Sandboarding
Day 201 Sat 19/3 Huacachina
The bus from Cusco arrived a bit earlier in Ica than I had expected – the ticket agent got her times wrong, I reckon. I wasnt quite ready to disembark at 6:00 am. Off to HUacachina, which is an oasis in the middle of a desert, about 5 km from Ica. I managed to wake up the folks working in the hotel as I checked in to Banana’s. Shower & breakfast taken care, I decided to head to Ica to take a look around town, since HUacachina is so small that I managed to see the 6 blocks in no time.
Ica is quite an ugly town and I didnt spend too much time there. I guess I could have headed down to some winery or pisco distilleries, but that would mean more days in Ica. I can almost hear the mountains in Huaraz calling me name…
The main attraction in Huacachina is the laguna, which has an interesting myth. Apparently there is a siren who is looking for a mate and takes young men who jump in for a swim. Locals have it that a young lad has drowned every year for a while now. Makes for an interesting story, though.
Folks come here to rest and to go sandboarding and rides in sand buggy. The tour starts at around 16:30 and lasts well after sunset. As much as I enjoyed the sandboarding and the buggy ride, the colours in the desert at sunset fascinated me more.
After the tour, I was quite surprised at how quite the little place had become! Nothing much to do but read a bit and head to bed!
Tags: Travel
Damu