Huacachina

After getting up this morning, I went up to the roof top terrace and kitchen to make coffee and oatmeal for my first breakfast.

After breakfast, I took my first stroll around the lake.

Huacachini is quite small about 10 to 15 minute taxi outside the larger town of Ica. I could walk the whole of it several times in a day. It is this oasis around a small lake, surrounded by huge sand dunes. Huacachina is the only natural oasis in South America. The formation of the lake was created naturally, fed by underground aquifers. In the mid 2000's do to pumping water out the aquifers, the level of the lake started to fall. Local businesses began a program to supplement the lake by pumping in water to preserve this tourist attraction.

I strolled around this morning checking out the views from the walkway surrounding the Huacachina Lake. 

Very few people walking around in the morning. I think the biggest activity is catching a dune buggy to ride to the top of the dunes to watch sunset from 4 pm to 6 pm. The 2 hour dune buggy ride also provides an opportunity for sandboarding.

The tour guides are out selling dune rides and pisco making tours.

I was approached by a guy selling both. The dune ride at 4 pm was 40 soles and the pisco tour from 1 pm was 30 soles. He offered a discount to 60 soles for both. I told him I would check back later. The price then dropped to 50 for both. That was my tipping point. I will be going on the pisco tour and later in the day the dune buggy ride to watch the sunset.

Just to fill some time, I stopped in a small cafe to have a coffee, (much better than my instant coffee this morning) I wanted to get only a coffee and roll. No rolls, so I ended up getting small breakfast (number 2) Coffee, scrabbled eggs & ham and a couple pieces of toast. 

The tour guide just called to moved the pisco tour from 1 pm to 12 pm. That still works for me. The cafe I am at is just around the corner from his office.

I was joined by 3 women from Ecuador on the pisco tour. For the tour we headed back into Ica. Our first stop was a chocolate and pisco shop. The lady at the shop went on and on about everything she sold at the shop. Lots of different chocolates, a few cookies and souveniers. I bought a bag of cookies and a universal type face mask that also doubles as a neck warmer. The ladies bought an assortment chocolates

Then we were passed off to the young man to start the pisco pitch. This included samples of a lot of pisco wines as well as pisco. 

Our second stop was to see La Palmera de Siete Cabezas. In this arid space, a large palm tree grew which has seven heads. The Peruvian legend, which extends through generations, tells that the witches of Cachiche had the desire to know more, to open portals that would allow them to see the future. Cachiche is community located just 4 km from Ica that is known for its preoccupation with witches

It is very strange. I have included a picture. That is the only way for you to get an idea of what this looks like.

Back in the car, our next stop was a small park. Not your everyday park. Al Parque de las Brujas de Cachiche. Park of the Cachiche Witches. Not real big, maybe about a half of a city block. It features many bronze statues of legendary witches and warlords. Others of gargoyles and other beastly figures. Even more strange than the 7 headed palm tree.

Finally we made it to the pisco workshop. Pisco is a fermented and distilled high-proof spirit tasting something like vodka. A guide there showed us the outside mashing vats.  During the March harvest season, the mashing vats are filled with grapes and then 8 people enter the vat to mash them with their feet. The juice flows out into a smaller collection basin. It is then put into large plastic storage container before going to the still.  The guide explained the whole process from mashing to distilling to produce the pisco and pisco wines.  Pisco was developed in the 16th century as an alternate to importing distilled spirits from Spain.

At the conclusion of the tour, of course there was another pisco tasting session. Our 2nd for the day.

After the piso workshop a lunch stop was next. The food was not bad but a little overpriced. After we finished eating. Guess what, they also sold pisco. So we moved over to the pisco tasting area for our 3rd pisco tasting of the day. 

By then, it was getting late. We needed to be back in Huacachina for our Dune Buggy rides in the dunes. The ladies were noticably intoxicated on the way back.

Back in Huacachina, I first had to race up to my room to exchange my sandals for shoes. 

We then headed out into the dunes to where the dune buggies were parked and waiting. There must have been more than 30 dune buggies parked up on the hill. It was quite a site seeing all these people walking, almost like a pilgrimage up the hill.

As the dune buggies filled, one by one, the engines started and off they went.

Let me tell you, the dune buggies rides were as exciting as roller coaster rides. The difference is that roller coasters are on a track and it is pretty certain they will stay on the track. The dune buggies have no track. We drove over the tops of the dunes and for several, it then seemed that we were heading straight down. Turning and twisting. It felt like we could flip and roll over at any time. But, we didn't.

For those interested in sandboarding, we stopped on the top of a couple of dunes for them to try out their sandboarding skills. A lot of work putting on gear and getting ready for a pretty short ride.

The second hill we stopped at was longer, providing the sandboarders a better ride.

By then the sun is setting beginning the second highlight of the dune ride. Watching the sunset over the dunes. 

By the time we headed back it was time for the dune buggies to turn on headlights and head back to Huacachina. Luckily, our dune buggy headed back at dusk. Others came back in the dark. The dune ride was thrilling enough for me being able to see what was coming up next. I don't think I needed the extra thrill of coming over the peaks of dunes and suddenly dropping off the backsides, in darkness.

The dune buggies dropped us off on a dune overlooking Haucachina for a photo op of the oasis.

My guess is that the boarding and drop off from the dune buggies is done a good walk into the dunes to reduce the noise of the dune buggies in the oasis. The dune buggies are loud and would be bit annoying in the tranquility of the oasis.