Huacachina and Lima (2 - 7 June 2008)
For a change we did not need to take an overnight bus to get to our next destination. It was only a two hour ride from Nazca to Ica and then a 10 minute taxi to the small town, Huacachina. Huacachina is a tiny oasis set amongst towering sand dunes. This destination was a very specific one - we came to Huacachina to do sandboarding.
We checked out a couple of hostels before settling into Casa de Arena. This hostel had a lively atmosphere and a crystal clear swimming pool. It was already 7pm when we checked in, so we had just enough time for a drink at the poolside bar and a movie on the laptop before bedtime.
It was only when I woke the next morning that I really understood the rave reviews for sandboarding in this location - the sand dunes were enormous! They were more like mountains if you ask me. We had the usual hostel breakfast - bread, jam and coffee and then approached the hostel staff for info on the sandboarding tours. The next tour was in ten minutes; we had just enough time to put on proper shoes (flip-flops were apparently not ideal) and to grab a bag and camera. We were totally unprepared for what was laying ahead.
We were strapped into a dune buggy - a steal-frame beach-buggy equivalent of a vehicle. Because we were so last minute, we were the unfortunate fools to get the seats right in the back of the buggy. The buggy pulled away at the speed of light, g-force sucking us into the seats. It was literally a roller-coaster ride! And the mountains that I referred to before was the track - there was no dune too big or too steep for the buggy.
And then the buggy came to a stop and we were told that it was time for boarding… “Are you insane?! Down here?! Down this sand mountain?!! Oh my…..” Within seconds I found myself flat on my belly, clinging onto the sandboard’s straps. Then the guy pushed me down the down screaming at me to keep my legs apart. WOW! I cannot remember when last I had such a thrill? Maybe two days ago on the raft down the class IV rapid? Yes, yes it’s a tough life travelling 
When I finally came to a halt at the bottom of the dune, I spat the sand out of my mouth and wiped the sand from my eyes. And then I turned around to find that Eon was attempting to go down the dune standing up. Has the insanity of the guide teleported to Eon? He has not done this before; he has not even skied or snowboarded before. Oh boy…. I watched him struggle down the hill. On the second hill he had the hang of it and I was very jealous - the belly-method might be easier, but it sure is a lot faster and very tough on the arms, knees, stomach…just about every part in my body was already aching. So after a lot of convincing from Eon, I decided to try the standing up thing on dune three. It went very slowly, but I got the hang of it - well, sort of. The remaining hour and a half was smooth sailing and we had a lot of fun. The only downside was the exhausting walks back to the dune buggy.
That afternoon, we walked up one of the giant sand dunes to watch a golden sunset over the desert. The walk up was gruelling but worth it! The walk down was super-fun! It was more like running on the moon. On a sadder note, I had to bid my shoes farewell. My Merrel’s have seen better days and it was time to replace them - I contemplated having them bronzed, but Eon though it would be a bit freaky
The next day we took a bus to Lima, the capital of Peru. Now, like any other capital city, Lima has a bad reputation for its pickpockets and thieves. We heard really bad stories about travellers being robbed in various ways - bags being nabbed or slashed, tourists attention being diverted and then robbed and even people being in a car crash and then robbed during the chaos. So we were on full alert when we arrived at the bus station.
We decided to stay in the pricier, but safer area called Miraflores. I used the security excuse to convince Eon to stay in Miraflores, but the real reason I wanted to stay here, was due to the Lonely Planet’s detailed description on the various delicious foods available here We had a look at a couple of hostels and then picked a small hostel named Albergue Verde. The owner and his staff were so friendly and it was the most decent option within our budget. After living like kings in Arequipa, we had a hard time to adjust to staying in dorm rooms and using shared bathrooms
It finally feels like we have adjusted to the South American way. We are more confident in exploring the areas and not constantly worried about our safety and belongings anymore. So even though it was already dark outside, we ventured into the streets of Lima (or rather, Miraflores) to grab something to eat.
I never thought the day would come that I could say I felt the earth move. We were still in bed the next morning when the earth started shaking - it was a 10 second tremor, but it felt like a life time. Quite scary! This area is very prone to earthquakes so it worried me a bit. But luckily that was it for the time we were in Lima.
Day two in Lima was the usual sightseeing day. We managed, with quite a bit of effort and about four Peruvian helpers, to get onto the right bus to Lima central. We could have taken a taxi, but they overcharge foreigners like mad. There is no way we are paying R75 for a 20 minute taxi-ride! The bus-ride is an experience on its own - strangers hop on and off the bus at any given time and then they start to entertain the passengers with singing, a drumming performance, telling some story or speech or even selling odd things like toffees and cellphone calls. Our Spanish has improved immensely and we managed to have a decent conversation with the curious locals on the bus.
There were three sights lined up for the day: First up was the Plaza de Armas with the Cathedral and the Palacio de Gobierno, residence of the Peruvian president. We had good timing and got to witness the elaborate changing of the guard. Next up was the Monasterio de San Fransisco, with its catacombs and remarkable library with thousands of antique text. It was quite freaky walking amongst the bone-filled crypts. Last up was the Museo de la Inquisicion with its vivid waxwork exhibits on the torturing methods the Spanish used on the locals during the Spanish inquisition.
The rest of our time in Lima was spent on strolling through the Parque de Kennedy, looking at photo exhibitions and trying out the culinary delights of Miraflores (including spare ribs and McDonalds - how original of us!). We also had a guidebook search to replace our lost Ecuador book.
We had an interesting last night in Lima, sitting in the hostel corridor, drinking beer with the two Peruvian guys working in the hostel. We had a good laugh about all the linguistic differences between English, Spanish and Afrikaans. Example: embarazada is Spanish for pregnant, not embarrassed…imagine the trouble you could get into….
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