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Another beloved overnight bus ride from Arequipa to Hachachina. This time we were lucky enough to get an English movie with Spanish subtitles. It's the little things that help to make you feel right at home. Unfortunately our complimentary bus meal, a crappy white bread sandwich with a slab of cottage cheese shoved in the middle did not. But we were proud to get a little extra shut eye this time. A Bolivian sleeping tablet purchased over the counter was well worth it. But there is something very unpleasant about the dirty bus seat aroma combined with sleep sweat and bad breath that always hits you about 9pm the next day. We are becoming accustomed to this unpleasant feeling or should I say ´pong´ and it is with us all the way to Haucachina at around about lunchtime the next day.
What a vast change Haucachina is to Arequipa! We are already missing our French crepe café and kebab shop in Arequipa, not to mention the lovely French/Spanish inspired century old buildings and just the warm cozy feel of the stone carved streets. But we are rather intrigued by Hacachina. A small pleasant town in the middle of a dessert. Just a tiny little lagoon with a few restaurants and a handful of resorts (that's what they call themselves). But it is the Sandbuggy rides and sandboarding that is the attraction here. We discovered some beautiful sunsets and experienced the joy of extreme sand sports. The buggy ride in the dunes was certainly one of a kind. Flying up and around the sand hills was more of an adrenalin rush than looner park times movie world times dream world. It was absolutely crazy. Our driver just kept a cheeky smile on his face as he raced us around, did burn outs and even jumped the dunes. As you can imagine we had very sore necks. We also made sure our seats were dry. The sand boarding was a hoot. Sore buttocks, a sand face and head later and we were back in the buggy. What fun we had as we raced back to Haucachina at sunset. And a beautiful sight to see.
Next day and we were out this crazy place and off to Lima. Another wonderful bus ride. Oh how we love our buses. We are pleasantly surprised when we arrive in Mira Floras, Lima. It´s not what we expected at all. It´s really lovely here. Nice parks, great shopping, an amazing burger joint and the best sushi we have probably ever had. We also caught up with our Intrepid guide Raul and his lovely family at his gorgeous apartment overlooking the ocean and a wicked surf point. We enjoyed a great day by the beach drinking beer, wine and the old favorite pisco sours along with tasting the local fish and oyster dishes. Yummo. There is nothing like great company to top off your stay somewhere. It´s what can really make a place unforgettable.
We plan our trip to Ecuador and get ready for a crazy 28 hour bus ride to Guayaquil. As you can imagine we are really looking forward to this. Woo Hoo Ecuador here we come.
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Margie Another five star blog for our five star couple. Absolutely LOVE reading your blogs and the photos certainly depict an Adventure of a Lifetime! X0X0
Kate Kennedy Hi! My boyfriend and I are travelling to Peru in January/February and we really would love to see Arequipa and Hacuchina but we don't know if we have time. It sounds like you did that trip pretty quickly. How many days would you say you need to get from Puno (or nearby) to Arequipa to Hacuchina to make the bus worthwhile? What we're currently considering is skipping it and taking a flight back to Lima for a few days before heading back to Canada. Thanks!