On friday i spent the morning with the elderly, doing the usual, chopping vegetables and spending time with the ladies which was fantastic but I was so excited for our adventure to the coast. So we left the elderly home and went to catch the bus. I was pretty nervous about catching public transport in Peru, especially in the Andes where the roads are so narrow and literally on the edge of the cliffs, but i was pleasantly surprised! The bus ride was fantastic, even though the first class was sold out, we were very happy and comfortable in second class, which was up the top (they are double decker buses, but obviously covered). the chairs reclined 10 times more than what they do on the planes, so it was a pleasant 6.5 hour journey out of the Andes.
We then met with our tour guide in San Clemente, and took another bus into Ica. This was only 1.5 hour journey which was good, because there was a crappy vin diesel movie on with bad spanish dubbing! Haha. So we arrived into Ica after a long day and then took a taxi to Huacachina, the oasis. By the time we got there it was dark so it didn't seem as impressive as it is in the daytime. So we had dinner and went to bed for an early night. When we woke up in the morning, the first thing we saw was the massive sand dunes surrounding us! In the dark of night, you could not tell that there was sand dunes at all. It was absolutely amazing! Especially since only the day before we were in the cold, Andean mountains, and then all of a sudden we were surrounded by desert in beautiful warm heat! It was the most amazing contrast. I really felt like we should of been in Saudi Arabia, it was that amazing, and the sand dunes stretched for miles and miles, it wasn't just the one area. Although the oasis is the only one in this desert and the only one in South America. I don't even think the pictures can do it justice, it was brilliant! And the heat was a welcome return for me, as i have been freezing my ass off in Ayachucho! I'm not really a winter person either, so it was so nice to be in the heat, and also work on my tan :)
So after breakfast the adventures began! We got strapped into a sand/4wd buggy and headed for the sand dunes. Just as well we were strapped in because it was literally like a rollercoaster! It felt like we were going down these hills at 90degree angles, i was screaming with exhilaration, it was so much fun. After about 20 minutes, we stopped, actually we perched on the edge of a sand dune, got out and got ready for sand boarding. We used the same boards that people use for snowboarding but we weren't allowed to stand (thank god, you all know how clumsy I am, it would of ended badly for sure!!). So we lay down on board and held onto the straps and the driver pushed us off the hill and down we went!! It was so so scary but at the same time absolutely adrenaline rushing! I must admit (sorry family) that i swore the whole way down, a combination of s**t and f**k!! Haha!!! And the first hill was the easiest too...so you can imagine my language when we went on the intermediate and the advanced level hills!! You cannot even imagine how steep and how high these sand dunes were. The last one, was roughly 60m high the driver estimated, and i was so scared but i did it and amazing so did Vikki. She is my English friend, and is a bit older than mum and she was brilliant, i can't believe she had the nerves so do it, especially since she is afraid of heights! So off i went on the last one, and my heart was racing the whole way down and as i was screaming i got the biggest mouthful of sand which shut me up! It was also very bumpy going down, so the whole way i was so scared i was going to get flung off, so i was holding on for dear life and even got some 'air' as i bumped my way to the bottom. When i finally stopped i had the biggest sand burn on my elbow and today I have the biggest bruise on my thigh! Which is a feat for me, since I don't ever bruise, so its nice to have a war wound to prove i made it down this massive dune!!
So we drove back to the hotel as high as anything on adrenaline after our amazing adventure. It was such a great experience for sure. And then to top off my day, we spent lunchtime lounging by the hotel, working on our tans! We had a beautiful pool and the weather was hot so it was lovely to just lounge around and relax by the pool- especially since the weather in Ayachucho is so cold!
After lounging by the pool, we went to a winery for lunch which was lovely. We got a grand tour of how they make the wine and even got to stamp on the grapes with our feet! They taught us that it takes 9 days for fermentation of their sweet wines and 15 to turn it into Pisco. Pisco is the most amazing liquor, you have it with lime juice, ice, sugar and an egg white. Sounds weird but tastes fantastic!! It is also very very strong, so after one pisco sour by the pool, i felt very tipsy! So it was very interesting! And we also got to taste test which was nice! We also visited a locally owed and small family run winery, where they had the most amazing museum of artifacts. But the artifacts were like strewn all over the place. It was the most choatic room i have ever seen!! They had relics strewn all over the place!!
So overall it was a fantastic day and to top it off had dinner at a lovely restaurant back at the oasis. It was to be our last night there as we were leaving to catch the bus to Paracas at 6am. But 2 nights was great!! Best oasis (and only) that i've ever been to :)
(PS, the photos are all back to front. So logically, the timeline was bottom photo first :)
xoxo millie
No comments:
Post a Comment