SUNSHINE! That’s the first thing I have to say about Huacachina. Ica is a desert city about 4 hours south and east of Lima. Huacachina is a town on the outskirts of Ica where tourists and Peruvians go to spend the afternoon sandboarding! We stayed in one of the hostels around the lagoon and surrounded by dunes in every direction.
Lagoon & Dunes in Huacachina
Zac and I spent 3 days there, and since there isn’t much to do besides the sandboarding, that was enough. It is the desert, so it’s incredibly hot during the day, and very cold at night. So we spent our days reading by the pool or in the hammocks (!!) or just walking around the lagoon.
The oldest dog ever. She followed Zac & I around every day!
We arrived in midmorning, started settling into the traveling groove again, and decided to go sandboarding that afternoon. The tour through the hostel with the dune buggy ride was 30 soles (~$11), but we happened to find an old man across the lagoon renting out boards for just 3 soles (~$1)! Of course we opted for that, and had a great time. I’m glad we saved the money, but I would probably recommend for others to take the dune buggy ride, apparently it’s like a roller coaster on sand, and you don’t have to carry your board back up the dune since they drive you back up.
HAH! Caitlin’s first run.
Zac Sandboarding Like a Pro
On our first morning, we thought it would be a great idea to get up and watch the sunrise, as our friend Eric did many months before. Unfortunately for us, the sky was full of clouds at 6 am, and there was absolutely NO SUN to see. We were up climbing the dunes at 5:15 am for no reason! Not much to see.
Um, sunrise over the dunes?
Later that afternoon we went to Tacama winery, located near the city of Ica. Zac’s student has a friend who runs/owns Tacama, and set up a tour and tasting for us. Even though we might call it a winery, they produce a lot more Pisco than wine. We got a private tour of the winery, including the behind-the-scenes processes they don’t normally show you.
Tacama Winery
Gigantic urns of Pisco.
Later we joined in on the hostel BBQ for 30 soles, which was amazing! That’s an expensive meal for us, but the food was so good, and there were so many vegetables! Unlimited avocado! You just can’t beat that when you’re in the middle of the desert.
Sunset on the dunes.
The next day was another relaxing day reading in hammocks. It was amazing! We headed out that evening for our 12-hour overnight bus to Arequipa (which left 2 hours late!!). Look for updates from Arequipa and Colca Canyon. Coming your way soon!
Running The World Travel 