Dune action

We spent the last two days in Huacachina, an oasis in the middle of the desert, 5 minutes´drive from the centre of Ica. It´s a haven for backpackers and an ideal place to chill out and take a break from sight-seeing. Peruvians come up on weekends to escape the monotony of everyday life. Surrounding the lake are countless number of hostels and tourist restaurants as well as some bars. Huge sand dunes overlook the village on all sides. ´Village´isn´t really an appropriate term though; the place is that small. Although you can swim in the lake (its sulphurous water is meant to give you "positive energy" for some bizarre reason), most people prefer to spend their time by the poolside of their hostel. Which is exactly what we did! I constantly had to remind myself that we were in Peru, and not in some holiday resort on the Spanish coast. And when we weren´t relaxing at the hostel, we were out sandboarding on the dunes! It´s a real adrenaline rush. And it hurts slightly less than snowboarding. The only downside is climbing back up the dune which is hard work. But since we went on a organised trip we didn´t have to bother with that! You get taken to various "slopes" in sandbuggies. The ride in the buggy is an adventure in itself - kind of like a rollercoaster but slightly less intense. Definitely the most fun I´ve had since I´ve been in Peru.

I´m writing this entry on the move. We´re having a brief stopover in Nasca while waiting for the overnight bus to Cuzco. It´s a long one: without delays, the journey will take approximately 13 hours. There was talk of staying in Nasca for a night, but we figured it was better to give ourselves a day or two to acclimatise in Cuzco and to prepare our stuff for the Inca Trail hike. However, we´re not actually following the official trail - only 500 people are allowed on the trail at any one time, and since high-season is approaching fast, tours fill up pretty quickly. Instead we´re taking an alternative route, which also ends up at Machu Picchu and is about half the price of the normal one. Bargain! More on that very soon...