Ica & Huacachina:The oasis and Sandboarding!!!

As you may have heard, this part of the world experienced an enormous earthquake only weeks before, so of course, on the drive through Pisco and Ica, we saw a lot of people living in broken down houses and tents, surviving off the generosity of fellow neighbors. Kids running after the bus for a coin or two, lots of dust seeping through the windows, and collapsed houses and buildings.

Arriving at Ica, one can tell that there has been a lot of devastation, yet somehow, the city bustled with life . . . salsa music at every corner, ladies selling bread and cheese, and couples and families roaming through the plaza for the weekend walk.

Upon arrival, we headed toward the famous oasis five minutes away -- yes, you heard me right, an oasis. A first for us as well.
We arrived minutes later and the scenery transformed from dusty streets and broken houses to sand dunes, sand dunes, sand dunes! I have never seen anything like this before, this whole little place was in the desert, literally, subtropical climate with a little lake smack in the middle. And to make things even better, our hostel had a beautiful in ground pool . . . all this without breaking the bank account! And after all this cold weather and mountain air, a hot afternoon by the pool is exactly what we needed!! So sand boarding is the biggest attraction here, and it being still afternoon, we figured we would give it a go and walk up the sand dune ourselves! Who needs a buggy?! We can do this! (or so we thought)

Ladies and gentlemen, it is tough!! Let me tell you! It may look easy, but oh no!

Yes, we made it to the top. Yes, we tumbled all the way down. (Here´s a little sneak peak at Mishka´s first run.)

And yes, we had a really hard time getting back up.Well so what, it was a great little experience with the sand anyway. Two steps up, three steps down, sand in our teeth

. . . and butt-cracks.

A great end to our first day of sand boarding.

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The next day, you better believe we paid for a buggy to take us up and it was way more than we expected. First, they ride around a whole desert you didn´t think was really there! Endless and endless horizons with beautiful dunes all around you, having a blast till the sun went down. They drive pretty crazy too, as if you´re on a roller coaster . . .

uuuuuuuuuuuuuup!

dooooooooooooooowwwwn!

sideways!

jumping over the bumps!

just really crazy and wild . . . and our driver was pretty cool too and had awesome energy (even though he denies knowing what the words on his shirt really meant.)

We got to sand board plenty . . . some on our feet, some on our tummies, some just rolling down not knowing which way is up and which is down! But it was a lot of fun and yes, totally different from snowboarding. First of all, they give you a pretty beat up board that you have to wax with a candle every time you want to sand board (and if you don´t, you might get stuck on a steep drop for no reason.) Second, the straps on the board are held on by mesh, so there you go! And you´ll be lucky if you don´t rip your straps at least once. And finally, it´s sand! So the fall is a piece of cake . . . no bruises, no freezing fingers and toes . . . just total recovery.

And as a side note, we were talking to the owner a bit and he told us that people stopped coming to Huacachina after the earthquake. Out of fear is all. Except the oasis is fine and they´re in desperate need of tourists, so please, if you´re in the area, GO!!!
It´s totally safe and wonderful, except maybe an overprices dinner or beer here and there.

Upon our departure, we figured it would be a great idea that Mishka´s parents, Rich and Liza, should definitely come here on their visit in the upcoming week. And it sure was a great idea . . . Stay tuned!