel just in time for the afternoon outing since they usually depart morning and late afternoon, the latter to experience the setting sun on the dunes and not distant foothills of the mountains.  It was a wickedly fun ride, almost like a roller coaster, due to the high and steep dunes, and the ability of the buggy to race up the peaks, pivot sharply and plunge down again.  I was strapped in next to a French couple from Bretagne and their seven year old girl who exhibited remarkably little fear.  We stopped for a photo and a short climb up one of the nearby dunes, and then, after an exhilarating plunge and surge up the following slope, to hang on for dear life as we took sandboards down a steep incline.  The preferred method was to go head first, lying on your stomach, but another option was to sit and pilot the board.  I opted for diving down head first and the trip was a thrill.  After a couple runs, the enthusiasm diminished from the steep climb back up to the top to do it over again, the buggie picked us up at the bottom and continued the wild ride.  We stopped again for a triple hill boogie board run.  This time I thought I’d go down the first hill standing up, strapped in to the board.  I did fine going down until I picked up too much speed near the bottom and lost control.  As I tumbled and hit ground, I saw stars momentarily and came to lying on the hard sand aching in my back and head.  I must have hit my lower back against the board, and my shoulder blade too because they hurt really badly.  The back of my head had smacked the ground as well and I was slow to get up and reassure them up top that I was ok.  I slid down the last two hills and enjoyed the vibrant sunset as we finally came back to the little oasis.  My body was hurting but I felt that it was worth it.  More than anything, I felt alive!  The French I had met on the buggie invited me to a beer and I joined him and his brother-in-law on the terrace in front of the hostel to talk a bit.  There was also a young Canadian couple there sipping beers and we decided to speak French so that everyone could understand, since the French brother-in-law didn’t speak or understand English so well.  I was informed that Canadians learn French as a matter of course, and that this couple was both working in Ottawa for the government and French was used officially as well as English.  So we discussed travel plans, and then later, as the French went off to bed, we continued in English until late at night covering many topics.  They had just arrived for a ten month around-the-world tour and we had a lot in common as it turned out.  I will probably see them again on my route as we are following a very similar path, at least until we reach Bolivia.  I lost track of time and before we knew it midnight had struck and we all went off to bed, making tentative plans to meet for touring wineries the next day.

Lima to Huacachina [Planned]

Huacachina is a tiny oasis village near Ica.  It is a little paradise built up around a natural laguna in the middle of the desert and surrounded by enormous sand dunes.  Checked into the Huacachinero Inn which although slightly expensive was a class apart from anything previous and is clearly a holiday destination in itself. Dave and I decided that this was the place to kill a few of our contingency days making it a holiday within a holiday. I spent a couple of hours in a cafe at the laguna marvelling at the tranquility and scenery of the place.  Met 2 girls (Safia and Emily) from London and are travelling a similar route to us, who asked us out to dinner !!

The local town of Ica is famed for its wine and pisco making.  Dave and I booked a tour to go around 3 local "botegas" and sample the produce.  We were joined by an Irish girl (Lisa) who was on her 2nd trip in South America.  The first botega was classed as a industrial botega that mass produce the red, white wines and pisco.  Interesting tour around how the wine and pisco is made before getting down to business of a bit of sampling.  The wines were very nice although bordering on a little sweet, the pisco was in line with tequila.  However six glasses of alcohol by 11.30 was a good start.  The 2nd botega was classed as a semi industrial that mixed the methods of how it produces its pisco.  A similar tour ensued before we got to the bar where there was a line of 20 bottles waiting for us.  Dave soon ducked out feeling unwell.  However Lisa and I didn´t turn anything down and got through half of them including multiple tastes of a couple.  My favourite was a pisco baileys that had been fermented with figs.  Beats the original Baileys in my book and bought a bottle for Christmas night.  The last botega was a traditional affair that still use ceramic vats to ferment its wine.  It was combined with a very unusual museum that had all sorts of artifacts from stuffed alligators to giant portraits of Simon Bolivar (apparantly the owner is an illigitimate descendant of the great man himself). Unfortunately all the wines were horrible so the three of us shared half a bottle through politeness before leaving.  Exchanged e-mails with Lisa to meet back up in Cusco for Christmas. 

Back at the ranch, Dave quickly retreated to bed leaving me to catch the last of the sun and splash around in the cool pool.  By evening, Emily and Safia had recruited half of the hostel to go out for a meal.  Nice meal but too many big personalities (mainly Canadians and Yanks) so left them all to it.  The good days just keep on coming....

