Sandboarding at the oasis

---

---

We are now in Ica, waiting for our overnight bus to Aeriquipa. There's a slight delay and we pass the time watching a Peruvian soap opera which seems to go on for hours.

We stayed in the small oasis of Huacachina, in the desert. It looks very pretty but the water stinks. The hotel is really nice with a pool which I found too too cold to swim in. We were enjoying the lounges near the pool, reading under a shady tree when from above I was greeted with Hello. A couple of parrots wander around repeating this over and over. They also know the Spanish form Hola (pronounced Ola).

Everyone is very friendly and last night after our dune buggy ride and sand boarding we were packed into a small car with 4 others and taken to a local winery owned by the decendents of Boliva, the guy who liberated the Andes from the Spanish, or so we were told. Tried the local sweet Peruvian wine, some locally produced chocolates and danced salsa (can't get away from that).

The dune buggy ride and sand boarding were soooo good. There's a huge area of big dunes which you scream along and drop over the edges down steep slopes. The buggy was very comfortable...no harsh bouncing. We ended up a bit sore from the sandboarding....lying face first on the board with the slopes gradually getting steeper and bigger. As the moon came up the sun went down.

I thought I'd killed my camera when a bottle of soda water leaked in my bag and a lot of stuff got wet. At first it just wouldn't click to take a photo...screen looking partly damp. But when we reached the hotel, it wouldn't even turn on. I tried again this morning and it works fine. The dials are sticky, especially when it's cold and it only works because it is so dry here.

Jill forgot she had her camera in her pocket when she did her last slide and it ate dirt, well, sand. She spent about an hour trying the get the sand out and getting the lens to work properly....but it's hanging in if a little scratchy.

---

Photos

Huacachina Oasis
stinks like a sewer up close

cleaning up
trying to fix the damage done by the tonic water......big dunes in the background

sand boarding
too dangerous standing, unless you're really good. watch where you're putting your hands.

front row seats
anhances the scream factor when diving over the steep drops

sunset
camera is struggling to open after getting sand in the lens

wine tasting
sweet Peruvian wines are sealed in the clay pots