Lima to Cuzo, via Huacachina and Arequipa

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Wednesday 30th November - Monday 5th December 2022

Leaving Lima, our next big stop was going to be Cuzco, but, this would mean a very, very long time on a bus, and missing out on some very picturesque parts of Peru.

Huacachina, a mere 4.5hour bus from Lima to Ica, followed by a short taxi ride (haggled from 20 to 12 soles thanks to having the knowledge from a helpful local on the bus), is a popular Oasis town in the middle of a desert. Small, touristy, full of hostels, restaurants and tour groups wanting you to use them, but with such an amazing backdrop, we had heard this beautiful and hot little lagoon is worth checking out for a night. Which is what we did.

Checked into our hostel, we eagerly accepted their offer of a sand dune buggy tour for sunset, and within an hour of arriving, we were trudging up a sand dune to a plateau with an amazing view of this small oasis town surrounded by the huge mountains of sand; a very cool sight to see. Turning around, it was like something out of Mad Max, with seemingly homemade go karts with engines on show and painted with scary faces, revving loudly, surrounded by the many many many tourists following their guides to a buggy. Front row seats, we plugged the twisted, over the shoulders harness in and pulled it tightly. Vrooooooom and before we knew it, we were whizzing up and over huge mounds of sand until almost all we could see was sand, stretching across the land to the horizon in all directions. Immense.

Then the rough, scratched up wooden boards came out, and with no small talk what so ever, we found ourselves at the top of a mound lying on the board and sliding our way down! “Dig the feet in” is about all the instructions we were given, and as it turns out, all we needed. The second, third and bonus fourth run were good fun, gaining confidence and speed, and daring to look back and see what you just slid down. The adrenaline soon settled though, as we sat in the middle of a desert, watching the sun set, with all its vivid orange and deep red colours spreading across the vastness. What a way to end a day. Except, it wasn’t quite the end, for as chilled as we felt, we were instantly pumped back up as we were literally thrown around like rag dolls during the return journey in the buggy; he definitely levelled it up!

Not wanting to do a bigger day tour out of Huacachina, to the islands or a winery, and having already emptied our shoes and pockets of all the sand we collected yesterday, there isn’t really much else to do here. So, after a lazy morning at the hostel until check out and then having wondered around the lagoon, we simply found a cafe and chilled in the shade; or attempted to as it was melting hot. Birds tweeting and laughing, an occasional gentle breeze, a super hot sun, tastey food and drink, Spanish lessons and a snooze, all before finding our way back to Ica for the next bus, overnight, to Arequipa. We did try and spend some time in Ica before, but the museum was shut and with nothing else to do we simply found a cafe where the staff were super friendly and happily found songs on youtube with Spanish and English subtitles to help us learn!

A slightly delayed bus meant a delayed arrival into Arequipa, and eventually turning inland away from the coast, with some big, twisty road climbs it was definitely a slow journey towards the end. But we made it, and after an easy Uber ride, we were happy to dump our bags into our hostel room and venture back out. A short walk straight along and we were at the main square, Plaza de Armas. A big open space, with tall trees and water fountain, circled by archways of old buildings, now all cafes and shops, with the historic Cathedral lining one edge, all with the volcanic and mountainous backdrop behind it. Full of people yet much calmer than other squares, we instantly liked it here. We wondered around the Santa Catalina Monastery, so much bigger then it looks, with colourful walls, archways, old streets and lush green plants, and such a peaceful cafe, before bumping into our Italian friends outside the cathedral!

Sitting for a catch up, we then took their recommendation and went to the Andinos Museum. A small but very interesting guided visit, all about the Inca traditions in the area, most famously housing an impressively preserved frozen body of a young girl, ‘Juanita’, found as well as three other children, at the top of the near by volcano. Listening to what they know about the Inca traditions and sacrifices and what they are still unsure of, it was fascinating but also pretty creepy! A quick shop and a yummy vegan dinner and we tried to get an early night, because the next day we had to be up and ready for a 3am pick up!

Squashing ourselves into the minibus with our bags, we joined the others already on the bus, in attempting to nap the journey to the Colca Canyon. Apparently the second deepest canyon in the world, twice as big as the Grand Canyon, we had signed up for a two day / one night hiking trip. Why you might ask?! Well, because as steep as the down was on the first day and as tough as the hike up the next morning was, (walking by 4:30am, over 1000m up in only 5km-steep!) the landscape and scenery were stunning. The mini oasis we stayed the night in was pretty surreal and the tour also included stop offs at view points on the way there and back, where we saw condors, llamas, alpacas, and volcanoes!

Pretty tired on return to Arequipa, we found some more yummy veggie food, before climbing into bed and instantly falling asleep before 9pm. Having enjoyed a great nights sleep, we woke achey but stretched it off and found an amazing pancake breakfast full of fruit and good coffee (eco brunch). We then had a little wonder before joining a free walking tour which was interesting; both with information and just a little odd. We then found another great veggie place, for vegan sushi! Who knew Arequipa was such a good place for veggies, maybe our favourite place so far! Time for some more exploring now, before another night bus tonight, onwards to Cuzco.

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Comments

[Hev]

Lima
Enjoying your blog 👍 Did you see any references to Paddington’s Aunt Lucy in Lima?

[here looks good]

Paddington
Only saw the one statue of Paddington, nothing else ☺️

[here looks good]

Paddington
Only saw the one statue of Paddington, nothing else ☺️