Chapter 6: Out of Lima

Last week, I packed a backpack, hopped a bus, and left Lima for the first time since arriving in Peru. I went with my new friend Maurice, a great travel companion partially due to the fact that he's my own personal Peruvian encyclopedia. Ask him a question, he knows the answer. The bus took us four hours south to a town called Ica in the heart of the grape-growing region of Peru. I knew that Lima was situated in a desert that stretches all along the Peruvian coast line, but I was completely unprepared for what that desert would look like. It was positively Saharan. Sand dunes, zero vegetation, oasises.

We arrived in Ica and took a tika taxi to Huacachina, a tiny town that was literally an oasis in the desert. Lagoon, a few hostels, couple restaurants, palm trees, swimming pools, all surrounded by towering sand dunes, incredibly tranquil and picturesque. We checked in and then spent the afternoon visiting bodegas (wineries/piscoerias) in the area. One, Tacama, is the oldest vineyard in South America and a very popular Peruvian wine. The second was an artisinal winery with a great restaurant. Then, as soon as we got back to Huacachina, we climbed in the front seat of a sand buggy! The ride was a thrilling combination of rollar coaster and ice skating on sand. We stopped at several locations to go sand boarding! Seeing that I can't snowboard, you can imagine how adept I was at sand boarding. But then, the guide showed us how to sled head-first down the dunes, which was so fun! Some of the dunes we went down were 20 stories tall! We completed the adventure with a sunset over the desert; so beautiful!

The next morning we woke up and met two friends we had met the night before and hopped a bus to Pisco. The town was a disaster zone, having been 90% leveled by an earthquake in 2007. Rubble was piled outside the town for a mile long stretch. We took a long tour of Paracas National Reserve that day, located just outside of Pisco. It was stunningly beautiful, but made me feel strangely sad and lonely. It might have been the geography: mountains of rock and not a living thing for miles and miles all around. We did stop for lunch at a restaurant built right in the middle of the park and had some amazing freshly caught seafood. Yummy!

Later that day, Maurice and I headed to a nearby town called Chincha, known to be the heart of Afro-Peruvian culture. Although it was pretty quiet around town, we did manage to find a famous tourist restaurant for some good food before heading home.

All in all, it was great to get outside of Lima and see a bit more of Peru! I can't wait for my next trip!