Sandboarding Shennanigans

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Eventually managed to leave Cusco and went to Arequipa.. where we did very little apart from drink too much and hung out with our french friends in the irish bar there playing pool! We did go to visit the nunnery in Arequipa however which was suprisingly interesting. Its huge and all the important nuns have their own sort of apprtments with bedrooms, sitting rooms and kitchens and some with sun terraces. We went around like estate agents sizing up the different ones! Sadly didnt get to see any nuns, they have now been moved to a new wing.

After Arequipa we went to the Colca Canyon. Found a brilliant hotel that was pretty cheap and had stunning views and llamas grazing on the lawns. Spent a couple of nights there and went to the local hot springs which was nice.. the water was warmer than bath water, actually so hot that you had to keep getting out to cool down!

We got another bus to the end of the canyon to see the condors but in a chain of disasters managed to miss the early one that gets you there at the best time to see them, then got off at the wrong stop so went past the best point, then asked the bus on the way back to stop there briefly but they couldnt because it was running late! We did get quite a quite a good view of the edge of the canyon and see one condor from a distance but it wasnt amazingly impressive, especially as we had already seen some in Pisac!

From Colca we went back to Arequipa for one more night but managed to avoid the irish bar! Then we got yet another bus here to Ica. Guess what? Yep the bus to Ica broke down... in the valley of the fishermen.. which absolutely stank due to the fish meal factories there! It was soon renamed the valley of the fish. We were there for about 2 hours and befriended a Chilean guy. Well we eventually befriended him once we got over being petrified he was going to rob us! He was a little eccentric and talked very fast so it was a little trickey to keep up with him. What we could gather was that he wanted to buy Jamies hat, that we should be careful in Ica of bad people (!?) Then he got out a flick knife (that was the panicking part) but it turned out he was giving it to Jamie so that we could protect ourslves. All very odd.

Anyway after a lot of sitting around and him buying us beer, and being serenaded by a guy called John who had a guitar, the surrealness ended as a new bus turned up and we made it to ICa no problems. Arrived at 2.30am but managed to find a good hostel that was open with a pool right in the middle of the desert.

Yesterday we went on a dune buggy tour and sandboarding. It was so good that we are going again this afternoon. The dune buggies are wicked and pretty fast, and the driver takes you on a rollercoaster ride up and down the sides of the dunes (cue lots of screaming) and then stops at the top of the big dunes for you to sandboard down.

I was fairly convinced that sandboarding was going to be one of the things I was going to hate because Id be so rubbish at it.. It turned out that after a few comedy falls I was actually pretty good.. and also better than the boys which obviously I was delighted about! The only problem is that however well you can stay on a board down the dune.. a gracefull finish at the bottom is almost impossible as you cant turn on sand like you could on snow.. so the only way to stop is to fall on your arse!

So off sandboarding again this afternoon, then tomorrow we will leave (after the england game of course) and go to Pisco and the Ballestas Islands, the poor mans Galapagos apparently, for some sea lion and penguin watching.

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Comments

[sue]

great photo!
Loved the photo, very cool. Would have liked one with you all in action. Reckon I'd be good at sandboarding, or maybe not! x