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It was a relaxed lazy start today. Only a short drive to our next stop, an oasis in the desert called Huacachina. This place is famous for its massive sand dunes and the dune buggies that take you to them. Plus the sand boarding that you can do whilst there. As well as signing up for all this we have also decided to spend the night sleeping in the desert under the stars. We'll be accompanied by some locals who will prepare our camp and cook up a local feast for us. We arrived in Huacachina around midday and booked our dune buggying for around 4pm. After that I had a stroll around the oasis and through the shops and then joined the others at a small restaurant for a light lunch and a leisurely beer. We passed the time chatting, particularly about what we had done over the past 2 weeks. It was becoming obvious that our trip was coming to an end and we were each thinking about having to say goodbye and the good times we had shared. We headed off and loaded our sleeping bags and gear into the support vehicle and then all clambered into our buggy. It was an 11 seat Chevy V8 powered monster. 3 other travellers would be joining us. We were soon powering across the sand in what was virtually a land based roller coaster ride. We would power up a sand dune only to reach the top unable to see what was on the other side until we were on our way down. We stopped for our first sand boarding stint on a "gentle" slope. A few quick instructions, keep your elbows in and your feet up, and we were soon hurtling down a sandy slope. Great fun and very exhilarating. We did about another 5 runs at increasingly steeper and longer locations. We were soon egging each other on to see who could go the furtherest. After an hour or so our driver found a deserted spot high on a dune and we stopped here to watch the sunset over the never ending dunes. A really pleasant way to end the day. From here we were off to our desert camp. The support crew had already arrived and the BBQ was well under way. After levelling out a spot for my sleeping bag we all settled in around the camp fire for some pisco sours while dinner cooked. Chicken, sausages, potatoes and salad made a great meal washed down with more piscos. As night settled in the stars were out in all their brilliance. We soon retired to our sleeping bags. I lay on my back and just stared at the night sky. Full of stars in a crystal clear night. A sensational way to end another Peruvian day
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