Heaven in Hucahina

After a comfortable 3 hour drive to Ica we jumped into the tiniest taxi, and I’m talking like rickshaw tiny, it even could have been a rickshaw, a 1970s one donated to a charity at Christmas and we were one it and so with our backpacks balancing on the roof and made our way to Hucachina.

Nothing could prepare you for what you got to see in Hucachina.  A beautiful oasis in the middle of the desert with massive sand dunes as far as the eye can see, lovely, the village ... okay a little different.  I must admit that it does have an element of the beginning of something new/different, could be amazing but you are still in a developing country, the rubbish is still there, the toilets are still rotten, the shower clogs up, and you share with the rest of the village, but we are trying to get money from tourist sort of thing..... but it was different, somewhere you couldn’t really imagine, only seeing an oasis on Lawrence of Arabia watched on a Sunday afternoon round your nans.  But I loved it. 

with no metal bar keeping you strapped in, no rules or regulations and definitely no emergency stop button, your screams just spurred them on

You could walk around the oasis and therefore the ‘village’ in about 5 minutes, and making it even easy we picked the hostel Caras de Arena which had a pool and bar in the middle of all the dorms, semi-recommended in the Lonely Planet.  It was wonderful to be outside in the heat and to be able to go swimming, as the beach in Lima is so polluted that you wouldn´t dare go paddling in it.  The only thing I would say, and something that I don´t think I will get used to is the poor sanitation here.  The showers were absolutely disgusting (as mentioned before, but you have to give it as it comes), it makes you appreciate the cleanliness we have at home, so it is definitely not one for those with a weak stomach, (Elizabeth, sorry but it could be a no go, may even turn you into one of them OCD on cleanliness).  It was nice though, strange having a pool in such a poor facility hostel (I think it may have even called it a hotel!), we’re so used to imagining places with pools being the highest of establishments.  But hey we won’t complain at $3 a night, and that was us not haggling. 

Once we had made ourselves comfortable, moved our stuff into our bunk bed room (I was sharing with Katie, one of the two nurses) we went outside to enjoy the warmth of the evening, and joined in on the ‘getting to know you part’ of the hostel, a classic BBQ.  One think you will expect, of which I wasn’t used to until this moment, was bumping into the travellers you met on the way (which can be a good thing and a bad one).  Many do similar routes, especially those suggested by travel guides such as the lonely planet (god I should be getting paid commission the amount of times I have mentioned them).  This was my first time bumping into someone, obviously this is odd to me at first, how strange a whole country and I end up seeing exactly the same person.  This time it was Jango a Canadian guy who I met in the hostel I stayed at in Lima came up to say hello.  We had a catch up over our BBQ, (which could only be described as cooked Jack Russell, the gristle just didn’t do it for me,) I found out that he was doing to the same route to Cusco from Ica the next day.  Even though heaven was lovely, the next day I had already planned to do the main excursion which people come to Huchacina especially to do and that was riding the sand dunes due!  And I like being on the move, it was fun, exciting, my mind wanted new things to see.  I knew that the one more day would be enough here so I decided the get the late bus the next day with Raphael and Jango.

After a good chat with fellow travellers after our cuisine I went to bed preparing myself for the sand dune adventure the next day.  Travelling on your own really has its good points, you don’t have to rely on anyone, you can go do and say whatever you want, completely up to you.   But... when it comes to excursions and ‘there is no I in team’ it resembles being picked for teams, netball, partners in the lab, god.   You are the odd bod that has to be teamed up.  You get used to it but the gooseberry, yes on my own really, not divorced, not trying to get over a mad lover, but it normally turns out good. I was in a buggy with a family from Ecuador who were lovely, so all worked out. 

The ride was hair raising, up down at fast speed, slowing at the top then bombing it down to the bottom, but with no metal bar keeping you strapped in, no rules or regulations and definitely no emergency stop button, your screams just spurred them on because it sounds like you are enjoying it.  And it is exciting I must admit.  The rides would come to a halt every so often at the top of the hill and some plastic sheeting would be taken out the back and we would make every attempt to sand board down them as fast as we can without getting sand in any place that sand can get, and we know that it can get anywhere, almost like the donut, sugar and licking of lips situation.  Balance was the main issue really, obviously I was going to stand up, despite the first time being a little cocky thinking it was nothing, then looking down at the place I was supposed to be ending up at, and I decided the front was a better option.  And no sooner had I decided that the plastic suddenly began to heat as I wisped down the dune, with one big loud scream the sand flowed into my mouth, and as if animated right there and then, my face covered in sand, I stayed pulling the scream look face, mmm nice, and all I could think was what if the wind blows.  

This was obviously made worth it when deep in the desert, on the highest sand dune looking at the spec that is the oasis below you.  Spectacular. Taking in the heart stopping moments I got back in the buggy and we returned back to the village, returning for a swim, and a little bit of a rinse I prepared for Cusco.

Hucachina is beautiful, you wouldn´t think that a view of sand as far as the eye can see could be so amazing but it is.  Before I was about to head off to the bus depot I walked up one of the smallest sand dunes to have a little bit of a reflection on the day and my beginning of my travels.  I sat for a while looking at the landscape surrounding me, so surreal I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn´t dreaming, less than a week ago I was back in snowy England, where things are so different, so many people dream and I was doing.  How different my next city was going to be.