We had set the alarm for 0715 to allow plenty of time to get to the bus station. It took an hour to get to near that area yesterday but today being Sunday should be easier. We took a taxi around 0810 and made it in time for the 0830 bus.
We had booked for the 1000 departure and they cheerfully changed us over, all because I had downloaded Google Translate’s offline language pack. I was able to ask “is there an earlier service?”.
The bus was uber comfortable with plenty of recline and legrests. The driver was in a sealed compartment. Snacks and coffee was provided during the 4h20 ride through the grey desert to Ica.
I had been reading my guidebook on my phone without my glasses. Prices for taxis and dune buggy rides had been quoted in Soles (abbreviated to “S”) and I thought they were referring to “$” or USD! So we were nicely surprised by the taxi ride to nearby Huacachina and later the prices for the buggy rides.
It was good getting to Ica by 1330 and Huacachina by 1400. We had time to eat, rest then look for buggy tours.
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- Even though Huacachina is a small town, there are some nice buildings set against a backdrop of gigantic sand dunes.
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- Huacachina is an oasis town in the desert.
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- Huacachina is an oasis town in the desert.
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- Huacachina is an oasis town in the desert.
We organised one for 1615 the timing of which turned out perfect; two hours is the right amount of time and we saw sunset and returned just before it got dark. The two hours of thrill only cost 35 Soles or about USD10.
The rides up and down (including u-turns near the ridge) were pretty hair-raising. Not all seat belts worked properly. There were a few whiffy moments near the town perhaps near some sewage discharge.
Sandboarding was included in the price. When I got to the first ridge, I thought “No, not doing that!”. But when the first guy went, it looked OK, so I threw caution to the wind and joined in.
In less than a minute lying on my belly and elbows, I was down the bottom. I had taken my flipflops off for the slide down and the driver left it behind.
We went to a few more ridges (which I skipped) before returning to the first ridge to retrieve my flipflops. If you think I’m chicken for not doing all the subsequent slides down, think again. It was less scary than some of the buggy rides down the same slopes.
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- Dune buggies in the distance.
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- i expected sand dunes like Opononi in New Zealand but these were far bigger.
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- i expected sand dunes like Opononi in New Zealand but these were far bigger.
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- On the dune near the oasis of Huacachina.
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- Dunes of Huacachina.
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- Dunes of Huacachina.
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- Exploring the dunes around Huacachina.
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- Thinking “Should I or should I not?”
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- Holding a sandboard and thinking “Should I or should I not?”
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- Holding a sandboard and thinking “Should I or should I not?”
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- But I threw caution to the wind and slid down.
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- Going down the steep and high dunes.
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- Going down the steep and high dunes.
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- Huacachina after sunset.
Reunited with my flipflops, we had dinner at the very atmospheric Desert Nights hostel. It got raucous when dogs on heat showed up. One after another, then a threesome and an attempted foursome. It was an orgy and the noise wasn’t conducive for a pleasant evening out.
Being Happy Hour, we ordered a Pisco Sour (to try) and a Margarita. We ended up having two of each to accompany our dinners. I think they intentionally mis-understand but it was cheap enough for us to enjoy without thinking about it.