Desert Adventures with 18-30

1. The journey

We took a collectivo with our giant rucksacks to Pisco and then got tickets for the bus and got a taxi to the main road. There we waited for a bus but the first one was full and they wouldn’t let us on so we got the second one and sat with a friendly chatty man. He helped us and gave us his email when we got to Ica. Of course as soon as we got to Huacachina it went in the bin. We got a taxi to Huacachina. This is a very small town in the middle of a sand desert with a small oasis. The only economy here is tourism and all that tourism is based on sand buggies and sand boarding.

2.Hotels

Having arrived at the small desert oasis town, we made our way to the Lonely Planet recommended hostel Casa de Arena. As soon as we walked in we were greeted with a scene out of Club Reps as lots of young beautiful people played volleyball in the swimming pool and generally socialized excessively. This was not the place for us. We left our bags and went in search of other accommodation. Just across the road was a rather crispy looking hostel, but we checked it out anyway due to lack of other options. However, we were pleasantly surprised. Not only was it cheaper that the Club 18-30 hotel, but the rooms were all set back in a beautiful courtyard and the much larger swimming pool was completely deserted. We traipsed back to Casa de Arena to collect our bags, which had to be accessed by a kulak climbing through a window because they couldn't find a key. Much time was spent lying next to the pool and swimming in relative privacy and feeling relief at our escape from Casa de Arena.

One day, a pervert builder took up residence in the room next to Lisa, where he was doing some construction work. He would often stare at her and try to chat, but usually just preferred staring. Charlie had to accompany Lisa to and from her room because she didn't appreciate this attention (only because he wasn't rich enough). Matters were made worse by the fact that Lisa's key was dodgy and had to be jiggled for about 5 minutes before it unlocked, giving the builder lots more time to ogle. He he.

3. Water Activities

At the new hostel we spent our days sunbathing and swimming in the beautifully cool and fresh water. No chlorine for the kulaks. The hostel was much emptier and we often had the pool to ourselves, so there were many games of lifting each other out of the water, handstands and fetch the bottle. These games would have been inappropriate with company!

4. The Town

Huacachina is a pretty little desert oasis town, with a lake in the middle where locals liked to hire pedaloes and swim in, even though it was brown. Nonetheless, there were lots of little restaurants round the lake which made nice desert meals. One of our favourites was the chocolate pancakes that nearly every café made.

5. Free Drinking

We took a daytrip into Ica to find the wine tasting vineyards. We packed into a small tuctuc to go to Ica and then walked around the slums to find a taxi to ‘Bodega El Catador’. At the vineyard we had a tour with a young girl who didn’t speak much English and so all questions asked were given completely irrelevant answers. We had some free tasting of wines but were horrified by the process of many kulaks stamping up and down on the grapes. They do not maintain high standards of hygiene. We tried it anyway. They make Pisco, which also comes from this region and is horrendously strong. Even the Scot had to dilute it with coke! The tour was free but we were expected to buy something. We ended up buying jam (Mango and a local fruit) as it was the cheapest thing on offer and meant we could buy bread rolls and not go out for dinner. Calum paid but we didn’t have change and in a shocking moment of generosity he handed over Charlie’s daily budget as a tip! Shocked looks were exchanged between the seasoned travellers as Calum defended his action in terms of pound translation.

6. Mummy Museum

One day we headed into Ica, the closest town to Huacachina. All 3 of us squished into a tuctuc – a tiny 3 wheeled taxi cum motorbike. We visited the museum which had a huge collection of old Incan artifacts. Unfortunatey, after a while, we realized the beautiful rugs we had been admiring were in fact large pictures, since the originals had been stolen.

The museum also hosted a large collection of mummies. Fifi mummy scared Lisa, as did Anne mummy with a large orange wig. Some baby mummies were also present, however there was no smell at all.

7. Giant Sand Peaks

We took the main trip in Huacachina to the sand dunes in a sand buggy. We organised it through our hostel and the cute, round bellied kulak was our driver. We buckled ourselves into the backseats and headed for the dunes. It was a strange feeling being so far above the ground and going over sand. It was a good job that we were buckled in as a lot of the journey was like a roller coaster ride. It was frightening but good fun. Calum lost his baseball cap in a moment of carelessness, to be fossilised in the dunes forever. We then had the sandboarding part of the trip. The kulak gave us options of how to go down. Some people tried standing but even experienced snow boarders found it difficult. We all opted for the safest lying down face first approach. This was the fastest and least dangerous, and probably the most fun. The hills our kulak chose for us were the highest and steepest compared to any of the other groups on the dunes.

It was an exhilarating experience on the first attempt but by the third the whole thing got a bit tame even though the dunes got bigger and steeper. Lisa managed to bruise vahina on the board as it went crashing over a large mound propelling her into the air. We then continued in the buggy to see the sunset, which was pretty amazing but disaster struck on the way home. The kulak kept turning and looking at the wheel and appeared to be taking much safer routes and gong slowly. After about 5 checks we eventually stopped in a crunch. The axle had broken. It was getting dark quickly and we were stranded in the desert. Other buggies passed us on the way home but were all full. Feeling very sorry for the kulak we tried to ask what would happen. The buggy was to stay out overnight and we got a lift back with the hostel’s other buggy. It was a hilarious incident and one which won’t be forgotten. We had sand in every bodily crevice!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Following this we have attached the FCO advice, which was duly ignored for being over protective! FCO advice

´Sand Buggies`

There are frequent cases of injury to tourists from recreational sand buggies, particularly in the sand-dunes around Ica and Lake Huacachina. These buggies are unregulated and the drivers take no responsibility for the welfare of their passengers. You ride in them at your own risk.´

The FCO with its sound advice and party pooping as usual

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Final Thoughts: The first hotel was very scary and sociable but the second hotel was perfect and the pool was used almost every evening. Sand buggying was a highlight and thoroughly enjoyable. A perfect place to chill for a few days.

Mark out of 10: 8

Next Time.......... Nasca