Oasis - no really!
So I`m not trying to be poetic or anything, I really did stay in a little oasis in the middle of the desert, called Huacachina. It set right in the middle of endless sand dunes. It was like living in a Salavador Dali painting. There is a little lagoon, and a little ´resort´ has sprung up around it. It seems that lots of Peruvians vacation there. The town of Ica was pretty gross, but this little oasis just outside was stellar. The dunes are super high - the ones surounding Haucachina were like mountains. So, what do you do when you`re surrounded by endless piles of sand? Strap on a wood plank and slide down it of course...
Since it´s so hot, the sandboarding and dunebuggy tour doesn`t go until 4:30 pm when it cools a bit. I spent the day doing two things - going to the bank, and visiting a witches´den. Regular old day... I wouldn`t normally mention something as incidental as the bank, but since it took THREE hours, it was a significant event in the day. There was an eight year old there who seemed to work there a lot, selling chicklets, becuase she knew all about how the bank worked. ¨You`re still here? Very slow. You should really have a card, it goes much faster with a card.¨ Thanks for the info... :-)
Then a Peruvian friend (Rene) who was vacationing at the same hostal took us to a spot where Peruvian witches used to meet and practice etc. There`s a wierd mutant palm tree that has seven roots, but it just looks like the tree keeps going under the ground and coming back out, like some sort of man-eating muto-tree. There is also a witches´market there, but I guess it is closed on Wednesdays or something.. too bad. Some girls I met bought a good-luck potion at the witches market in La Paz and claim it´s bringing them health, love, money, and happiness as promised... :-) Now I have no idea where I´m going to find the dried llama fetus that I have been searching for...
Anways, that afternoon, we went out in a dune buggy. There were nine seats including the driver, and a roll cage. The seat belts are overtheshoulder like a rollercoaster... smart, because the driver had a touch of psychosis in his eyes, and the ride was exactly like a roller coaster. It was crazy fun, as he roared us over sand cliffs, up and down, looping and thoroughly freaking me out... sometimes you could`t see the ground below you, it was that steep. The dunes are sooo huge, and soooo talll!!! Unreal.
And then, the best part, sandboarding. The tour supposedly comes with a sandboarding ¨lesson¨which consisted of the guide showing us how to do up the velcro (duh), smearing grease on the bottom of the boards, and telling us to point downhill. Very enlightening. :-) So, I strapped it on, pointed downhill, took off like a streak for about 3 feet and promptly crashed in a huge cloud of sand. After awhile I got the hang of it though, and they took us to bigger and bigger dunes. It was unbelievably fun... kicked ASS! I had so much fun... The best thing I`ve done in ages, and one of the most fun things I`ve ever done. It was so coool... And when you fall it´s warm, and a lot softer than snow. Don`t get me wrong, you still take some solid thumps... Super fun. The best part was that the dude came down with the buggy each time and drove us back to the top, so we didn`t have to slog. The final dune we did was so steep that you couldn`t see the full run until you were exactly at the edge. It was so long that my legs got tired half way down and I had to stop and rest (well, actually the board flipping me head over heels in somersaults halfway down was waht actually made me stop for a rest...) It was around the length a full ski run at one of your smaller hills. Very cool. The amount of sand in my hair, pockets, shoes, and on my face and skin was scientifically impossible. I have no idea how there was room for my foot in my shoe with that much sand. At one point I literally dug out three full handfuls of sand from ONE pocket. Afterwards we went for a swim in the pool, and then I had a shower, and even still I was finding sand in my ears and hair... Crazy. I loved it, and think that we have to make it the next big thing in Canada...
Since it´s so hot, the sandboarding and dunebuggy tour doesn`t go until 4:30 pm when it cools a bit. I spent the day doing two things - going to the bank, and visiting a witches´den. Regular old day... I wouldn`t normally mention something as incidental as the bank, but since it took THREE hours, it was a significant event in the day. There was an eight year old there who seemed to work there a lot, selling chicklets, becuase she knew all about how the bank worked. ¨You`re still here? Very slow. You should really have a card, it goes much faster with a card.¨ Thanks for the info... :-)
Then a Peruvian friend (Rene) who was vacationing at the same hostal took us to a spot where Peruvian witches used to meet and practice etc. There`s a wierd mutant palm tree that has seven roots, but it just looks like the tree keeps going under the ground and coming back out, like some sort of man-eating muto-tree. There is also a witches´market there, but I guess it is closed on Wednesdays or something.. too bad. Some girls I met bought a good-luck potion at the witches market in La Paz and claim it´s bringing them health, love, money, and happiness as promised... :-) Now I have no idea where I´m going to find the dried llama fetus that I have been searching for...
Anways, that afternoon, we went out in a dune buggy. There were nine seats including the driver, and a roll cage. The seat belts are overtheshoulder like a rollercoaster... smart, because the driver had a touch of psychosis in his eyes, and the ride was exactly like a roller coaster. It was crazy fun, as he roared us over sand cliffs, up and down, looping and thoroughly freaking me out... sometimes you could`t see the ground below you, it was that steep. The dunes are sooo huge, and soooo talll!!! Unreal.
And then, the best part, sandboarding. The tour supposedly comes with a sandboarding ¨lesson¨which consisted of the guide showing us how to do up the velcro (duh), smearing grease on the bottom of the boards, and telling us to point downhill. Very enlightening. :-) So, I strapped it on, pointed downhill, took off like a streak for about 3 feet and promptly crashed in a huge cloud of sand. After awhile I got the hang of it though, and they took us to bigger and bigger dunes. It was unbelievably fun... kicked ASS! I had so much fun... The best thing I`ve done in ages, and one of the most fun things I`ve ever done. It was so coool... And when you fall it´s warm, and a lot softer than snow. Don`t get me wrong, you still take some solid thumps... Super fun. The best part was that the dude came down with the buggy each time and drove us back to the top, so we didn`t have to slog. The final dune we did was so steep that you couldn`t see the full run until you were exactly at the edge. It was so long that my legs got tired half way down and I had to stop and rest (well, actually the board flipping me head over heels in somersaults halfway down was waht actually made me stop for a rest...) It was around the length a full ski run at one of your smaller hills. Very cool. The amount of sand in my hair, pockets, shoes, and on my face and skin was scientifically impossible. I have no idea how there was room for my foot in my shoe with that much sand. At one point I literally dug out three full handfuls of sand from ONE pocket. Afterwards we went for a swim in the pool, and then I had a shower, and even still I was finding sand in my ears and hair... Crazy. I loved it, and think that we have to make it the next big thing in Canada...
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