The following day, plans for the dune buggies and sand boarding quickly got revised as Dave hardly made it off the loo. It left me with a day of leisure and took full advantage by getting some sun on my torso pool side to try and offset my increasing t-shirt tan.  Managed a few hours before I decided I´d had enough. Climbed the sand dune behind our hostel (takes 25 minutes to climb up it but a great 2 minute run back down) for some great views over Huacachina. 

Starting to realise that Christmas in Cusco is going to be mental as everyone I speak to will be there.  I´ll have to be very conservative with my pisco baileys shots.

Huacachina is lots of fun, sandboarding and buggey riding is awesome, everyone should try it.

From Trujillo we caught yet another overnight bus, you´ve got to love them, to Lima where we jumped straight on another to Ica where we caught a taxi to the little desert oasis town of Huacachina. Basically it´s a little village with a lagoon in the middle of some huge sand dunes, pretty cool. Once here we just relaxed for the rest of the day as we were pretty knackered from the travelling.

The next day we headed in to Ica and had a look round town and then took a tour of the local winery and of course some tasting afterwards. We then headed back to our hostel where we had sorted out a dune buggy trip and some sand boarding. The dune buggying was pretty cool, dropping down some huge sand dunes, the sand boarding was alittle disapointing as the boards weren´t the best but we gave it a crack and managed to get sand everywhere!

We headed back to the hostel and showered up and shared the bottle of wine we´d purchaced earlier and went and had a feed before going to the hopstel bar. We started playing Jenga and the bar lady joined us and suggested who ever lost had to do a shot of Pisco, the local spirit amazingly similar to battery acid, it seems that Jengas not my specialty so I ended up taking most of the shots. But a good night anyway.

We booked a sand boarding tour today, was wicked fun!

Basically it involves jumping in a buggee and roaming the sand dunes through the desert. We also got to sand board and it was terrifying at first because they are pretty steep and you go down on the board head first and pick up some serious speed! It was so awesome. The tur went for about 1 hour or so, we thought it was 2 hours but it was enough. The buggee was pretty fun aswell because the guide takes you over some rollercoaster-scary bumps.

We got back to our hostal and decided to meet the resident monkey. It was looking for food and not too interested in us so Nathan went and grabbed a Papaya (apparently they love them). His attention was soon fixed on us and he wasnt shy to climb all over us. Infact, he decided to piss on Nathan which I found pretty funny anyway! We dont really know what to think about it (how they keep monkeys as pets) but the monkey seemed to love the human interaction and I guess he seemed very well looked after. I guess we keep fish, cats, mice and dogs so its just the same here. The guy from the hostal also found it odd we were so amazed by this monkey, as they have them everywhere.

Off to Nazca tonight, it is only a few hours away so not such a drag!

We had a wee annoyance before leaving Trujillo. Nathan went to pay for our accommodation and they told us that it was fake! After checking, the $1,200 soles we had withdrew from the ATM here, $300 soles were fake. I wasnt too well so wasnt as annoyed as Nathan. It was a real let down.... thanks Peru! You would think that banks would check their money properly before putting it into their ATMs. When they actually showed us how to tell, it was pretty obvious they were fakes. They told us that we need to take our ticket and the fake $100 notes into that bank and they should (in theory) change them for us. As I wasnt well and we had already been into Trujillo (as we are staying in the smaller fishing village) we werent going all the way back in again. We were also leaving that night. So, a word of warning is to get your money out of an ATM which has the actual bank attached (and open), get your money out and check it. If possible, go into the bank and get them to check and stamp it. This is the only way to help the situation out. If you try to pass on the fake money usually it will be picked up as every Peruvian checks money given to them, and if not, if their boss finds out they took fake money it is then deducted from their pay (and of course is far much more valuable to them rather than us Westerners).

Anyway, back to rainbows and chocolate filled streams....!

We had hopped on an overnight bus from Trujillo to Lima (capital of Peru) and then onto to Ica, a total of about 13 hours travelling. There was a family at the bus station and one girl, about 7 kept coming up to us saying ´Hello´. Her uncle said to us ´She crazy, she loco. She want to speak English but she cant´. It sounded so funny. We ended up giving her the little kiwi on my bag and she was stoked. We told her it was a kiwi and she ran to her mum to tell her. We have no idea half the time what she was saying to us, but it sounded cute. She made her sisters take heaps of photos of us with her on their mothers phone. She got her photo taken with Nathan and just plonked herself right between his legs as he was sitting down. Everyone around us was laughing, it was so cute. Just before we left for our bus we had yet another photo taken with her on their digital camera and her mother came up and put the girls arms around us for the photo because she was too scared to. Cuteness.

