Huacachina: Just like the Pros

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So, it's been weeks since I've updated my blog. Sorry guys, I've been pretty busy. So, the weekend of October the 19th two of the other program girls and I decided to take a little trip out of Lima. We packed up Friday afternoon and headed for the desert oasis of Huacachina, about 5 hours in bus south of Lima. We arrived around 10pm, had a quick supper of pizza (from the only place that was open), and headed to bed.

Saturday we woke up early and by 10am we were out on the sand dunes. The dunes in the area are MASSIVE mountains of sand that normally require transport up by a sand buggy. We spent around 2 hours on sandboards (they look a lot like snowboards) sledding down and boarding down these huge dunes. By the end we were COVERED from head to toe in sand. You can check out one of the pictures to see how much sand was left in our shoes! As much as I loved the boarding, however, I must say the best part was the buggy ride. With all the adrenaline rush of a roller coaster but with gorgeous scenery and a quite rowdy group, it was an adventure in and of itself.

After the ride, we headed back to the hostel to de-sand, shower, and enjoy some time by the pool. We grabbed some lunch and then headed out for an afternoon vineyard tour. Now, normally vineyard tours are classy occasions, but this was an exception. What can you expect? It's in a pretty rural area of Peru, was organized by a hostel, and was chauffeured by a taxi driver. We had a fun time, nonetheless; we tour two vineyards. At the first we had a nice and thorough tour of the sweet-wine and pisco making processes. The second place was a bit of a shock. Instead of a tour, we were taken to a warehouse of sorts; there were lots of barrels of wine and lots of interesting decorations (like stuffed animals... stuffed as in taxidermy) that had been collected by the woman of the house. After that we headed back to the hostel to relax and have a barbeque.

Sunday we woke up and headed out around noon to catch a bus back to Lima. We knew ahead of time that there was to be a country-wide census (in Peru, the census is done in one day and during that day everyone is required to stay in their homes until 6pm) but that bus companies would still be running normally. That was a lie. We got to the bus station at 12 noon and had to wait until 6pm for the first bus to leave. It was a little frustrating, yes, but we got to check out the town of Ica a little bit and practice Spanish with some of the locals. There was only one problem: food. All the restaurants were closed and there was nothing available for sale besides crackers. We finally made it back to Lima around 11pm.

Overall, fantastic little weekend adventure that I would love to do again!

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Photos

Oasis
It looks fake, doesn't it?

Group Shot
Claire, Kelli, and I out on the dunes.

By the Buggy
Great ride.

Bored?
No, not with these boards.

Sandy Slip-n-Slide
Kelli on our first run down the dunes.

Just like a pro
Not really. I tried multiple times but my sense of balance and the sand board didn't get along so well. So I stuck to sliding by the end.

Hummm-buling
It's so calm and peaceful to be surrounded by something so beautiful and so vast. Another one of God's gorgeous creations.

Boarding
As it should be done. Kelli was just like a pro.

Finale
Group shot with our buggy driver.

Sandy?
There was SO much sand in every nook and cranny after our boarding adventure.

Little R n R
The pool at our hostal.

Red, Red Viiine
Pretty plant at the first vineyard.

Fermentation
The centuries old method they use to ferment the wine and pisco.

... and we have
Modeling bottles of wine and pisco. Don't worry, we didn't buy any.

Scary.
One of the taxidermied animals at the second vineyard. Ew.

Sunset
Sunset over a donkey in a field outside of Ica

Ica Iglesia
Pretty church in Ica

Deserted in the Desert
One of the streets deserted because of the census.

Census-ized
Kelli filling out the census form.