Huacachina, Peru

Aug 2-3

Our journey from Lima to Huacachina began very early, allowing us to stop by the Ballestas islands in the morning. However, the weather was rubbish so boats weren't running! Instead we visited the Paracas National Park, which is masssssive, but not really all that interesting. We briefly walked through the desert first, trying (and failing) to find fossils along the way. Apparently there are a variety of plant and animal fossils, from both the land and sea; this area has been sunken into the sea and remergered many times as the earth has shifted. Then we had a look at the coastal area and went to a museum to learn about the history of the area, as well as the animals the inhibit it. The most interesting fact was about flamingoes: male flamingoes all line up and dance for the females as a mating ritual! Eeeexcellent! We saw some flamingoes, but only from a distance. 

After a short drive we arrived at Huacachina (pronounced whack-a-chee-nah) and had a very quick bevvies at the Huacafuckingchina bar.

Finally it was time for our desert adventure! 

We hopped into buggies and began 'bashing the dunes' which was a LOT of fun. We stopped at a few viewpoints for pics.

Then came the sand boarding!!! This was amazing fun, if a wee bit scary - particularly the first time. We went down two massive slopes, face-first lying down on snow boards! Super super fast!

The sun was setting, so we stopped to admire the view.

The third and final slope that we went down was enormous, and landed us at our camping spot for the night. 

We were in the middle of the desert, tucked between a few dunes to protect us from the wind. And even still, it was freeeeezing. Three months in Central America in 30+ heat has made me absolutely pathetic in this cold weather. We had a campfire, which also doubled as a barbecue. We pumped tunes out through one of the buggies and sipped on pisco sours late into the night. Sleeping out in the desert, under the stars, was an awesome experience but I absolutely froze!