wakka-wakka Huacachina

The alarm went off at 4am today just as I had programmed it to. I, on the other hand, stayed in bed until quarter past 5am. I woke up frantically as I remembered that Marcello and were to book my bus ticket for Cusco-Lima. I packed, got ready, paid my bill, drank the orange juice Marcello had put out for me, and was at the Olturso bus station quarter past 6am. I am off to Ica today.

The ride was long but comfortable. I sat beside an elder caucasion looking woman. I asked her where she´s from and she corrected me quickly. ¨I´m Peruvian¨, she says. She works at a hotel in Paracas and her English is impeccable. We chat here and there but both of us were tired so we slept most of the ride. The on-board movie plays (A Christmas Story) and I put my music on to find some sleep that I have been missing.

I am in Huacachina now. Chamo (a Venezuelan who has been working here for 12 years) had picked me up from the bus station to take me here so we can proceed with the sand buggy adventure and sand boarding. This time around, I plan on taking it easy and sitting on a sled instead of standing on a sandboard. The last time I went down a Volcano for ´sandboarding´ I got a shiny new scar which I carry around with me until today. The trip is young, and I can´t afford to get injured.

Chamo showed me around the town a bit. we come up to a little lagoon and I realize that this is the desert oasis that I´ve been hearing about. I take several pictures and wandered around a little more. After having some ceviche for lunch, I headed to Chamo´s office to wait for the sand buggy to pick me up.



I may not have gone to the PNE or Grouse grind this year...I went somewhere a little different. The sand buggy driver was amazing. He went up, down, and around the sand dunes like crazy. People in the sand dunes would ooh and aah like we were in a roller coaster; it was a lot of fun. He took us to the first sand dune where there were 3 levels to go down and up on. It is just like going down a hill in the snow...except it´s sand. We did a total of 3 different stops, each having 3 dunes. Every dune we went to was a lot steeper, and longer than the last. One of the Germans that was in the buggy with us suspects we were going down about 50km fast at the second dune stop.
If the Grouse grind is mother nature´s step master, then the sand dunes are mother nature´s eliptical. Every big step i make, I sink a little more. Eventually, I make it up to the top just go back down again. A little out of breath, but some excercise is needed anyhow to prepare for the triathalon I´ve signed up for in Cusco.



I met a Canadian (Calgary) who is travelling with his other friends. His name is Dane. He and his friends are out here for 2-3 months backpacking with nothing really planned. They pick up travellers they meet along the way, and say goodbye as they move along. Orginally, this is what I had wanted to do...but given i am only here for 15 days, there´s no room for mistakes and I had to do something a bit more structured. He invited me to the hostel for a party after sandboarding but I told him I´ve got a 12hr bus ride ahead of me and need to get to the station.
Chamo took me to the Plaza des Armas to find someone to exchange my USD into Soles. Went to the mercado to get something to eat for the bus ride, and off I went.
Tomorrow, I wake up in Arequipas.