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We left Lima by bus to head for Ica. Carlos, our trusty taxi driver, picked us up early in the morning to fight through the crazy traffic. Driving here is pretty similar to China, sometimes its best not to watch. We were almost late so Carlos sprung out of his cab and started to ask people in Spanish which gate we needed to be at, we raced over there and were on our way! Ica was only a four hour bus ride away, we passed through many towns that I can’t say I saw recommended to stop at by the Lonely Planet.... once we arrived at Ica, we grabbed a taxi to Huacachina.
We knew Huacachina was going to be quite different from Lima, population of 200 vs. ~9 million. I think it’s safe to guess that all 200 people here are tourists or work here. It’s basically a big lagoon surrounded by some hostels and huge sand dune mountains.
The next day we decided to do an excursion to go dune buggying and sand boarding. We started off eating at a nearby restaurant called Bamboo, it was closed yesterday so we made sure to come earlier today. They
had a set meal at 15 Sols for any pasta dish, a drink, and dessert. This was the best deal we had found so far in this trip. Well besides the free sandwiches we took from the bus on the way here that the people behind us decided not to eat. Moving on....
After our meal, we decided to check out the sand dunes ourselves on foot so we could take some pictures. It was difficult climbing the sand -either we are out of shape or we aren’t use to this type of terrain. The trip up to the highest peak was worth the struggle though. We could see the entire town of Huacachina and parts of Ica along with the mountains in the background. The views were astonishing; it was like a desert and actually gave us the feel of being in one. The journey down the sand was much easier than the one up. By the time we reached the base where our hostel was located, our shoes were filled with sand. A quick shower was definitely tempting if we weren't about to head for our excursion.
We met up with the rest of the people
that signed up for the excursion near the entrance of the hostel. There was a lot more people than I was anticipating. Most of them were backpackers from our hostel, not surprising as you get a 10 Sols/person discount off your room if you sign up for the excursion with them. There weren’t two seats together so Cheryl sat in the back and I sat in the 2nd row. Our driver drove around pretty fast, it felt like a roller coaster at some points as we drove straight up the dunes and did a hairpin turn to head right down them, I could hear Cheryl swearing from the back.
The driver dropped us off on a peak and handed us sand boards for us to ride down. I’ve never snowboarded in my life and have never thought about trying. The picture posted on here clearly explains why. However, I figured this is sand boarding, not snowboarding and heck, I’m on vacation so why not. It was interesting; I’ll leave it at that. Two hours passed by, and after multiple wipe outs, we were ready to head back. It was time for a shower as I had brought back half
the sand dunes with me to our room.
Afterwards, we headed out for dinner at this one restaurant we tried yesterday. Food was mediocre; we were just in it for the wi-fi. The nachos we ordered were a disappointment, not ordering nachos in Peru again. Today we are heading back to explore Ica then busing it to Arequipa.
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Love . . . love . . . love the news and all the pictures. You are right Binnson - way better with you guys in them! Safe travels! Love ya