Huacachina (part II) & Mancora, Peru

Monday, May 19
We arrived in Mancora earlier than we expected and we were taken to the hostel we had reserved...Del Wawa. However, after seeing our incredibly small room that was way overpriced, we headed next door to Las Olas and found a very comfortable room with 4 beds. While Jessica slept (she had started feeling really bad in Lima before we jumped on our overnight bus to Mancora), Jodi and I attempted to get some color...which we got...and then some. Apparently the close-to-the-equator sun laughs at sunscreen with SPF 30. But, the beach here is gorgeous and well worth visiting if any of you make it down to Peru. There is a great surf break right outside our hostel that is perfect for all levels of surfers. The water is warm (at least warmer than San Diego water), refreshing, and incredibly clear. Each day the different restaurants send poeple out to fish and dive for local lobsters, shrimp, and fish to serve for afternoon lunches and dinners. Jodi and Jessica have also decided to join me in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, so we will be leaving on Friday to Guayaquil.

Sunday, May 18
We woke up early Sunday morning to get to Ica to catch our 4.5 hour bus to Lima. We were not able to book a touristy bus from Ica to Lima, so we were on the local Peruvian bus...which, we later found out, had live and apparently free-roaming chickens in with our luggage. Once in Lima, we had to wait a few hours for our 18 hour bus ride to Mancora. Long day of travel!

Saturday, May 17
Jodi, Jessica, and I woke up at 5:30am to catch a bus to take us to the coast where we had decided to join a tour to see the Paracas National Reserve and the Islas Balletas. This reserve and the islands it includes is knows as the "poor man's Galapagos". Unortunately the sky was very overcast and made the 2.5 hour boat trip a little less than ideal. Our first stop was to view the Candelabra, a shape created in the sand dunes of one of the islands close to shore. Our guide explained that this shapes could have been created in a variety of ways:
1) by sea pirates as a guide to their hidden treasure, some 300 years ago
2) by some sea fairing folk as a guide to the coast, about 200 years ago
3) by the same aliens who created the Nazca lines thousands of years ago
We didnt buy any of the explanations, though, as we could see 4x4 tracks heading to the Candelabra where it looked like some people had dug out the shape just that morning. From the Candelabra, we headed to Islas Balletas where we were able to see tons of sea lions, crabs, a relative of the Andean condor, and hundreds of thousands of sea birds. Islas Balletas continues to be a large source of income for Peru as it provides a large source of guano....the guano is up to 50m deep on some parts of the islands. Unfortunately, Jodi got to experience the bird droppings first hand as a bird dropped a heat seaker right in the middle of her chest...and, of course, she was the only one on the entire boat of 40 people to get nailed! We returned to Huacachina in the afternoon and had to say so long to Woody and Luke. They had to catch an afternoon bus to Cusco. Then around 4:30pm we set out for a dune buggy ride across the sand dunes. The sand buggy ride was amazing...just imagine a high speed roller coaster across uneven and unstable terrain...we chose the company we did as it was the only company in the area that had not killed a passenger. We made several stops in the dunes to let people sandboard...which turned into a disaster for two drunks girls from Lima who were in our buggy as they collided half way down a dune and nearly decapitated each other. We stayed out in the sand until after sunset, so we were able to get some unbelievable photos.

Friday, May 16
I spent most of Friday figuring out my next move. Because I needed to eventually get to Ecuador, I decided to start heading North. Jodi and Jessica decided to also head North and possibly join me on my trip to the Galapagos Islands. We made it into Ica and bought tickets to go to Mancora (a few hours South of the Ecuadorian border) on Sunday. Friday afternoon, while the girls were shopping in Ica, I met up with Woody and Luke for a sandboarding session. We rented the boards for an hour and slowly climbed our way to the tallest sand dune surrounding Huacachina. Hiking in the sand dunes is about the worst thing I can think of...each step I took I would sink back about half the distance I had moved forward. Because of the effort it took to climb the dunes, we only went down twice...which was more than enough for my legs. But, sandboarding was great. Very similar to snowboarding except that you have to lean much further back and it is much more difficult to turn...but the sand is soft and provides a nice cushion for wipeouts. We had dinner again at the same restaurant with Jenga (Hospedaje Del Barco) but this time by candle light as the place had lost electricity. Still had a great meal and another towering game of Jenga.