We forgot our sleeping bag and froze for the first 6 hours until Nathan spoke to the driver and he gave us a blanket. It was so cold! We seen some of the distruction from the earthquake that hit here. Lots of old houses which had crumbled, people living in tents and lots more in small enclosures made from bamboo with weaved material like flax for the walls and thick plastic for the roofing. One small community was being entertained by a clown, and I noticed some white trucks with the Red Cross symbol on them so I guess they were their doing it for the local children. The tents were also exactly the same, so must have been given out in the relief. It was pretty sad, but in saying so, I thought we would see a lot more distruction and we didn´t.

We reached Ica and caught a taxi straight onto Huacachina which is a small oasis town not that far from Ica, surrounded in sand dunes. These sand dunes are HUGE and steep. We got into town and searched for a place to stay, had a shower and then off for something to eat. It´s more expensive here that we thought, but in saying so we have at times saved 40% of our budget while being here in Peru. Eating out and accommodation is cheaper, although we have thought groceries are more expensive (about the same as at home in New Zealand).

The hostel we are staying at has a pet turtle and a pet monkey. It´t both exciting and sad to see the poor wee thing tied up, although it seems the norm here as another hostel we visited also had one. Sad.

We climbed to the top of the sand dunes to watch the sunset and the sand boarders. It was so nice being up there (and good exercise)! Some of these sand boarders have serious skill, and it looks a lot harder than snow boarding that´s for sure. We will be giving it a go tomorrow morning so will let you know!

So after all our trips to and fro Huacachina, we have decided on something important, getting that bloody holiday tan, so when we fly home (9DAYS AND COUNTING) we will look fresh and travelled.  So we spent most of yesterday out by the pool gaining a little red colouring.  We also spent most the morning sandboarding once again, but this time for only 3quid!! so we thought bugger it, why not, we got chatting with a girl from Nottingham on the dune buggy, her name was Louise and was shock the same age as me, which made me think "there you go, i aint the only 26yr old backpacking" She took to the sandboarding easily.  Me and liz, being the experts, as pointed out by the guide!! "They done it before, follow what they do" bloody cheek, i mean, i wouldnt call us either a expert, as we both had yet to get the standing up bit down. 

So today is very much like yesterday, hanging at the pool and getting a tan.   So far i am looking red and not so brown, liz looks the same, funny that after 5months its come down to getting a bloody tan, but i know what will happen, i go home, and ppl will be like "oh i thought you was away, you cant tell, thought you would have a bit of a tan blah blah blah" so i really need to be a shade brown, so not to cause ppl confusion. 

The hostel has these parrots, all different types and colours, including a gorgeous red Macaw.  And they let them out in the garden, they are really tame and come up to whoever is sitting by the pool, but liz doesnt like anything that flaps around her, so we had to move, which is a bit of a pain, as i was trying to get one of the green parrots to talk, i swear it was saying HOLA but i wasnt sure.  Its nice they let the parrots out, i think there wings have been clipped tho, as they dont fly, they walk everywhere, so sadly they cant fly,  but atleast they can roam about free. 

So for the rest of today, and 2mo we will swim in the pool, go sandboarding yet again, and drink plenty of cold Cuzquena beer!!

Today we went sand boarding, and it was by far the coolest thing we have done in Peru, along with the fabulous trail and Machu Picchu.  Sand boarding is just like Snow boarding except you are going down sand and not snow duh!! The trip cost us over a fiver and for that we got free boards, lessons, and the great ride in the Dune Buggy, which was so fun.  We both loved the boarding, it really is one of those i am so glad we did it, i know we have done alot on our trip, but this was pure selfish fun, and i loved every minute of it.  It was so bloody hot on the sand dunes, absolulty scalding, so we was glad we brought some sun tan lotion.  We have booked up two more trips, one to visit the Islands of Balistas, which has plenty of Sea lions and Dolphins, and maybe even some killer whales.  And tomorrow we are off to Pisco to do a wine tasting tour.  Huacachina is just a gorgeous place, and we are both loving it here, its so cheap (large beer 5.5soles compared to 9/10 in cuzco) and food is also cheaper here, in fact the only thing that is expensive here is the bloody internet, but then is 45p a hour really that bad? we used to pay over a pound in bloody  Costa rica sometimes!!

We went to Ica today, the town is interesting, looks the same as Nazca, it has a pretty plaza de armas, and plenty of places to eat, but i am glad we are where we are.  Taxis cost to and fro from Ica to Huacachina only 8soles, which is good price.  Dont get into those bike taxis, the breaks are a bit spicy!! take a fiat panda taxi, much more secure looking.

