Huacachina

Another long day on a bus. Haha. This time though, the AC was on! Thank all the gods! Haha. Leaving Arequipa, the landscape was just rocks. And more rocks on top of rocks. Rocks for as far as I could see, lol. I suppose we really are in the desert climate of Peru, haha. Eventually, we make it close enough to the ocean to have a lovely view of where the desert meets the water. Some parts of the road were at sea-level, and other areas were up high on the desert cliffs…it was quite a beautiful ride.

We’re cruising along, making good time, but we soon slow down and come to standstill. Apparently, the locals in this community have blocked the road in a strike, trying to get the attention of the mayor, and demanding a water service be brought to their town. Fair enough, I’d want to strike for the same reason. Our driver tries to take a shortcut, an almost off-road adventure to get around the massive traffic jam. We were almost out of it when we were stopped again and were thwarted from making any more progress by the locals.

Our guide told us it could be as long as 4 hours before they cleared the roads! Yikes, haha. As if our bus ride wasn’t long enough already, haha. We waited almost an hour and began moving again. Then we stopped. Uffff! I thought we were clear, lol. It didn’t take much longer after that to get started once again, and this time, we were free! Hooorah! We initially thought that due to the potential 4 hour delay, we’d be missing the Nazca Lines, but now we had enough time to make it there! Yay!

We grabbed some lunch to eat on the bus in order to maximize our time, and we made it to the Nazca viewing tower just as the sun was setting. It was beautiful! And I was more impressed with the Nazca lines than I thought I would be. Hehe. Maybe it’s the anthropology/archaeology in me, but they were soooo neat! Having seen just a few of them, now I DO want to take the flight over them. Next time! Hehe. I plan on visiting Peru again….it’s been so wonderful!

After we had our fill of the mysterious and elegant Nazca lines, back in the bus, we go on our way to Huacachina, the desert oasis.

I make it to my hostel, check-in, and decide to sit at the bar to work on some pictures and my blog. Nobody comes to take my order….haha. It’s so strange, not even eye-contact! Lol. Just as I’m about to give up, someone asks if I want a water. Ummm….no, I’d like a beer! Lol. But, it was getting chilly, so I leave and grab a sweater, and come back out. This time, though, I walk up to where they are cashing people out, and order my beer. Aha! I guess this is the way its done here, lol. I sit by the pool, going through pictures, but each sip of the beer is putting me one step closer to my bedtime, haha.

Before I know it, I’m crawling into my top bunk, trying to fall asleep listening to all the music and commotion outside. Surprisingly, I fall asleep quickly and don’t wake until the morning.

…

I wake up after attempting to sleep in, as this morning, I don’t have any real plans. As I try to silently get out of the top bunk, a near impossible task, I hear a gravely whisper say my name, and I know it’s my friend, Julia! Hehe. She and I are in the same dorm room, and after waking up so early for the last bits of our trip, sleeping in until 7 is about the best we got, haha.

So we get up and have some breakfast, and decide to go walk around the town. I bring my laundry and drop it off, and we start exploring the very small oasis. We find the water, and it’s quite beautiful, and surrounding the tiny pond are many restaurants. We quickly see all there is to see and decide to hike up the biggest dune to get some views. Wow, that was a tough hike, lol. I mean, being a sandy desert, you sink down with every step, and I’d say every other step is a slip back or to the side, so it took us quite a while, and worked our calves to their limits. Uggghhhh…so worth it! Hehe.

The views from the top were incredible, and on one side, it was desert dunes as far as we could see. Amazing! The bus ride here showed tons of rocky cliffs and desert, but this was like something out of the Sahara…just tons of sand. Hehe.

On our way down, I was trailing behind after taking extra pictures, so I began to run. So. Much. Fun! Hehe. It’s almost like skiing with your feet, and I guess I looked like I was having fun because before long, Julia was also running down, hehe. When we got to the bottom of the dune, we realized just how hot the sand was becoming. Ouch! Hehe. We’re very glad we decided to hike the dune in the morning because it would surely be impossible in the middle of the day, lol.

Back at the hostel, we sit by the pool, getting in and out leisurely and joining a few volleyball games. They were so fun! I’ve never done pool volleyball, and it’s much harder than it looks, haha. Your movements are so restricted by the water resistance, and the bottom of the pool was slippery, so when you did try to lunge for the ball, you’d just slip and fall, almost in slow motion. Haha. It was hysterical to watch, and we had way too much fun, hehe.

