Ica & Huacachina (Peru)

Ica was initially to be just the transportation hub for my visit to Huacachina, but I ended up spending a bit more time there than expected...it's also the main city for the region, which made it sadly famous in 2007 for a terrible earthquake, which actually hit Pisco (that I'd visit later on)...I guess I was expecting less than Nazca, so I was surprised by how much bigger and "busier" it was...I ended up eating at the local vegetarian restaurant (run by the local Seventh Day Adventists, like usual) twice in two days, both on my way in and on my way out!

My mototaxi ride into Huacachina left the center of Ica, went up some sandy hills and then ended up at the oasis, which seems to be in the middle of the desert, some 5km outside Ica.
It was of course very hot and sunny, a big change from most of my time in Peru and Bolivia, and during the daytime people just seem to relax by a pool or away from the sun!
Huacachina used to be the playground and escape oasis for the Peruvian elites, now its setting is still impressive, but the oasis itself is very dirty! (Locals still take advantage of its waters though...)
It's now a famous spot on the Gringo Trail to chill out and go 4-wheeling and sandboarding on its giant and vast surrounding sand dunes! I got there just in time to get on the last, and supposedly the best - as the sand is not so hot anymore, tour of the day in the afternoon...our buggy was carrying 9 people, plus the driver and his helper...the ride up and down the dunes was a lot of fun! It's a bit like a rollercoaster at times, combined with the dunes and the sand, which make it similar to ski slopes.
After some fun in the buggy and some pictures (damn sand everywhere!) it was time to brace the sandboards and get ready...for the first one everyone went down lying with their stomach on the board, which seems to be the easiest way to ger some adrenaline going! I was curious as to what it felt like to try to stand as if I were snowboarding, so I first tried that...well, it was very hard to get the board to keep gliding! Apparently, after a few turns the wax wears out, and it's not smooth anymore...so you you either go straight down the whole dune, or put up with getting stuck, your front foot sinking in the sand, and so on...of course we did see some guys from other groups who did it no problem and even made it look super easy while at it...oh well!
Out of our four descents, I tried standing twice and lying down twice, and I have to say the latter was much more fun and a lot less work, although I was honestly expecting a little more adrenaline and speed!

The rest of the night was spent trying to get as much sand off everything as possible...but everyone knows sand is very sneaky, so it's to this day a very daunting task!

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