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Beautiful oasisHaving done all that needed to be done in Pisco we got up earlyish, packed and set off for Huacachina, even though we had thought about skipping it out of our trip because the book didn't have much to say about (the Dutchies convinced us otherwise).
In search of a taxi, a tiny car stopped and offered us a lift which gave us all a laugh at the prospect of this being possible with all our stuff, but he seemed very positive and so we gave him a chance. Unbelievably this enterprising Peruvian made the impossible possible and managed to fit all four of us and our bags into the Tardis and take us to Cruze to catch the bus. The bus was cheap and just about to leave so we jumped on to take the short trip to the city of Ica. The bus drove us through barren landscape dotted with random vineyards, orange groves, chilli plantations and of course a lot of sand. Peru has a surprising amount of desert and it is amazing that they are able to grow anything seen as the water table is sometimes as deep as 60m, (some people are seriously committed to
living in the desert - not us).
Before long we arrived in the bustling and busy city of Ica, which is 50km inland. In Ica we had a strange feeling of being in India or Thailand, which made us laugh, as we were in the middle of what seemed to be tuk tuk mania and the chaos and craziness that comes with it. We eventually arrived at the bus terminal having almost taken a few tuk tuks out and got straight into negociations with the waiting taxi drivers, who all had the obligatory tiny cars. The equivalent of a pound was agreed and off we set on the 10min journey to Huacachina with no idea what to expect and certainly not great expectations...which just goes to show how "rough" Rough Guides are - obviously the person writing had never been to Huacachina as the place is stunning, an oasis surrounded by high sand dunes which make you feel totally enclosed (if a little claustrophobic as there is no horizon to see). We stayed at the Hostal Salvatierra, a basic but pleasant place with a pool and a nice lady running it called Lita.
Its not the kind of
place that takes long to discover and so we wandered to the lakeside for some lunch and watched fools attempting to climb the dunes in the midday sun (most didn't make it!) But after some lollipop and poolside action (and the start of the sunset), we decided that a hike up the dunes was the only way forward. And man it was tough! The gradient was bloody steep, the sand kept falling away from under our feet making each step forward really feel like a step back (basically a half step back). But we made it to the top eventually and wow, was it worth it. Lisa was not convinced of this half way up the climb but faced with the prospect of missing out, she persevered and was dazzled when she reached the top. The views were amazing, looking out over endless miles of desert and dunes. There were some naturally formed pyramids in the distance and we arrived just in time to see the sun falling quickly behind the horizon, as it does in this part of the world - blink and you'll miss it! Looking back over what we had climbed, it didn't look that far but
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A lone walker making the trek in the midday heat we realised we'd chosen a path with a big fat hump in the middle of it, making the climb 10 times harder! Which made the fact that a lady who had followed us up at remarkable speed and then only stayed up there for 2 minutes, very peculiar indeed.
What was really discouraging and amazing was the little lad (similar to the young boy in Mad Max) who walked or ran nonchalantly up and down the same dune just for fun and without even breaking a sweat....we have named him "Sandboy". We did not share the name with him as at the time the temptation to push him down the dune in frustration was strong and Sood needed to be held back! Whilst up there some other local lads had climbed up only to sandboard down (on snowboards) with skill and finesse, something we're sure that we will not be able to reciprocate when we have a go. Entertainment was enjoyed by all when a gringo dude with a wooden board tried to do the same, but no, he took longer to get down than an OAP walking and in fact spent most of the time on his arse.
To be fair, he looked like he was having a degree of fun so we all left him to it and ran down the dune like mad men. Because the sand was pretty deep it meant that you could pelt it down without any serious risk of falling. Some crazy German bird did the same but jumping down instead and almost disproved that theory...nutter! The day finished with showers (because sand had got EVERYWHERE) that were not great, sangria, beers, dinner of stuffed avocado (palta rellena) andtoasted sanddwiches somewhere and then off to bed in some ugly ass bedlinen.
The next day had a little of the Jeckyl and Hyde about it because, on the one side, Lisa had a bad bum and spent a miserable day in the hostel while on the other side, Ian went off sandboarding. Let's talk about the latter. At the measily price of 35 soles (£8.75) Ian left his woman and headed off to the desert to hit the dunes. It was decided that Lisa couldn't risk it and that future opportunity would arise. Whoooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! is the only accurate way to describe the buggy ride through the desert to the dunes of choice.
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Midday at the oasis It was clearly not our driver Jorge's first day on the job as he drove around the desert like a mad man but with some incredible control. While all beaming ear to ear after the adrenaline fueled jaunt through the desert, we set about hitting the slopes. The Dutchies and Ian waxed their boards and slid down the first dune which was pretty small. Tijl exercised some of his snowboarding techniques and the rest of us got on our tummies looking for more speed and less control. Soon we were back in the buggies and off to pastures new...bigger dunes. The next dune was pretty big and obviously going to be much faster and a little more dangerous. Some did the snowboarding thing but soon realised that while it was cool, it was much slower...now we were all face down drooling for more speed. Wow, it was fast and furious but apparently this was nothing..on to the next. OMFG! The next stop was at a series of three dunes which increased in height as you went.
The final descent was huge, which is not completely done justice in the attatched video, but believe me, the people at the bottom
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Here we go... were no bigger than ants! A very excited Ian set off from the top with the intention of only going as fast as possible, which meant feet up and a little prayer to Buddha or anyone who might help. Ian set off and was going close to the speed of sound only to get the scare of his life as some muppet started walking across where the runaway train was heading, so he had to try and pull on the brakes...not possible. Someone managed to warn this fool and as his three and half brain cells engaged he moved...all good except for a grazed arm but Ian's pain threshold is obviously high. Well, almost all good. The desert is full of rubbish that blows around and is no doubt hard to control. As Ian came hurtling to the bottom of the dune (of death), he went over a small coke bottle with the cap on. It hurt a bit at first but it wasn't until the next day that the damage was really apparent. Ian was unnaturaly proud of what he claims is the biggest bruise he has ever had, and if you check out the photos you can see
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Marjolijn and Tijl for yourself. It even gave him a limp for a few days, ouch! To our amazement the best part of the excursion had not even happened yet - the buggy ride back to town. Othe people had advised us to get into a buggy without any party poopers (also known as wimps, fun killers and speed fairies) for obvious reasons. With not a party pooper in sight we set off for town at some rate of knots, only to cheer and encourage Jorge to go faster, to which he duly obliged. He did hand brake turns at the top of very high sand dunes, sometimes just went straight over them and we left the ground three of four times. Unbelievable and definitely the best part of the trip. Big tips were left and thouroughly deserved.
Back at the ranch, we went to find Lisa, who was actually feeling much better but was understandably disappointed by missing the trip, only made worse by all of us coming back buzzing and with videos as proof. We all showered as this time sand had reached places not humanly thought possible, and sand evacuation was necessary. Food was next on the list and
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Tijl, the first to reach the top we all indulged in the local cuisine, some had burgers, others had pasta, all delicious. The night ended siting around the pool with a few beers and some tunes. We chatted and laughed for a few hours and then limped off to bed. The following day was departure day and the Nazca lines were calling us while the Dutchies were heading back north...good times had, hugs and farewells given and off we went.
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Marit
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Love reading your travelogues. Keep them coming please! Marit x x x x x