An official game broke out in the afternoon, and the winning team would all get free shots. As soon as the stakes changed, the game became 10 times more intense and catty. Self-decided team captains were ordering people to stand in certain places, and now it was a strict 3 touches only per side. I’m just here to have fun, lol. In the end, the hostel hostess gave everybody free shots; rewarded for participation, hehe. The shot was more passion fruit juice than vodka and was delicious, lol.

After drying off, it was time to get ready to go for a ride on the dune-buggy and go sand boarding! Wooohoo! I was super excited for this! Hehe. The dune-buggy fit 10 people, and I ended up on an outer edge. The driver told us to take off our hats and to make sure our rollercoaster style harness seatbelts were as tight as they’d go. Oh boy, haha. I have a feeling this is gonna be a bumpy ride, hehe.

We start off very slow and calm, and I think our whole group was thinking, “oh, okay, we got the old slow guy,” haha. Well, that must be his little technique because once we were feeling comfortable, he steps on it, and we’re off in a bumpy whirlwind flash of sand and dust, lol. We are CRUISING through the dunes, and we’d climb up a tall one and careen down the other side, our stomachs being turned upside down, lol. It was EPIC! We’re all screaming and laughing and holding on for dear life, lol. We’d been going fast, and the driver would whip us around a tight turn, and it felt like the whole buggy could flip over, but we never did.

Soon, we are stopped, and the driver gets the sand boards ready. We’re each given a piece of wax and told to give the boards a nice covering. Then he instructs the first person to lie on their belly, face forward, and gives her a push over the dune!

We’re going face first on our bellies?? Haha, Oh boy. The first person did it successfully, so we’re all a bit more confident now. Oh. My. God. Was it exhilarating! Hehehe. I’m guessing my first board was one of the best, and I had made sure to put a ton of wax on it, and I was FLYING! Haha. It was amazing! On my first run, I went farther than anybody else. Hehe. We got to do this several more times on different dunes of varying heights. The last one was the tallest, and you couldn’t even see the whole dune. It was so steep, the second half of it disappeared, like it was turning in on itself, lol. We saved the best for last, that was for sure, hehe.

I head down this one, and it’s again, magical! It’s amazing how fast you get going, lol. And towards the end, it got bumpy, and it was probably a good thing, as it acted like a breaking system, haha. It did make it difficult to stay on course and not fall off the board….hehe. Soon we’re all finished with the long run, and it’s time to pile back in the dune buggy and ride to a sunset spot.

The sunset was gorgeous, setting over the golden sand desert. We had a perfect view, as our driver took us closer than the others, so there were no obstructions and no people in our pictures. Thank you! Hehe.

Back at the hostel, it was a time for a much needed shower to cleanse ourselves of the loads of sand that covered our bodies. It was comical watching some people empty out their shoes, a pure stream of sand falling down like a waterfall. Haha. After my long and wonderful shower, it was time for some dinner. Julia and I made quick friends with two Canadian guys, and we shared dinner with them.

After dinner, the hostel hosted a bachata/salsa dancing class, so we all joined! It was pretty fun, and we learned more than just the basic steps, and I was excited to continue practicing my new skills after the class, but, rather than continue to play salsa music, they reverted back to the more party-like reggaeton. Oh, well. Haha. At that point, nobody was dancing anymore, and I decided to head to bed shortly there after.

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Huacahina and Pisco Tour:

I woke up REALLY early today, as I wanted to hike the big sand dune again for sunrise. As I was trying to leave the hostel, I noticed the giant entry doors were closed…. okay….. maybe I can’t leave? Haha. Then, a guy wakes up in the lobby area, where he must’ve been sleeping, and he asks if I want to leave. I say yes, for the sunrise, and I ask him what time the doors are opened. He said around 7. Yikes, that’s 2 hours from now, haha. But, I’m giving myself an hour to make it up for the sunrise around 6, and I’m expecting to spend some time up there enjoying the peacefulness, so I guess that’s not too bad.

So out I go! Officially locked out until 7. Hehe. I start walking towards the dune, and it’s cold outside. I’m glad I brought my sweater! However, it didn’t take long climbing the dune before the sweater was off, and I was covered in sweat, and now sand. Every time the wind blew, a fresh layer of sand was plastered onto my sweaty skin, lol.

