Day 4
29th May 2013

This morning we visit the Ballestas Islands by boat to view sea lion colonies, penguins and other bird life.

Continue south by land to Nazca with a stop to see the Huacachina sand dunes along the way. The pleasant colonial town of Ica enjoys a dry and sunny climate and is known for its huge sand dunes around the Huacachina oasis. Apart from the dunes, the town is well known for its wines, and there are several wineries and distilleries in the area.

We get up and have breakfast and then head down to the docks to get our boat that's going to take us out to the islands. Due to fog out as see we are told that we will have to wait about an hour for the fog to clear. After about an hour and a half the fog clears and we we board out speed boat. As we head across the bay we see large flocks of birds and at the first island the beach has hundreds of Pelicans. We continue out to sea and see the Sea loins, Penguins and various breeds of birds. We get back to port and go to the hotel grab our bags for a 2 hour drive to the oasis where we are having lunch and have the option to ride on the dune buggies and try sand boarding.

On route to the oasis we stop at a winery and are given a tour and shown how the make Pisco which is a traditional Peruvian drink. After the tour comes the best bit, the tasting and we are given 5 different drinks to taste. After I go and buy a couple of bottles to take home with me or maybe drink on the rest of our trip. We all board the coach again and continue onto the oasis.

We order lunch and then some of us jump into the buggies to head off into the giant sand dunes. The seat belts go over each shoulder and fasten in between your legs. It's at this point John who is a doctor shares with me a story of someone who had been admitted into A & E after an accident in a rally car which had the same kind of seat belts. He explains the the car had stopped suddenly and the belt had crushed one of the guys balls and was in surgery for 7 hours and lost one of his balls. It's at this point I undo my belt and move the strap to the outside of my leg!!

We are driven up and down the dunes which are massive and then we stop at the top of a medium size dune. We are then given sand boards which for those who want to can board down the dune. We all choose to go down on our stomachs and as I fly down the dunes I end up with sand everywhere including my mouth. As I get towards the bottom I fall over and roll the rest of the way ending up in a heap at the bottom. Once every one is down that wants to come down the buggies drive down and pick us up and we head off to another dune for a second got. I'm not sure if its the Pisco that's make me either brave or stupid but I decide to go down standing up on the board this time, big mistake!! I they strap me to the board and I set off down the dune and am doing fairly well for the first part and then I start to pick up speed. I fall bump, crash and roll the other two thirds of the way down. We are picked up again and taken to a third dune and I decide that it's a better idea to go down on my stomach again. I watch as a few of our group go down before me and notice at the bottom after a bit of a flat area there is another slope but from where we are standing it is impossible to see how steep or high the drop is. Next up is Johns wife Jenny, on the first couple of dunes Jenny seemed to go the fastest and she sets off. She hurtles down the dune at an amazing speed and flys straight past the others standing at the bottom and right over the edge of the next dune. The guys at the bottom follow her and she is fine. Then it's my turn, I head off but due to my happy Buddha shape I come to a gradual stop at the bottom. I grab my board and head down the second half at a snails pace. After we are taken over the dunes some more in the buggies and then rejoin the rest of the group for lunch. By this time it is about 17:00 and we jump back on the coach for a 3 hour drive to our next hotel in Nazca.
We get to the hotel and are given half hour to go and have a shower to get rid of all the sand before we head out into the town for dinner. A couple in the group see a restaurant and say that that want to eat there, but this is not the place Paco had planned to take us to. We all go in and what a disaster it is. It takes for ever for the drinks to arrive and even longer for the food and some food doesn't even arrive and Paco has to keep chasing the staff and asking where stuff is. After eating me a Libby pop outside and it's at that point I notice the sign. Now I can't read Spanish, however it looks like the sign says " chief wanted" that will be the reason for all our problems lol.

Most of the group head off back to the Hotel apart from me, Paco and the girls who go to a bar for a Pisco sour before bed.