Desert Dunebuggying and Sandboarding

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For 40 soles, we certainly got our money´s worth on this trip!  Our driver was a complete maniac (a good thing in such conditions) and the sandboarding proved to be quite enjoyable, even for someone like me who has never been on a snow board.  We came back as the sun was going down, bruised and sore, but I couldn´t help but feel that I was fully in ´vacation mode´.

The next day, I learned that the taxi driver from the previous day (Armando) was waiting for us downstairs to go on a winery tour.  It seems that grasp of Spanish is not that great because in asking him about such activites, he´d interpreted that I´d agree to take him up in his offer to drive us to two bodegas, as well as a chocolate factory, all for 25 soles per person.  At any rate, Simon and I had discussed the possiblity of doing such a tour with a young Dutchman (Tys - who had been in Equador studying Spanish for a few weeks) and his new ´travel companion´Johanna (a Peruvian woman).

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We set off at about 11am to Tocama (literally meaning black dog).  Driving to the winery, we passed simple villages and saw mango and avocado trees, as well as fields of beautiful yellow cotton flowers. The bodega was gorgeous property and the clear blue skies certainly help add to the wonder of the place.  We learned that they grow a wide variety fo grapes on the 200 acres with 30 percent of the harvest being table grapes.  Founded in 1889 by the Olaechea family, this relatively modern facility is the source of much of the Pisco produced in the country.  Pisco, a sort of clear brandy, comes in three varieties and is normally drunk in a bevarage known as a Pisco Sour, a drink that includes lime juice, liquid sugar and egg white all wipped together in a blender.  Talk about protein protein shake at the bar! 

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Next as a more traditional winery that still uses the old methods to process their grapes.  Our young host Cesar, who could not have been more than 16, was very friendly and knowledgeable.  We learned that harvesting and crushing of grapes takes place in Feb-March with a huge fiesta that involves all participants rolling up their pants and stomping the fruit.  (Bad timing for us).  We observed how they still use original botijas or clay jugs to store wines (some more than 100 years old) and tasted some locally produced fruit juices, including that of the Guanabana, a tasty white-fleshed fruit that was wonderfully sweet and citrusy. 

After a long day (particularly so when you start sipped alcohol at 11am), we had organized an overnight bus from Ica to Nasca.  Arriving early the next day, we met our host Diana.