We are defo making the most of our time here, as we go home in under two weeks, and right now it does feel like a holiday.  The weather, the laid back feel, the cheap beer, we are having a ball, and i dont wanna leave.

Sand boarding in the Ica desert is by far the coolest thing we have done since coming on our trip, it is up there with doing Machu Picchu, and its so worth doing if your passing thru Ica. We booked our trip with our hostal, i think most other hostels offer some sort of trip into the sand dunes for boarding, our trip cost us each 32soles, which worked out just over a fiver each. For that we got board rental, dune buggy ride (which on its own was just fun!!) Lessons, and two hours on the dunes. It was absolulty fun, and so cheap to do. If you have ever done Snow boarding then you can prob go down on both legs, but we went down on our bellys, and we found this more safer, and more fun, it goes very fast, and is a great rush!! Sand boarding is a great day of fun, once you learn how to do it, you can then rent a board of your own and go boarding. we had so much fun it was a great experience. excellent value.

Hostal Rocha is a perfect place to stay while in Huacachina, its only three minutes from the lake and resturants. The hostal has a pool, BBQ area, Resturant, bar, hammocks, tours to the sand dunes, Kitchen use, Laundry service, tv. It really has everything and its so cheap, for instance we have a double room with private bathroo, and its only 3quid each. Dorm room is even cheaper. The hostal has plenty of spaces, and our room is very comfortable, good bed and nice sheets, and a very clean bathroom, we turned up from Cuzco after 17hours and was warmly greeted by the safe, you can book online with Hostelbookers, and its under Ica!! not Huacachina. Excellent hostal, brilliant value, good atomsphere and plenty of things to do. The hostal books tours around Ica, including Sand boarding at 5quid, Trips to the islands for 7quid, and wine tasting day in Pisco for under a fiver, and a fly over the Nazca lines. The resturant is also very good value, and all the food is freshly made, the bar in the garden by the pool is also cheap with plenty of deals.

Well the bus took a little longer than bloody 14hours, we was on the bus from Cuzco over 17hours!! but i did manage to sleep fine on it tho, liz looked terrible, she didnt travel well at all, the bus was over heated and like i had said before about long bus travel, its annoying now, and one of those things we have grown to hate.

Huacachina is like a giant sand dune sproated out of the desert, with giant palm trees and small streets, its like the town is wrapped around the lake, which legend states, was caused by a mirror of a inka princess!! The lake isnt as big as it sounds, in fact i would call it a pond.  It looks like ones i used to go fishing on when i was little, and so makes me feel a bit errie, as it does look very english pond looking? Around the lake are hotels and hostels and places to go eat, we went to a italian which was good, it also does internet at 3soles a hour, but Hotmail and MSM was down so we decided against.  On the lake you can rent little boats and peddlos, there were some ppl sunbathing on the beach, as it was a very hot day.  We havent been this boiling since Panama city. 

You can tell that this resort once was the swinging thing in the 1940´s as the art deco light features around the lake scream art deco, and so do the old faded houses that surround the lake.  Most are now cheap hostels, our hostel Hostel Rocha is only 3quid each, and thats with a private bathroom, its comfortable enough, and clean.  Out the back is a bar and BBQ area, we dont know how long to stay yet, as we have only 2weeks left.  Tomorrow we are going Sand Surfing, and that too was cheap, including transport and the boards and lessons, all for a fiver!! i think most the hotels and hostels offer some sort of sand dune adventure thing. 

Well we are off to find a nice bar for some beers, the heat has gotten to us, its so  hot, and we both need a ice cold beer after travelling for so long on a hot stuffy bus.

Huacachina was a lovely place to stay - relaxed, loads of sun, surrounded by sand dunes - especially as a contrast to Lima.  It´s a really small place in the middle of a desert, but has a fairly large lakeght in the middle of it, hence its decription as a desert oasis.

Our hostal was really classy, including a swimming pool and assorted pets including a number of parrots one of which decided to empty its bowels on my shorts (which was nice).  This was the first time on my trip that I felt I was on a really relaxing holiday, a bit of a contrast to the rather dismal weather that Britain usually gets at this time of year!

And just behind our hostal was a massive sand dune which a few of us decided to climb.  Do not underestimate ust how difficult it is to walk up a steep sand dune, with the sand under your feet jsut collapsing every time you try to make a foothold.  In the end I ahd to crawl and I still needed a rest every 10 steps.  We got there in the end though and had a great view across Huacachina and the neighbouring much larger town of Ica.