Ica, Peru

Hardest thing: Wiping out on the last dune whilst going about 600mph!!

So...after all the fun and frolics in Lima, our next destination was 2 hours south of Lima, to Ica. We jumped on a bus that morning...with Cathy, Brett and Jo and cruised through the desert in search of our next adventure!!

Once at Ica, we grabbed a cab out to the neighbouring desert oasis of Huacachina, whose lake supposedly has medicinal water. We checked ourselves into Casa de Arena and began to formulate our plans.

The hotel offered a couple of hours of dune buggying and sandboarding, so we signed up and after a rushed lunch and much running around like headless chickens, we got ourselves strapped into the dune buggy and away we went!

It was absolutely incredible to be cruising around the dune buggies at full pelt, and to be surrounded by huge sand dunes in every which direction you looked!! The buggy driver was definitely a little crazy..perhaps it was all that sand...or perhaps it was because the buggy didnt have any brakes...!!! But I was loving it and the ride definitely helped awaken the hyperactive little soul in me!!

After being thrown about for about 30mins, we stopped at the top of a dune to begin the sandboarding. Now I have to admit...I was scared...and actually I was one of the last to actually build up the guts to hurl myself down the dune. One of the guides informed me that it was a practise dune (?!) and so I felt that it would definitely be a wise option to get myself going down that hill...when I say get myself down the dune, I dont wish to imply that I was successful at staying upright...and at that I most certainly was not!! In my defense, Brett who is both a surfer and a snowboarder said that it was pretty difficult to try and turn the board (as it picks up so much sand) and so it means that you just have to point your board downhill and hope you make it to the bottom....well...at least i made it to the bottom!

Now going down the dunes is bad enough...but you gotta try walking back up them...that is real good fun!! Ahem...! So, I only managed the practise dune once...

We get back in the buggies and move onto the "real" dunes...get there, whip out the (primitive) boards once again and the guides start waxing them up...you know in case we wanna go faster...cos thats a good idea!! So I stand at the top of the next dune...looking over..not down...over...its practically a cliff....and Cathy and I decide that cruising down on our bellies wil def be a whole lot more fun...(See photo! Yes...that´s me by the way!!)

Plucked up the courage...got comfy and away we went....Cathy went first..got chucked over the edge and under a guy´s legs and man did she pick up speed. Brett was at the bottom awaiting and snapping away and she is charging straight towards him (no, you cant steer) Brett doesnt have time to move out the way...has to resort to leaping up in the air and straight over her...nicely done...wish we had that on film!! It was def a stylish way to start and end her run!

My turn...the courage returns, I figure if i fall off at least i havent got so far to go until I am on the ground...seeing as there is only the board between me and the sand!! What I forgot to take into consideration was the fact that I was going to pick up so much speed...so...i tip myself over the edge...and after about 50 seconds of absolute madness...its all over...i stand up, make sure I am intact and can not wait to get going on the next dune!!

Luckily the buggies are waiting at the bottom for us...no more dune climbing malarkey (thats not what i signed up for)...we get back into the buggies and get taken to the next dune...slightly bigger than the last of course!!

My new strategy...ask for more wax on the bottom of my board and lift up my legs so that I pick up even more speed!! What a fantastic idea...worked for me...luckily...!! Was absolutely incredible!!

Now, I know we are in the middle of the desert, but there is an unbelievable amount of sand...everywhere!! And at first, one tries in vain to brush the sand off their face and empty their pockets...but you get to the point where you realise it is a losing battle and ya just have to enjoy the breadcrumbed look! The funniest thing is that I kept looking at all the other sandy people and thinking, haha...i wonder if they know that they are so sandy...and then i would run my hand across my cheek and realise i had most of a dune stuck to my face...figure i needed a good body scrub!!

Now...Brett decides that for the next dune, he would like to try to get some air and do some jumps...hmm...well, it is certainly a bumpier ride and it goddamn hurts when you smack back onto the sand with the board benath ya!! But again....I made it!

Last dune to go...Priya is cockier than ever..the dune is steeper than ever...im raring to go...I tip myself over the edge, legs up...wait wait, im going way too fast..legs down again...i start to skid a bit as I am off balance...i see that im losing control of the situation and am gonna wipe out real bad...i decide that it will be a good idea to hurl myself off the board (all that speed must have gone to my head...i could NOT have been thinking straight!!) and what a wipe out that was...I eat sand!! Tumble, face in the sand, board somewhere else, and a nice bit of sandburn across my shoulder to take away from the day!! (Sunglasses survived though, couldn't have been that bad!!)

After all that excitement, we got to watch the sunset over the dunes...I cant explain what a sight that was. (I also cant understand how the guides know where the hell we are...what are they thinking..oh we´ll take these folks to that dune which is just to the left of the sand dune and beyond the...dune...over there...??!) Just before we head back to the hostal, we were taken to another...wait for it...dune...where we had an unbelievable view of the oasis and the city of Huacachina! It was so beautiful!!

Back at the hostal we signed up to an all you can eat, all you can drink BBQ....and managed an hours sleep before our next adventure....