Dune Buggies & Grape Stomping

     Finally making our way south of Lima!  In order to break up our journey to Cusco, we opted to stop in Ica for a couple of days.  The bus ride from Lima was one of the most unappealing rides I have ever been on - it all seemed like a vast wasteland full of shacks, garbage and dirty dunes.  As we approached Ica, the wasteland was beginning to turn to Oasis.  There were signs for local wine bodegas and roadside boxes of giant mangos.... we knew that we would be satisfied for atleast a little while:)  Our final destination for the day was Huacachina, an oasis just outside of Ica.  We grabbed a few mangos and then hopped on a motor taxi out past the sand dunes.  Huacachina is a strange little tourist trap, but undeniably beautiful.  Going with the flow of the scene - we signed up for a Buggy tour of the dunes.  I feel the same way towards buggies as I do snowmobiles..... I hate the look, sound and smell of them in beautiful outdoor environments - but, I have to admit, they are incredibly fun... It is truly a love/hate relationship.  Anyway, the dune buggies were just like a roller coaster without the tracks - we both had a white knuckle grip on the handle bars as we flew up and down the white sandy dunes.  

These mangos were AMAZING... it makes me sigh just thinking about them:)

     On top of the dune tour, we were able to try out 'sand boarding'.  I was particularly excited for this since I was missing out on the snowboarding season.  There are some people that take sand boarding pretty seriously and they have the exact equipment as an avid snowboarder would (minus the winter gear of course).  But the group we went with were on the cheap side so they gave us wood boards with velcro straps.  I was pretty confident at the beginning - thinking that I was the only one with any snowboarding experience, it should be a breeze.  As everyone else used their boards as sleds down the first dune, I strapped in my feet and hoped for the best.  Sure enough, it was hard as hell to turn with the board in the sand and I had a beautiful wipe-out.  Sand was in every crevice for quite some time!!  With a few practice rounds I got the hang of it!

Emily perfected the 'luge' technique and was by far the fastest one down the dunes!

     After a bit of convincing from eachother, we pushed ourselves out of our sun-dazed Huacachina scene and went with a group to celebrate the wine festival at a local Bodega in Ica.  We were hesitant because the way it was advertised, it seemed like it was just going to be a bunch of tourists.  But, we were happily surprised to find that our small group of 6 were the only outsiders.  The evening was full of dancing, grape stomping, wine & pisco (distilled wine) tasting.  They even fed us all a dinner at the end of the night (around midnight), which was much appreciated after a belly full of sweet young wine and stiff pisco.

The anticipation built for what seemed like hours as we waited for the Harvest Festival Queen to come out and begin the grape stomping.  The young girls and boys were in dazzling outfits and had a little Shakira shake in all of them.  After the stomping, everyone showed of their skills in a large dance circle - it was the highlight of the evening!

Finally our turn!

Supposedly if you were able to blow the horn you had royal blood..... Both Em & I had great performances and wowed the locals :)

The tasting room was like an old museum with random artifacts scattered throughout - each one a tempting toy!

To taste each wine, they dipped in a bamboo shoot that  had one section  cut out

The wine and pisco were stored in large clay vessels - a centuries old practice.

Rain or Shine

     Many people advised us against trekking during the rainy season - but, being from the rain capital of the Northwest, we had learned the important lesson of never allowing 'rain' to hold back our outdoor adventures.  With the mountains calling our names, we made our way to Huaraz - a small town at the heart of the Cordillera Blanca in Peru.

After yet another over night bus trip, we stepped off the bus with blurry eyes and smiles as the crisp morning air accentuated the bright blue skies and dramatic snow-covered peaks around us.  We found our way to our hostal and thoroughly enjoyed the first of many treats from the amazing bakery conveniently located across the street.

    Although our stay in Huaraz was relatively short, we were able to squeeze in two amazing day hikes and plenty of exploring within the small dusty town. Initially, we had our hearts set on some overnight trekking, but the reliable and heavy rainstorms were coming in around 2pm and not leaving until early the next morning - so we opted on the $6 hostal instead. For our first full day, we set out in a taxi with two other girls to Laguna 69.  The drive itself was amazing - as we passed small villages and jagged mountain vistas.  But it was only a small teaser for the incredible hike to come.  Although the day started out overcast - the wildflowers lit up our path in the lush valley and the multitude of waterfalls made the entire valley very surreal.  The long and strenuous hike was more than worth it as the turquoise waters of Laguna 69 emerged around the last grey corner.  The clouds parted at the top and we soaked up every last bit of the 15 minutes of sunshine.

The following day we took a hiking tour to the nearby Pastoruri Glacier.  Although the trip was a bit more on the 'touristy' side - in the end we were able to break off from the group and climb to some incredible areas overlooking the glacier and surrounding area.

Tall Puya Raimondii plants can reach up to 10m high!

Colorful sulfur springs along the way

A picturesque homestead and brick wall in the mountains