Sand, Surf and Chocolate Cake

Happy 25th Birthday Chris! He may have been coming off a week of sickness but that was not going to stop him eating a chocolate brownie with ice cream for breakfast on the morning of his quarter century milestone. I have to say that since arriving in Peru we have discovered that they make a mighty fine chocolate cake, so the tradition of following most meals with cake is becoming a daily occurance...hmmm expanding waistline you say?

We had aimed to be in a relaxing hotter place for the birthday celebrations and made it to Huacachina (just out of Ica in Peru) for the occasion. This place is mainly popular for its massive sand dunes and sandboarding, but also because it is an oasis in the middle of the desert and a very nice place to catch your breath for a few days.


Well, as predicted, we promptly hired sand boards and stood at the bottom of the massive dunes and took a breath before trudging our way up towards the top. Oh the leg burn...after 10 minutes of recovery at the top we took the plunge and started trying out our skills at sandboarding. Both of us not being top snowboarders it was a comical first few rides and just as we were getting the hang of it dehydration got the better of us and we headed back to have a bit of pool time before going out again in the afternoon.

As soon as we arrived in Huacachina it was impossible to avoid the numerous dune buggies that loudly scream around the streets begging you to take their tours. We fell victim to the pressure and booked one for 4pm. Thinking we were just being taken out for a couple of hours into the abyiss of massive dunes, being taught to sandboard and taking the lazy option of being dropped at the top of hills instead of back up our hopes weren´t high. Within 3 minutes of the tour we realised that this was not going to be a Sunday drive in the dunes, but instead the rollercoaster of terror. These guys are lunatics...there is no pre-saftey talks or warnings that if you have a heart problem that these tours probably arent for you! For the young at heart though, absolutely exhilirating and terrifying at the same time. You put your life into the hands of these cowboys and pray you make it back in once piece! The sandboarding was boring in comparison! The icing on the cake was the final trip back and we were following another dune buggy and taking the same path. We watched in disbelief as the buggy before us got airborne about 2 metres over the top of the hill and disappeared down the other side...I dont think I was the only one that needed a change of underwear that day. Fortunately we made it safely back and are here to tell the story.

We needed to leave the next day as the adrenaline was too much so off to Huancacho we went...this was more of a beach stop with surf and a chilled out atmosphere. The beach is lined with fishing boats made of reeds that are shaped like sea kayaks, but we werent keen to tackle the surf in one of them with one of the local fisherman so just watched them head out into the waves from the safety of the shore.

It was a wonderful place. Chris got to go surfing, I got to lay in a hammock reading books and the sun was shining...bliss. Around Huancacho is a pre-Inca city called Chan Chan which we visited so we could experience something other than Inca ruins. It was a fascinating place and in its time (1400 BC) it was the biggest city in the world. Only some of it is able to be viewed as it has not all been excavated due to lack of money, but what we did view was well worth it. Unfortunately most of the treasures of the lost city were stolen when the Spanish invaded so the museum attached didnt have much to show in the way of gold or artefacts.

We spent 3 nights sifting around at Huancacho and have now based ourselves in Mancora up the very North of Peru, our last Peruvian stop before crossing the boarder into Ecuador. This place is a beach paradise, but unfortuantely the surf is not cranking so we are forced to laze on the beach, roam through the shops and swelter in the heat...what a shame. For a change of pace we might visit the hot pools about 15kms out of town to try and wash some of this sand off! We are both loving the relaxed vibe of the latter part of our trip as the first 6 weeks was so full on, here´s hoping Ecuador is as chilled...