Huacachina y Chala...

Buenos Dias! In the last couple days we´ve done some great stuff! In Miraflores, we did some routine errands and relaxed in the sun after some bad times in the rain. We then took a 4.5 hour bus down to Ica to get to the very small town of Huacachina, which is famous for it´s sand dunes and sandboarding. We went out for dinner that night and explored ´the oasis´ of a town the next morning, trying to escape the heat. Around 4pm our sandy adventure commenced. These dune buggies aren´t anything like I´ve seen before-- they fit about 10 people! Once we were over the dunes that walled in Huacachina, mountains of sand were all you could see. You could easily get lost out there without your guide! And the ride out to sandboarding was more similar to, say, a rollercoaster and so much fun!! The driver would charge up and down dunes that you´d think were vertical walls of sand!! Ahh! The act of sandboarding itself can be compared to snowboarding, but it´s not as easy to carve through sand as it is snow, though we both got down a couple dunes, no problem. On the final, gigantic dune we decided to lay on top of our boards... you go so fast! Pushing the limits, made for a great memory. One of the best yet! The next day we headed out to Nazca to see the famous Nazca Lines but quickly decided we weren´t that interested in it and took the next bus out to Chala-- a very tiny beach town on the way to our ultimate destination, Arequipa. We made it to the resort called Hotel Puerto Inka, which is located in it´s own private cove and is literally the only thing around for about 20 minutes! We camped right on the beach with a gorgeous view-- reminded me of a small beach in Cabo San Lucas. Luckily we bought food before getting a ride in, because the prices are pretty exspensive, by Peruvian standards. Though we did spend the most we´ve ever spent on a meal thus far for Valentine´s Day dinner, spending 80 soles, which is about $28!! We´re crazy!! haha. We are now back in the main city of Chala waiting for our overnight bus at 10:30pm to getting us into Arequipa around 6:30am. Arequipa is known for it´s canyons and gorgeous scenery! We can´t wait! One more thing-- my windows program has pooped out on us! Therefore, we do not have access to a computer as much as we´re used to-- even though internet is widely available, we just have to pay for it now!

Pictures from Huacachina and Chala:

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3463325009/a=34282164_34282164/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/