This second hike up was far more difficult and strenuous than the previous morning. After a night of being untouched, the dunes were glazed over by the wind, and there were barely any footprints or tracks leading to the top. I was walking on fresh sand, sinking in deeper, and sliding farther to either side. It took me probably 50 minutes to get up. There were many moments I thought I’d just quit and wait where I was for the sunrise. But then I thought, “I’m so close! I can do this!” And I continued on.

Once on the top, I sit down down and attempt to cool off, hehe. The wind is cold, but I’m sweating profusely. Within 10 minutes or so, it’s time to put my sweater back on and await the sunrise. I was hoping for something magical, but as luck would have it, it was a cloudy morning. The best views were right as I made it to the top, in the pre-dawn glow of the full moon. While not the sunrise I had hoped for, it was serene sitting at the top. There is something quiet and beautiful about being awake and present before the majority of the world begins to stir. Before the hustle and bustle of the daily grind distracts us from the peacefulness and the beauty of what it means to be alive in this world.

It was quite cold on top of the dune with the wind blowing, and my sweat-dampened skin was a constant reminder. So after taking in my beautiful surroundings and quietly reflecting on how lucky I am to be here, I start my journey back down the dune, stopping often for more photos. When I’m towards the bottom, I sit down for about half an hour, as the hostel doors won’t be open yet, hehe. By now I’m freezing and counting down the minutes until I can go back.

I make it back a tad early, but the doors are open! Score! So I head in and find a seat near the pool. I figure I could nap out here rather than be noisy in the dorm room again. I only sleep about half an hour, as I’m still quite cold, and now the hostel is beginning to stir. The employees are cleaning up the pool area and getting ready for breakfast.

I take advantage and grab a cup of hot coffee….easily the best coffee I had all trip, lol. Much needed to wam my ice-cold hands and to warm me from the inside out. As I’m finishing my first cup of coffee, I look up, and Julia is  walking towards me. We decided to order some breakfast and secure a shaded seat by the pool. You gotta grab these early, or they’re occupied for the whole day, lol.

We enjoy a delicious breakfast, and I run out to gather my laundry. I need to pack everything today and check-out before 10:30. I have an included tour to a Pisco vineyard with Peru Hop, and I’ve decided to check it out.

There were about 7 people on the tour, and our host at the vineyard did the shortest explanation of how the Pisco is produced and hurried us to the tasting area. I think we must’ve tried 10 different types of Pisco or pisco mixes. So many! Hehe. We were all definitely buzzed leaving there, haha.

The host asked for volunteers, and nobody was quick to raise their hands. One guy did, and after another pause, I raised mine as well. We were to do the “pisco challenge.” We had to take a shot of pisco, and not leave a single drop in the cup. If any liquid came out at all when the cup was turned upside down, we were to have another shot as punishment, lol. So, we take the shot, and the host stops us and said we’ve done it wrong. Huh? He says we didn’t cheers, and you can’t do a shot with saying cheers. Lol. So he pours us another one. Grrreat. Hehe. So again, we do the shot, and now he tests our cups. My counterpart did an excellent job, and nothing came from his shot glass. Now my turn. Drip, Drop. Oh no!! Haha. I failed. So I was given another shot to try again. This time, I made sure there couldn’t be anything left, making sure to lick the rim of the cup and tap the bottom, to get everything in one go. The host checks it, and I’m safe! Haha. Phew!

And for the record, these “shots” were quite small, I’d say ⅓ of a full shot, or even less. Still, after 10+, that adds up quite quickly, lol. Let’s just say I was feeling pretty good and relaxed by the time we left. Haha.

Back at the hostel, I arrived in time to catch the end of the competitive volleyball game, all attempting to win the free shots, hehe. Once the official game ended, more people joined in, and a casual game began. I wasn’t going to play again, but I got suckered in and had so much fun! I really enjoyed playing…and had some pretty good plays, if I do say so myself :).

Julia and I would be parting ways today, so we had an early dinner together, and before I knew it, she was walking me to the pick-up point for my next bus. We had been traveling in the same direction now for so many days, it would be strange not to see her anymore. We wished each other safe travels and said goodbye. Hopefully we’ll meet again in the Netherlands…I’m sure I’ll have many trips there this summer, hehe.

Stay tuned for the next adventures in Paracas and Lima 🤗.