Peru - Huacachina

17th - 18th August ´08

Our 4 hour journey from Lima to Huacachina was on board a dual class bus operated by Cruz del Sur (if travelling overground through Peru, this is an established company that we highly recommend). With aeroplane´esque seats and panoramic views from our frontally located recliners, it was an extremely comfortable and scenic route. As we approached the small hidden town of Huacachina, we saw towering sand dunes surrounding a picturesque lagoon - a mirage-like oasis decorated with palm trees and restored buildings. The main activity was sandboarding for which most people spent only one night here and we had already decided to follow this trend. After checking into the popular backpacker haunt of Casa de Arena, we went in search of a dune buggy tour for that same afternoon. Our driver was Ricardo - a charismatic individual who knew the wide-spanning dunes like the back of his hand. It was a real rollercoaster sensation climbing our way up the steep mountains of sands before hurtling our way downwards. At certain peaks, we would wax our sandboards before attempting to maintain a standing balance on the descend... after falling harmlessly several times, we resolved to the more effective lying-on-our-stomachs technique. As we watched the sunset over the endless number of dunes, our 3-hour theme park ride came to an end. With sand filled shoes and pockets, we showered, dined and then retreated for the night in preparation for our next stop... Nazca.