Dunes and Vineyards - done...

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We made it to Ica on January 12th.

Ica is surrounded by vineyards and sand dunes. The view of the surroundings was vast and extraordinary. We were told the dunes stretch up to 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the Pacific and are said to be the largest sand dunes in the world; seriously impressive.





We stayed at the Hotel Las Dunas.

Our room was $100 USD per night. Yes the rate was costly, but the amenities and convenience was well worth it. The hotel is a family resort and includes swimming pools, a water slide, live nightly shows, horses, a planetarium, dune buggies, sand boarding, access to tour excursions, tennis, racquetball, two bars, an oversized chess board (the chess pieces were two ft tall), shuffle board, mini golf, skate ramp, bicycles, daycare, and fantastic buffets.





On our first day we flew over the Nazca lines.

Our plane was very small; it tightly fit four passengers. As we travelled to the lines the view of the dunes and mountains was absolutely beautiful. Once we arrived to the lines it was incredible to view all of the lines, shapes, and figures. To be sure we had a clear view of each of the figures the pilot circled over each of the figures and angled the plane so that each figure was just off the edge of the wing of the plane. This part of the flight was a bit intense and also incredible. However this was expected. Nearly every account I had read by people who had taken the Nazca flight complained about how bumpy and nauseating it is because of thermals. Fortunately, nobody lost their lunch in our little plane.

Thanks must go out to all of our flights with Skydive Twin Cities, which definitely prepared us for such a flight.





Our second day in Ica we spent in the surrounding sand dunes.

First we went by horseback where Leila was in her element.

Later we went in the dune buggy where Chuck was in the zone. In fact, Chuck and the driver of the dune buggy let out evil laughs as Leila cried out ‘no, no, no, no, no’! There were quite a few times when it seemed almost certain we would go tumbling down enormous dunes. During the dune buggy trip we stopped for a few minutes of sand boarding. It was a bit like sledding, only on sand and in warm weather. Leila went down one of the smaller and less steep hills. Chuck went down this one as well as a seriously steep and gigantic dune. He wiped out half way down, but he was okay, don’t worry, he got back on the board and made it the rest of the way down.





Or last day in Ica we went on a tour which visited two local vineyards, “Vista Alegre” and “Tres (3) Generaciones”, and the Oasis of Huacachina.

Of course, Leila loved the vineyards and sampling local wine. However, the vineyards also produce Pisco (a Peruvian liquor, also made from grapes). After the first sample of Pisco, all other samples were handed over to Chuck. Cheers to us!

The Oasis of Huacachina was surreal. The name means ‘crying woman’. From the air the oasis looks like an island of green enveloped by vast dessert dunes. On the ground it looks like a hidden paradise. Incredible and beautiful.





We ended our day and our time in Ica going to the local Cruz del Sur bus terminal on our way even further south to Arequipa where we will begin our journey into the Andes.




More later. Until then, Cheers!

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