Poor mans Galapogos, Pisco and Sandboarding

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Not my best day today. Woke up feeling pretty Ill as in wanting to vomit. Not sure if it was the bus food or the ceviche or I'm just sick but definitely not feeling great. Thank god I did not drink lasts night and it is not self inflicted. I had a little vomit. This is the first time I travelled without any anti nausea meds so that sucks as it is such a big day today too.



Breakfast was 15 soles. Considering not sure I could stomach it I decided to skip and just eat some biscuits I had in my backpack.



First up today was an optional boat trip to ballestas islands which I think everyone signed up for. I took a sea sick tablet before I went and thank god I did. The guide said its not rough as its a speedboat out. This is true however once at the island the swell was huge and several people were puking. Of course the night out probably held a lot of responsibility for that but the swell even made me want to be sick and usually I am pretty good on boats. I felt terrible but was able to keep everything down however very glad I took the travel medication and that I didn't eat breakfast.



The islands are sometimes referred to as poor mans Galapagos because of all the wildlife out here. We saw penguins, pelicans, boobies and sea lions and a few other species of birds. It was good but I was feeling terrible to didn't enjoy it as much as I may have otherwise. The smell here is really strong on seafood/fish to to the extent it's overpowering and made everyone feel a little nauseous.



We had about 50 minutes spare to pack at hotel then we took a private bus to a pisco/winery place in Ica. We were shown around an told about the process to make pisco then sat down and tasted about 8 piscos. The man was like if you start you are making a commitment and you can't say no to anything. I managed to skip out on 2 though. A lot of them we did as a train so the person in front of you had to do theirs before he would fill your glass and you could do yours. He saluted each time and sometimes filled people's shots as soon as they finished. He thought it was hilarious especially with the seriously hung over ones. It was funny seeing the pain on the faces of the ones who had a big night. For them the struggle was real but the were troopers and backed up.



We then drove anther 30 min to the Oasis for lunch. I felt so sick I didn't really want to eat and vomited again in the toilets. I ordered a fruit salad but most of it was pineapple so only picked at it. I was so torn to do the dune buggy and sandboarding because I was feeling so sick but it was something I really wanted to do. At the last minute I decided to do it as only the NZ couple didn't.



I'm so glad I did do it. I think scaring the shit out of yourself really does help make you feel a little bit better.



The dune buggy was a lot of fun and we were all screaming. It was a desert roller coaster. We stopped for photos at a few lookouts. They dune buggied us around for a bit then stopped for the beginner/small hill. I'm not entirely sure which part of it was deemed to be either small or beginner as it looked a lot more intimidating then I remember my African boarding to be. We still had snowboards however it was a lie down and hold on scenario. Not standing like Africa. I went second last down after the older ladies of the group all went. If they can I can right. Best part is no walking back up like Africa. The dune buggies come get you we dune bash for a bit then stop. Second stop also looks terrifying but again got to just get down and do it. I went third on that one. And finally the crazy last one when it took in two sand hills. It looked terrifying. It scares you more when even the boys going before you scream on their way down. Not a big confidence builder. I was second last so couldn't back out. It was fun and scary at the same time. I'm pretty sure I'm walking away with some bruises including on the pubic bones. I seemed to get all the impact right there. Driving back the buggies stopped at a good lookout over the oasis and we took a group photo and some solo ones. It was well worth the money and I definitely would have regretted not going.



Back at oasis we tried to empty half the desert we took with us in our shoes and clothing into bins and had 20 minutes to relax before we jumped back on the bus and drove south to Nazca.



We had a big bus so able to spread out and I think most of us napped on our way down. As we would be getting in so late Andreas asked if anyone was interested in a $25 sole set menu at the hotel and he put in orders for us so food was ready 10 minutes after we got in. I ordered an asparagus soup starter, a beef rice chips dish main and purple corn desert. At this point I started to feel sick again and still hadn't really eaten much. I ate the soup and it was fine and I could have been full from that. The beef was nice but I was still broken and I struggled to get through. I ate most of the beef and a few spoons of rice so one of the other girls ate my chips. I only had a mouthful of desert. After that went to my room had a nice long shower and went to bed.

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